Ducks, Nick Ritchie Making Progress In Contract Talks

After a lengthy impasse, it appears that progress is being made in contract talks between the Ducks and RFA winger Nick Ritchie.  In an appearance on TSN’s Insider Trading, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (video link) that there is now some momentum in discussions and that there’s a hope that an agreement can be reached by the end of the week.

Ritchie’s preference has reportedly been to work out a one-year deal and try his hand at restricted free agency next summer.  That would give him the chance to give himself some better negotiating leverage with a strong showing this season while he would also have salary arbitration rights which would also help his cause.

Meanwhile, Anaheim has preferred to go with more of a typical bridge contract and have been looking to get a three-year agreement done.  That would give them some more cost certainty moving forward while also keeping Ritchie in restricted free agency when it comes to his next contract.  It appears that the Ducks will be getting their way here as McKenzie reports that the two sides are indeed working on a three-year agreement.

Ritchie was Anaheim’s first-round pick (tenth overall) back in 2014 and was viewed as a top-six power forward of the future.  He made an impact fairly quickly, getting into 33 games in his rookie season in 2015-16 but his offensive game hasn’t progressed quite as they had anticipated.  Last year, he saw his goal and point totals dip (from 14 and 28 to 10 and 27, respectively) while he didn’t play too big of a role in their first-round exit at the hands of San Jose.

While it doesn’t sound like much progress is being made in the other RFA contract impasse (between Toronto and winger William Nylander), it looks like Ritchie’s case is soon coming to a resolution.