Ducks waive Morrison; Penguins waive Satan

ARTHUR:
With 24 hours to go before the NHL trade deadline, there's a traffic jam on the waiver wire.

The Ducks have waived forward Brendan Morrison, presumably to make cap room for a move and/or the return of Pahlsson and Beauchemin, whose cap spaces are currently occupied by Ducks rookies. Signed to fill the void left by Andy MacDonald, Morrison had 10 G and 12 A through 61 games this season, but the 33 year-old found that he could not recover the explosive entry-speed he had before his ACL reconstruction last year and Randy Carlyle quickly pulled him from the Center position. His one year 2.75 M contract expires unrestricted at the end of this season.

Also headed down the waiver wire is the Penguins' Miroslav Satan. The Slovakian winger posted 17 G and 19 A through 64 games, but failed to develop chemistry with linemate, Sidney Crosby (23G 56A). The acquisition of Crosby's new linemate, Chris Kunitz, made Satan's one year 3.5 M contract superfluous.

Okay Daniel, you were clamoring for the Ducks to acquire Miro Satan last off-season, CAN they still do it, and SHOULD they?


DANIEL:
This is the opportunity the Ducks need to get right back into the mix. Satan might have lost a step, but the guy is still a bona fide finisher. He's always had good hockey sense, and let's face it, anyone who's played in the Sabres organization in the past 15 years would be great for the chase and cycle system we play. Imagine Satan sneaking around the slot while Getzlaf and Perry play catch behind the net.

The Ducks would still have to free up a little bit of space, even after Morrison clears up space by either dying in the minors or being a drain on some other team. Moreover, this is a way to get a top 6 forward, without having to trade away Pronger. This means that the core of the Cup run team is still together, albeit 2 years older. The only way this isn't a good idea, is if Beauchemin is on his way back and we don't know it. Then we need to keep some cap space for him to come back. He and Pahlsson are the two must-keeps this off-season.


ARTHUR:
I agree wholeheartedly that the Ducks have to keep Pahlsson and Beauchemin. You can’t salvage the dynamic of the Carlyle Ducks without them. So, any salary moves this year have to take their raises into account for next year.

The Ducks were playing with around 500K before they moved Morrison. That means they’ve got around 3M-- that’s maybe just one contract away.  The real question is how many of the teams in the hunt will pass on Satan and his expiring 3.5M contract. The "CAN they" is the bigger problem here.

On the "SHOULD they," of course they should. Satan isn’t just a sniper, he’s a trigger happy sniper. The Ducks desperately need that; they need someone who will shoot without cute passes or open lanes. Satan has the ability to improve an already strong Power Play squad, or to create an equally dangerous second unit. And at 6'3" 200 lbs, he's a big-bodied quality skater who has the potential to stay a Duck.