Korbinian Holzer had only just played his first few games of the season, but now the Anaheim Ducks will have move on to another defenseman for the time being. Holzer has left the team to return home for personal reasons, explaining why Jaycob Megna is in the lineup tonight against the Montreal Canadiens.
It seems as though everything is going wrong all at once for the Ducks, who have lost four in a row by a combined score of 23-5 and are already down to the Canadiens in the first period. Holzer, 30, had only played in the last two games after dealing with injury through the first part of the season, and it’s not clear how long he will be away from the team now.
The veteran defenseman was re-signed to a two-year, $1.8MM contract in the summer of 2017 and is now scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In 137 career NHL games split between the Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, he has recorded 20 points and 94 penalty minutes. Hopefully whatever is keeping him away from the team is a positive situation and will see him return before long.