Anaheim Ducks trade goaltender Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for draft picks

The Ducks officially transitioned into the John Gibson era Monday when they traded goaltender Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for draft picks: a first-rounder, the 30th pick, in this weekend’s draft and a second-rounder in 2017.

The Ducks have two first-round picks, including the 24th, in the draft that starts Friday.

The writing was on the wall for the financially handcuffed Ducks to move Andersen, who was set to become a restricted free agent and had shared time with presumed goalie-of-the-future Gibson.

“This is a situation that just had to happen at this time,” Ducks General Bob Murray said. “There was no avoiding it.”

Next summer, the Ducks might have to deal with an expansion draft, in which they can protect one goalie. They are trying to re-sign center Rickard Rakell and defenseman Hampus Lindholm. Defenseman Sami Vatanen re-signed last week.

Murray said he didn’t get close to re-signing Andersen and “I was dreading the fact that it could have got close enough.”

Toronto signed Andersen to a five-year extension worth about $5 million per season, according to several Canadian media outlets. Murray declined to comment on whether the trade was contingent on an extension.

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Murray now needs to find a backup goalie and prefers a veteran that can play 20-25 games.

“We don’t want to overplay John quite yet,” Murray said.

Gibson, who turns 23 next month, has precociously handled the role in his 72-game NHL career, including the playoffs. He was second in the NHL last season with a 2.07 goals-against average and teamed with Andersen to give the Ducks’ the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed.

The Ducks certainly will miss that depth in net.

Andersen, 26, assumed the No.1 role impressively when he wasn’t injured or ill. He held opponents to two goals or fewer in 29 of his 43 appearances and was second in the NHL with a 2.06 goals-against average and .926 save percentage from Christmas to the end of the regular season. He was 17-1-3 in that span.

Murray said that he’s trying to keep the rest of his defense intact, “but I’m still taking phone calls.” He also said he has interest in re-signing unrestricted free-agent forwards Jamie McGinn and David Perron but noted that the salary cap won’t rise significantly.

Season openers

The Ducks announced that their home opener is Oct. 23 against the Vancouver Canucks. They will play in four opponents’ home openers, starting Oct.13 at Dallas.

The Kings will open on the road against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 12, and will debut at home Oct. 14 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The full NHL schedule will be released Tuesday.