The Ducks are 8-8-3 this season, not a bad record so far, but the team looks uninspired in most of their games. Despite grabbing a 2-0 lead over the Sabers at home on Friday, the Ducks lost 3-2 in overtime. The home crowd was just as uninspired as the Ducks' play this season. All that needs to be done is searching up highlights from last night on YouTube and looking at the number of empty seats to know that fans aren't hopeful about the team this year. But, is it really time for the Ducks to trade away some of their younger, more talented players?
In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to trade someone like Trevor Zegras who has been involved in trade rumors since the end of last season. And that's not because we have the same name. Zegras is 23, so he still has plenty of time in the NHL. Not only that, but his talent is some of the best in the game. With the right coaching, Zegras could easily become the 1A center the Ducks drafted him to be. This season has been bad to begin with for Zegras, who's scored seven points in 19 games. Even so, teams across the league won't be trading much for him, even with his potential. It makes any trade not worth it for the Ducks in the long run, because if he reaches his sky-high ceiling, it would be a complete disaster for Anaheim.
Troy Terry has had a solid start to the season as well. Terry is 27, and so far this season he leads the Ducks in points, goals and assists. Terry has 12 points in 19 games with six goals and six assists. Terry isn't breaking records, but he has been one of if not their best player in the last few years. Lukas Dostal has a 5-6 record as the primary starter, despite putting up a .924 save percentage. The Ducks do need some more talent, but trading away the younger players doesn't make sense. John Gibson, Anaheim's backup, is undefeated in regulation this season, and there are plenty of teams that would find interest in him as a spot starter or a backup. The Hurricanes, the Avalanche, maybe even Edmonton could just be a few of the interested parties.
So what should the Ducks do if they shouldn't sell their young stars? In my opinion, they just need to play this season out, change up the coaching staff and see what happens from there. If someone is interested in some older players such as Gibson, Radko Gudas, Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano and others and they're willing to give some good value back after the Ducks are inevitably eliminated from the playoffs, I see no reason not to trade them and put more faith behind their young guns. The Ducks are in a not great situation, and to get people back in seats, or at the very least win some more games, Anaheim needs to come up with a more cohesive plan.