Henrique making seamless transition to Ducks after trade

BOSTON -- There was a rotation of shirts. There had to be. Adam Henrique didn't have many options; he was relying on the one suitcase he had packed upon hearing that he had been traded from the New Jersey Devils to the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 30. More would follow later, a bag of clothes sent to Honda Center.
But most of the rest -- the furniture, the majority of the clothes, the life he had built over six-plus seasons with the Devils -- remained in New Jersey.

"That was it for the first bit," said Henrique, who was acquired by the Ducks with forward Joseph Blandisi and a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in a trade that sent defenseman Sami Vatanen and a conditional third-round pick to the Devils. "Just made sure I had enough that I could cycle through each week."
He was stationed in a hotel in Anaheim, though he spent little time there. The Ducks played three home games during the first 26 days after the trade. They played nine on the road, including a six-game trip with a stop in New Jersey.
That trip, Henrique thinks, helped the transition. He was stuck with his new teammates on the road, where they could all get used to each other, where they could integrate him into the team and their lineup at the same time. He was able to revisit his past, early, get it out of the way and exorcise memories of the only NHL team he had played for since he was selected by the Devils in the third round (No. 82) of the 2008 NHL Draft.
He had never belonged to any other NHL team, and yet his transition to the Ducks was seamless.
Henrique had at least a point in each of his first five games with the Ducks, scored a goal and had an assist in his return to Prudential Center on Dec. 18, and has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in 26 games with his new team, including six goals in his past six games.

"I feel good all over the ice," he said. "It's not my focus. I'm just trying to go out there and play, continue to play well, try and take advantage of opportunities, and the puck's going in the net right now. I feel good, I've just got to keep shooting, keep things simple."
He scored his 10th and 11th goals with the Ducks on Tuesday in a 3-1 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden that ended Boston's 18-game point streak. The first came at 13:59 of the first period on the power play and proved to be the game-winner; the second was an empty-net goal at 19:53 of the third.
"He's a real solid two-way centerman who plays very good in both ends," said right wing Jakob Silfverberg, who scored the other goal against the Bruins. "I think he's got one of the stronger sticks on the team. He's not the biggest guy, but I think a lot of times in one-on-one battles he comes out with the puck by just having a strong stick and winning battles that way.
"He's a fast skater. He's got a terrific shot. I think he's been an offensive threat in our lineup since he got here. He's been scoring some big goals for us."
Henrique came to the Ducks at a crucial time. Anaheim was down to bare bones at the end of November, down enough centers that Henrique found himself playing on the first line. Ryan Getzlaf was out. Ryan Kesler was unavailable. Henrique was tasked with filling the gap.
"We were in dire need of what he brought and the position he played," coach Randy Carlyle said. "Obviously we had some key personnel out with Kesler and Getzlaf not in our lineup, and Henrique came in and filled that void for us for an extended period of time."

He did exactly what he needed to do, exactly when they needed him to do it, even though the Ducks still struggled to win consistently at the time.
"I think for anybody it's a win-win," Carlyle said. "When that happens usually your team feels good about the acquisition of the player and the player feels good about the place he's put into and the position he's played into and the role that he gets. Usually if you're having success personally that usually bodes well for your team."
It has become more comfortable for Henrique, on the ice and off. He moved into an apartment during the Ducks' six-day break earlier this month, with his furniture shipped out from New Jersey. His parents and brothers and aunt and uncle came to visit. It allowed him to feel settled, and let them feel settled about him.
He had felt at home almost immediately in Anaheim, even if he still didn't have one back then.
"There's so much going on; new city, new place, hotel, that kind of stuff," Henrique said. "For me, the transition was great. The guys in the locker room, for them to welcome me and bring me in and make it feel like a home right away was probably the biggest thing for me."
He just needed a few more shirts.