Why Carl Hagelin failed with Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks’ acquisition of Carl Hagelin during the NHL Draft was easy to comprehend.

He was a restricted free agent who was proving too rich for the New York Rangers. He was a forward with blazing speed – although not much finish – and GM Bob Murray had identified that as one of the Ducks’ failings in their latest postseason elimination. “You see how we got beat. The speed element of the game is getting bigger and bigger and bigger so we have to move along with the times and we got a guy who can really skate,” Murray said.

So it was decided to deal the No. 41 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and forward Emerson Etem for the rights to Hagelin, essentially guaranteeing that unrestricted free agent Matt Beleskey wouldn’t be back. “Beleskey can be a physical player. Hagelin is speed. Speed, tenacity, he’s on the puck really good penalty killer,” Murray said.

So Hagelin was handed a 4-year, $16-million contract by the Ducks before the season … and then was traded 43 games into that contract, sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night for forward David Perron and defenseman Adam Clendening.

Hagelin had just four goals and eight assists in those 43 games, a remarkable drop from his career averages – a player that has never had lower than a 0.20 goals-per-game average was at 0.09 with the Ducks. He was eighth among Ducks forwards in Corsi-for percentage, on a better than average possession team.

What went wrong?

Ducks GM Bob Murray believes it started in the preseason.

“I think training camp hurt. Not being able to play during training camp set him behind,” he said. “I don’t want to put this all on Carl or any new players. This team was not ready to start the year. It put a lot of pressure on the new players, so it looked like it was all them. It was not fair. Whenever you miss training camp, it’s tough to get going. Lately, he started to go. That line has done a good job of shutting down other lines. It just wasn’t a perfect fit here.”

This is interesting. Hagelin only got into two preseason games for the Ducks, and at the time coach Bruce Boudreau covered for him, saying there was nothing physically wrong with Hagelin. “We know what Carl can do,” he said. “Two games will be more than enough for a guy of his speed and everything else.”

But, reading Murray, that clearly wasn’t the case. And by Nov. 14, Hagelin’s ice time was hitting career lows.

So Hagelin, who does have four points in his last four games, moves back east with the Penguins. Jim Rutherford, the Penguins' GM, sounded a familiar tone about the acquisition: “We felt we needed to improve our team speed.”

Murray, meanwhile, said the following about Perron, but it could have easily been about Hagelin: “He should be motivated. He definitely needed a change of scenery.”

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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