The Anaheim Ducks have announced the signings of four players to fill out their roster as they signed forwards Carter Rowney, Brian Gibbons and Ben Street, while also adding defenseman Luke Schenn. Rowney inked the longest term of the group, signing a three-year deal worth $3.4MM. Gibbons inked a one-year, one-way deal worth $1MM. Street and Schenn both signed one-year deals.
For the Ducks, adding four solid NHL talents should increase the team’s depth which was sorely lacking last year when they were decimated by injuries throughout the season. Re-loading with third and fourth-line forwards as well as adding Schenn to their defense should boost the team.
“We needed to get faster, so the primary goal was to add some speed up front with some depth signings,” said Anaheim general manager Bob Murray. “We also wanted a veteran defenseman with NHL experience and strong leadership traits.”
Rowney has done a nice job working his way up the NHL ladder after originally signing an AHL tryout and now has achieved a three-year deal years later. An energizing center, the 29-year-old has struggled to put up solid numbers with the Pittsburgh Penguins the past two years and has served as a depth centerman. He appeared in 44 games with the Penguins this season, posting two goals and three assists and even appeared in three playoff games for Pittsburgh this season.
Gibbons finally earned his first one-way deal as the energetic, hard-working forward was finally able to break into the New Jersey Devils lineup last season. In 59 games, he posted solid numbers, putting up 12 goals and 14 assists. He had spent the previous two seasons bouncing around the AHL.
Street adds depth and could be a big addition to the team’s AHL franchise the San Diego Gulls. The 31-year-old center played a full season for the Detroit Red Wings affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting great numbers. He scored 21 goals and 65 points there and added another eight points in five playoff games.
Schenn adds much depth to the blueline. While the team had a very deep defensive core more than a year ago, the team traded away both Shea Theodore and Sami Vatanen last season, leaving them somewhat limited. While their top four features Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson and Brandon Montour, they lacked depth for the last two spots. Schenn should figure into that mix nicely. He played the last two years with the Arizona Coyotes, posting seven points in 64 games and already has 708 games of NHL experience under his belt.
TVA’s Renaud Lavoie was the first to break Gibbons deal. TSN’s Brennan Klak reported the signed of Street.
Great… This now puts our useless free agent signing total to 6 this summer. Not exactly the shakeup I was hoping for after the most recent playoff showing.