It's no secret that people in Anaheim aren't necessarily fond of Clayton Stoner and. Critiques of his performance aside, Stoner is a problem for the Ducks. He's making 3.25 million for this season and the next two after that. Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen are due for large raises. Spending 3.25 on a bottom pairing defenseman is a luxury the Ducks can't afford, especially as a cash team, not a cap team. Stoner's contract is a problem that needs to go away so we can spend our blue line money more efficiently. Additionally, moving Stoner opens up options for this season. There's already talk that Dustin Byfuglien could be available if Winnipeg's season doesn't go well, which isn't unfathomable considering Ondrej Pavelec's SV% had a sharp uptick to .920 last year. Regardless of what they go looking for, moving Stoner opens up trade options for the Ducks both up front and on the blue line.

Boston has two older blue liners. Zdeno Chara is 38 and Dennis Seidenberg is 34. Stoner is signed until he's 32, and he spent last season attached to a smaller mobile defenseman, like Boston's Torey Krug. He could be the type of body the Bruins want to have around [Ed. Note: With Don Sweeney as GM, really who knows what Boston is doing- EE], so they can have an NHL defenseman available to them when those two pieces of their top 4 go down. Stoner is an NHL defenseman and that might be good for Boston for the first two months of the season when they won't want to fall too far behind in the standings. Boston has two very good centers, and a couple of decent wingers to go with them. They also have one of the better goalies in the league in Tuukka Rask. It probably makes some sense that they'll be chasing a playoff spot. Stoner can't offer the offense that Seidenberg and Chara do, but he can probably offer at least some stability for them on the back end. From Boston's perspective, Stoner might help keep them afloat until their more established players return.

There's even better news. Right now, the Bruins can absorb Stoner's salary without sending any back. That doesn't mean something wouldn't come back. The Ducks might not necessarily need a body with Josh Manson waiting in the wings. General Manager Bob Murray could also see if Boston is interested in unloading Loui Eriksson, but that doesn't necessarily make sense. There are options to get the deal done, even just draft picks coming back. The Ducks might even hold onto some of Stoner's salary.

The real story here is that Boston has a need the Ducks can fulfill, and doing so will be best for the Ducks in the long run. Anaheim should make a point of acting on this immediately.