Anaheim Ducks win the Patrick Eaves derby, such as it was

In an aggressive move to combat the unkempt beards of division rival San Jose, the Anaheim Ducks acquired winger Patrick Eaves and his monstrous thicket from the Dallas Stars for a conditional second-round pick on Friday.

Here are those conditions, via the Stars:

Based on draft position, Dallas will receive the middle pick of Ottawa, San Jose or Toronto’s second-round selections in 2017 per the conditions in which Anaheim acquired the pick from Toronto in a previous trade. Should Anaheim advance to the third round of the postseason and Eaves plays in 50% or more of their games in the first two rounds, the selection becomes the Ducks first-round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft.

So there’s a chance this could be a first-round pick for Patrick Eaves. More on that in a moment.

First, how does this trade work for the Ducks?

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Eaves, 32, has 37 points in 59 games, including 21 goals. Considering Rickard Rakell is the only Ducks players with more than 20 goals on the season, you can see why there would be a premium on acquiring more goal-scoring.

He can play both wings, but skated on the right side with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn this season. So please note that he can skate with the big boys, and Anaheim has a couple that haven’t exactly hit their usual marks offensively. (Well, one in particular.)

The reason there was a “derby” around Eaves was the fact that his cap hit is $1 million. That’s it. And he comes off the cap this summer. The Ducks are basically licking the ceiling right now, so this was perfect.

But you have to pay for that perfect fit, and the Ducks are either going to give up a pick in the top 50 (potentially) or their own first-rounder.

If it’s the latter, then credit where it’s due to GM Jim Nill of Dallas, who’s taken his lumps this season.

Eaves is a player that’s been waived twice in his career, and that Nill inked to two consecutive one-year contracts. His numbers were great this season playing on Dallas’s top line, and Nill may have just flipped him for a first if things break Anaheim’s way in the playoffs.

And, let’s face it: There’s every chance he comes back to Dallas this summer.

Not a bad bit of pump and dump from the Stars.

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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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