The Ducks are welcoming back a key forward tonight as they announced that they have activated winger Alex Killorn from injured reserve. To make room for him on the roster, defenseman Robert Hagg was returned to AHL San Diego.
Killorn landed the richest deal for a forward in free agency last summer with Anaheim inking the 34-year-old to a four-year, $25MM agreement. He was coming off a career year with Tampa Bay, one that saw him record 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games while adding five points in six playoff contests against Toronto.
While the Ducks aren’t expected to be contending in the short term, GM Pat Verbeek clearly prioritized adding some veterans to what was (and still is) a pretty young roster and was hoping that Killorn would line up in a prominent role to start the season. Instead, he suffered a fractured finger during the preseason, one that kept him out of the lineup for nearly five weeks.
As for Hagg, he was recalled just yesterday so his time with the big club was certainly short-lived. He was brought up to serve as an extra defender with Tristan Luneau on a conditioning assignment but as Luneau remains part of Anaheim’s active roster while with San Diego, the Ducks needed Hagg’s roster spot to activate Killorn in advance of tonight’s game against Vegas. He has played in three games for the Gulls so far this season.