West Notes: Rakell, Nakladal, Fischer, Vegas

Ducks center Rickard Rakell underwent surgery late last week to fix issues that arose from his appendectomy back in March, writes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.  The problem first presented itself following Sweden’s first World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament game and he was hospitalized shortly thereafter with his agent noting he was unable to eat at that time.

Rakell has been advised that he will have to rest up for a couple of weeks before he can resume training to get ready for the upcoming season.  On top of that, he still finds himself without a contract as one of 14 remaining restricted free agents.  At this point, a bridge deal is looking more and more likely.  Rakell had 20 goals and 23 assists in 72 games last season and is expected to be a top six forward when he is cleared to return to action and has a contract in hand.

More from the West:

• Unrestricted free agent defenseman Jakub Nakladal is seeking a one-way contract to remain in North America, reports Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Nakladal played in 27 games with Calgary last season, his first in the NHL.  The 28 year old noted that he would like to return to the Flames but they are hesitant to give him a one-way deal at this point.  Nakladal is currently playing for the Czech Republic at the World Cup and is hoping a strong performance could help him land a guaranteed deal, whether it’s with Calgary or somewhere else.
• While most North American-based junior aged prospects have only two options where they can play in a season (the NHL or junior hockey), Coyotes prospect Christian Fischer is one of the few who has a third option, notes the Arizona Republic’s Sarah McLellan. As Fischer was drafted out of the US Development program and not the Canadian Hockey League back in 2015, Arizona has the ability to assign him to their AHL affiliate in Tucson.  After a 40 goal, 90 point season with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires (which ranked him in the top ten in goals and points league wide), there is a good chance that the Coyotes will opt to have him play against tougher competition in the AHL instead of repeating the junior circuit, assuming he doesn’t crack Arizona’s opening roster.
• The expansion Las Vegas team that will begin play in 2017-18 has sold out their season tickets with 16,000, the team announced.  As a result, only single game tickets will be available in their inaugural season.