Colorado Avalanche Rumors: Analyzing the Anaheim Ducks as Trade Partners
By Ross Sellers
Josh Manson
If the Avs are looking for a different breed of defenseman, then Josh Manson is their guy.
He’s not going to put up a bunch of points, he’s not going to “wow” anyone in the offensive zone; however, Manson will certainly get the crowd jumping with huge hits in his own zone, and sound defensive play.
Manson is in his second full NHL season, and he is really starting to come into his own. He is averaging just under 19 minutes for the Ducks this season, and he starts 50.6 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone. Manson also has a 52.5 Corsi-for percentage*, and he lays hits like this:
That’s up there for hits of the year with Nikita Zadorov’s from the other night. However, I think he’s headhunting a little bit with that one, and both of his skates leave the ice. He certainly has to be careful about laying the body like that.
Nonetheless, having another bruising presence on the blueline along with Zads would certainly be something the Avs could benefit from.
Let’s move on to the next player on this list.
*All stats taken from hockey-reference.com.