Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Ducks and veteran defenseman Cam Fowler were working on finding a new team for him to play for. With Anaheim firmly in a rebuild and Fowler only having two years left on his contract, a change of scenery would make sense for both sides. GM Pat Verbeek told reporters including Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription link) that he doesn’t sense that this will be a distraction, highlighting that Fowler is fully committed to the team. The 32-year-old has spent his entire 14-year career with Anaheim and sits third in franchise history in games played (974) and fifth in points (453). With most teams at this point wanting to see what they have first before pondering potential moves, it’s likely that a move involving Fowler will take some time to materialize.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- While Blue Jackets winger Justin Danforth has been cleared to resume some on-ice work as he works his way back from a hand injury, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that Danforth might not be cleared for contact for another two or three weeks. Accordingly, that would likely put the start of the regular season out of reach for the 31-year-old in jeopardy. Danforth had a career-high 26 points in 71 games last season while spending time at all three forward positions.
- Panthers center Tomas Nosek left today’s preseason game early after colliding with the boards following a trip, notes team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). While he briefly tried to return later in the period, he ultimately didn’t return to the contest. Nosek is in his first season in Florida after signing a one-year deal with them in free agency. The 32-year-old battled injury trouble last season, missing 43 games due to four separate issues, managing just six points in 36 appearances when he did suit up.
- The one-year, $875K deal that the Canucks reached with goaltender Kevin Lankinen on Saturday carries an eight-team no-trade clause, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). It’s the first time in his career that the 29-year-old will have any form of trade protection in his contract.