The Ducks and Maple Leafs have completed a swap of veteran depth players. Anaheim has acquired center Adam Cracknell from Toronto in exchange for defenseman Steven Oleksy. Both teams have announced the deal.
Cracknell signed with Toronto early in free agency, inking a one-year, one-way contract worth $650K. He spent most of last year in the minors with the affiliates of the Rangers and Canadiens and has spent all of this season with the AHL Marlies. He has fared well in his limited action, collecting three goals and seven assists in 14 games. However, with the recent return of Sam Gagner from Vancouver and the acquisitions of Morgan Klimchuk and Michael Carcone, Toronto had a surplus of veteran AHL forwards to deal from as they’ve done here. The 33-year-old is a veteran of 208 career NHL games and could get a look with the Ducks at some point this season on their fourth line.
The Ducks found themselves in a similar situation when it came to Oleksy. Veterans Luke Schenn and Andrej Sustr have both spent considerable time with their AHL affiliate in San Diego and as a result, he was dropping down their depth chart. In 15 games with the Gulls this season, he has a pair of assists along with 36 penalty minutes. The 32-year-old also has 73 career games of NHL experience under his belt but will likely serve as a veteran depth player for the Marlies who he rejoins after spending part of the 2016-17 season with them. Oleksy is in the second and final season of a two-year, one-way contract that also pays $650K and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
In addition to this trade, the two sides also completed a minor league swap with Anaheim acquiring goaltender Jeff Glass from Toronto in exchange for future considerations. Glass has struggled with the Marlies this season, posting a 4.31 GAA with a .849 SV% in ten games. He made his NHL debut last year, getting into 15 games with Chicago. The 33-year-old is on a minor league deal and will not count against Anaheim’s 50 contracts.