The Ducks and Devils made a splashy trade on Thursday as Anaheim acquired forward Adam Henrique, forward Joseph Blandisi and a 2018 third-round pick while sending defenseman Sami Vatanen and a conditional draft pick to New Jersey.
The Ducks, who reached the Western Conference finals last season, are banged up by injuries. They are currently without three of their top four scorers from last season (Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and Rickard Rakell) while forward Patrick Eaves has not played this season after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Ducks general manager Bob Murray hopes to have Getzlaf back by mid-December and Kesler before Christmas. He thinks acquiring Henrique gives coach Randy Carlyle plenty of options to either stack the middle or move him to wing once Getzlaf, Kesler and Rakell are healthy.
"It makes us really strong down the middle if randy wants to go that way,'' Murray said.
Anaheim (11-10-4) has the league's 27th ranked offense (2.64 goals per game) and is sixth in the Pacific Division.
Henrique has played in 455 career games for the Devils, most notably scoring the Game 6, double-OT series-winner against the Rangers in 2012 to send New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Final. Henrique has four goals and 10 assists in 24 games this season.
"Adam has been a key member of our organization for nearly 10 years since he was drafted,'' Devils general manager Ray Shero said. "His contributions both on and off the ice will always be appreciated by our organization and fans.''
Henrique said he was "shocked'' when Shero told him he'd been traded.
"It wasn't something I was expecting,'' Henrique said. "With everything going on in Anaheim with the injuries, it just makes sense. I think the Devils have obviously been looking for a defenseman, and I think everything kind of came together the last day or two here.''
The Devils (14-6-4) have been a surprise in the Eastern Conference this season, and sit third in a competitive Metropolitan Division.
Vatanaen, who has a right-handed shot, gives New Jersey defensive depth. He has 126 points in 280 regular-season games.
"In acquiring Sami, we bring on a right shot, top-four defenseman who can play in all situations,'' Shero said. "This move also gives us contract certainty on the back end for the next two-plus years.''
The Associated Press contributed to this report.