Photo: Jae C. Hong, AP
By Thomas Harrington
One year ago today, the Anaheim Ducks traded Chris Wagner to the New York Islanders for Jason Chimera. The hope was that Chimera would increase Anaheim’s team speed heading into the playoffs. Unfortunately, that didn’t really work out, and this was the only trade that Anaheim made at last year’s trade deadline.
The Ducks selected Wagner in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft. After being drafted, Wagner spent two seasons at Colgate University. In his freshman season, he recorded 19 points in 41 games. It was Wagner’s sophomore year where he showed that he could have an NHL future. In just 38 games, he scored 17 goals and 51 points. Following that great NCAA season, Wagner turned pro and joined the Norfolk Admirals. He played with them for the next two seasons, scoring 21 and 28 points. It was clear that he wouldn’t ever be an offensive star in the NHL, but could become a useful third or fourth line player. In the 2014-2015 season, he got his chance with the Ducks and played in nine games, going scoreless. He also appeared in 48 AHL games, scoring 28 points. The next year, he split time between San Diego, Anaheim, and Colorado. The Ducks placed him on waivers that season and the Avalanche claimed him.
However, later in the season, the Ducks got him back when Colorado put him on waivers. He played in 43 NHL games between the two teams and scored four goals and six points. With the Gulls, he scored 10 points in 15 games. In the 2016-2017 season, he once again split time between the NHL and AHL. With the Gulls, he scored 19 points in 30 games; with the Ducks, he scored six goals and seven points in 43 games. Last year, he finally made the NHL on a full-time basis, not playing in any AHL games. Before the trade, he played in 64 games with the Ducks and scored six goals and 15 points. Despite not being a big-time scorer, Wagner had become something of a fan favorite in Anaheim.
After several years in Washington, Chimera signed a two-year deal with the Islanders in the summer of 2016. In his final season with the Capitals, Chimera had scored 20 goals, and the Islanders were hoping that he would be able to replicate that with them. In his first year with New York, Chimera did just that, scoring 20 goals in 82 games. His second season in New York didn’t go as well. In 58 games before the trade, he scored only two goals, though he did record nine assists and likely would have surpassed the 13 he had the year before.
At the time of this trade, a lot of people were perplexed by this move from an Anaheim perspective. A year later, this trade makes some sense for the Islanders, but looking back, it really doesn’t for the Ducks. While Chimera had back-to-back 20 goal seasons and was a faster player than Wagner, his two goals really weren’t that impressive. While Wagner will likely never score 20 goals in a season, he’s an effective forechecker who was making significantly less than Chimera was.
With the Ducks, Chimera played in 16 games and scored only one goal and two points. He made it into two playoff games and was scoreless. Besides the low point totals, he just wasn’t much of a factor when he was on the ice. His vaunted speed didn’t help the Ducks get past the Sharks in the first round. He was a free agent at the end of the season, and the Ducks opted to not bring him back. Chimera has not signed a contract with anyone and it looks like his NHL career has come to an end.
With the Islanders, Wagner played in 15 games but only scored one goal. He didn’t really fit in with the team. New York didn’t sign him and he left as a free agent, signing a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins.
Result?
One year later, and this trade didn’t really work out for either team. The Ducks traded away a fan favorite player and got little in return. The Islanders got younger and cheaper, but it didn’t help them get back to the playoffs. In the end, Anaheim got the worse end of the deal in this, especially given the expectations that the team had. Personally, this is one of my least favorite trades the Ducks have made over the last decade. While it was a low impact trade, Wagner was a fan favorite and he was a joy to watch on the ice, while Chimera never really worked out or helped Anaheim in any way. It always sucks to see such a well-liked player go, but it just feels worse when the return was for so little.
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February 26th, 2019
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