According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, the Anaheim Ducks confirmed today that Patrick Eaves would not return at any point this season or playoffs. Any potential return for Eaves would be at training camp for next season, but even that seems up in the air at this point.
Back in October, after playing just two games on his new three-year contract, Eaves was taken to hospital and diagnosed with Guillan-Barre Syndrome. A disorder that affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis if left unchecked, was caught early enough that Eaves was stabilized quickly. There hasn’t been many updates along the way, and now we’ll have to wait to see if he’ll return to the team next season.
- Another name we might see in the NHL next season is Pavel Francouz, a 27-year old goaltender who has put together quite the year. Though his KHL team was just eliminated from the Gagarin Cup playoffs, Francouz posted a .949 save percentage in 12 games along the way. Add that to his .946 in the regular season and an impressive showing for the Czech Republic at the Olympics, and Francouz is more than just on the radar of NHL teams. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that he will indeed look for an NHL contract this summer, after his current deal in the KHL expires at the end of this month.
- Vitaly Kravtsov, who also plays for Traktor in the KHL, was asked about his future after they were eliminated. In a report from RIA Novosti (a Russian news agency), Kravtsov said he had no plans on coming to North America and would play in the KHL again next season. The 18-year old is eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft, and is ranked 10th among all European skaters. Like other Russian stars, his draft position will be wholly decided by whether teams believe he will ever come over, though spending one more season in the KHL isn’t usually a problem. Kravtsov is currently under contract until April 2019.