Patrick Eaves Hospitalized, Expected To Make Full Recovery
The Anaheim Ducks announced tonight some scary news surrounding Patrick Eaves. Eaves is currently in a hospital in Newport Beach, diagnosed with what is suspected to be Guillain-Barre syndrome. According to the Ducks press release, Eaves is expected to make a full recovery. From Eaves himself:
I want to thank Dr. Robert Watkins Sr. and Dr. Danny Benmoshe for their early diagnosis of my condition, along with the proactive Ducks medical team. Thanks to them and the incredible nurses at Hoag Hospital, I’m on the road to recovery. I’ve received tremendous amount of support over the last few days, most importantly from my family, friends and teammates. I’m determined to fully overcome this and return to the ice as soon as possible.
GBS, as the syndrome is sometimes called, is a disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system and can cause weakness, numbness in the limbs, and eventually paralysis. The disorder was caught early enough that they were able to stabilize his condition and move him out of the Intensive Care Unit. There is no timetable for his return to the team.
The 33-year old Eaves signed a new three-year contract with the Ducks in June after fitting in perfectly with them down the stretch. The team had traded for him at the deadline, and he scored 11 goals in his final 20 games to total 32 on the year—easily his career-high. He played in just two games this season, but will attempt to get back on the ice before the end of the year. Everyone here at PHR wishes him well in his recovery.
Morning Notes: Reilly, Kossila, Hemsky
The Minnesota Wild have recalled Mike Reilly back from the AHL, bringing their roster to 22-players. The Wild sent three players down to get them into some game action, but will likely make another recall tomorrow before their matchup with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Wild have been ravaged by injuries early in the season, but Mikael Granlund returned to a full practice today according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, and the team has still held their heads above water with a 2-2-2 record. While that’s obviously not exactly where they wanted to be through the first six games, as they begin to get their best players back on the ice they should start showing their contender status once again. Reilly, who played 17 games for the team last season and has already suited up four times for them this year, should act as quality depth on the blueline.
- The Anaheim Ducks have made a roster move of their own, recalling Kalle Kossila from the AHL. The team was down to just 21 players on their roster after moving Cam Fowler to injured reserve, but are expected to activate Hampus Lindholm this week. Ryan Getzlaf, who has also been out with injury is also expected back on the ice. Like Minnesota, the Ducks have been decimated by injury early on but have avoided a let down through the first seven games. With a record of 3-3-1, the team is starting to get healthy and will be trouble for Western Conference foes going forward. Kossila has been playing well at the minor league level, and could be called upon if Getzlaf isn’t able to play on Tuesday night.
- Ales Hemsky didn’t practice with the Montreal Canadiens today due to concussion-like symptoms, which threw a wrench into the lines. While Paul Byron found himself on the top unit with Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk was relegated to fourth-line duty once again. Both Michael McCarron and Nikita Scherbak, recalled yesterday, were practicing alongside Galchenyuk, seemingly indicating that they’ll be in the lineup come Tuesday night against Florida. The Canadiens have 1-6-1 through the first part of the season, and are trying anything to spark their offense.
Eaves Sent To See Specialist Regarding His Lower-Body Injury
- Ducks winger Patrick Eaves was sent to see a specialist on Friday as he continues to deal with a lingering lower-body injury that has resulted in him playing just twice this season, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. While he continues to be listed as day-to-day, the fact they’ve sent him to see a specialist would suggest that there’s a chance he could be out for a little longer than that.
Lindholm, Vatanen Won't Play Friday But Are Nearing Return
- Although Ducks defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen have started skating with the team, both are out for tonight’s game against Montreal, the team announced (Twitter link). Both players had been targeting November 1st as a return date and while they’ll miss at least one more game, they still appear to be ahead of schedule in their recoveries from offseason shoulder surgeries.
Ducks Assign Nicolas Kerdiles To San Diego (AHL)
- The Ducks announced that they have returned winger Nicolas Kerdiles to San Diego of the AHL. He has played in two games with Anaheim this season but has failed to play four minutes in either of them. This marks the third time already this year that the 23-year-old has been sent down after he cleared waivers in late September.
Ducks Notes: Slashing Penalties, Getzlaf, Gibson, Miller
The Anaheim Ducks are holding steady at 2-2-1, but after a 3-1 loss to last year’s cellar-dwelling Colorado Avalanche on Friday, many feel that coach Randy Carlyle might point to their struggling power play, but according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, it’s the team’s inability to adjust to the NHL changes in slashing penalties.
The NHL has made changes to the slashing penalties in order to reduce them due to the number of injuries that have cropped up over the years. However, Anaheim seems to have missed the memo, according to Stephens, who writes that 12 of the 27 penalties the team has taken this year are for slashing, nine of which have come in the last two Ducks’ games and six against the Avalanche on Friday.
“Discipline has got to be adhered to, especially to the rules when they do change,” Carlyle said. “And there is a learning curve. But the learning curve should have taken place during training camp.”
Carlyle went on to suggest the reason the team has so many slashing calls is due to the team playing too much in their own defensive zone. Several players have been hit with multiple infractions, including defensemen Cam Fowler and Brandon Montour as well as forwards Rickard Rakell and Antoine Vermette.
- Stephens, in the same piece, also writes that Ryan Getzlaf, who missed Friday’s game against the Avalanche is an unknown for today’s game against the Sabres. The 32-year-old center aggravated a lower-body injury earlier this year and has only suited up for two games this year. The scribe writes that it wouldn’t be surprising if the team holds him back today since the team has a four-day break before their next game.
- Starting goaltender John Gibson is also questionable for today’s. The veteran was hurt on a shot he took in pre-game warm ups on Friday and he was removed after the first period. Stephens said the injury was to either the hands or wrist, but couldn’t get that confirmed. Journeyman Reto Berra took over since goaltender Ryan Miller was not available.
- Stephen writes that Miller is edging closer to returning to the team and should be ready to dress soon, but it won’t be for tonight, according to The Buffalo News Mike Harrington. Miller, who came over from Vancouver to backup Gibson in the offseason, suffered a wrist injury in the preseason and has not dressed yet for Anaheim.
John Gibson Suffers Upper-Body Injury
- Ducks goaltender John Gibson left Friday’s game early with an upper-body injury, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. The injury actually occurred during the warmup but Gibson tried to play through it. There’s no word yet on whether or not Gibson will be available to return to the lineup on Sunday against the Sabres.
Ryan Miller Getting Closer To Returning
- Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller expects to be taken off IR in the near future, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. He has been dealing with a wrist issue that only allowed him to make one preseason appearance and none in the regular season. Miller has now rejoined Anaheim for practices, splitting shots faced with current backup Reto Berra but there is still no firm timetable for his return to the lineup.
Ducks Place Ondrej Kase On IR
According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, the Anaheim Ducks are going to be without yet another key player for the time being. Stephens reports that the Ducks placed young forward Ondrej Kase on the injured reserve on Thursday. The move is retroactive to Tuesday, indicating that the ongoing issue stems from the head injury suffered in Monday night’s game against the Calgary Flames. Kase left the contest in the first period after taking a check to the face from Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Kase had gotten off to a strong start to the new season, recording a goal and an assist in the team’s first three games. As a rookie last season, the quick Czech winger posted 15 points in 52 games and added a pair of goals in the playoffs. Kase was expected to take on a larger role for Anaheim in 2017-18 after a promising first year and still should despite his current predicament. By making the IR placement retroactive to Tuesday, the Ducks will be able to put Kase back in the lineup after only two more games.
Kase will certainly be gunning to get back on the ice as soon as possible, assuming he is able. Anaheim has one of the deepest forward groups in the league and any missed time can mean lost opportunities and a lower spot on the totem poll. With star two-way center Ryan Kesler currently sidelined, the Ducks are more top heavy than usual and Kase looked like the star of the third line through the first few games. He wants to get back to that role as quickly as he can so as to continue carving out his place on the team. The 2014 seventh-round pick has already exceeded expectations, but a permanent top-nine job in Anaheim going forward is next on the agenda.
In the meantime, the Ducks are expected to roll out a third line of Chris Wagner–Antoine Vermette–Logan Shaw for their upcoming games. The team recently sent high-scoring QMJHL-product Giovanni Fiore to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls following his NHL debut, but still have young power forward Nick Ritchie, free agent addition Dennis Rasmussen, and recent call-up Nic Kerdiles as other top-nine options if need be.
Anaheim Ducks Trade Dustin Tokarski To Philadelphia Flyers
The Anaheim Ducks have made a minor trade, sending goaltender Dustin Tokarski to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for future considerations. Tokarski will report directly to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, while the Phantoms have traded Leland Irving back to the San Diego Gulls (Anaheim’s affiliate).
Tokarski was once a promising goaltending prospect, but has fallen on tough times in recent seasons and had dropped down the Anaheim depth chart. He’ll look to get his career back on track in Philadelphia, though at 28 it’s hard to see him ever becoming an impact starter in the league.
Selected in the fifth round of the 2008 draft by Tampa Bay, Tokarski immediately put up an extremely impressive final year of junior hockey before jumping to the professional ranks in 2009. Impressing once again for Tampa’s AHL affiliate, he would get a chance to debut in the NHL that season. That scorching progression would slow in the coming years, as Tokarski has only played in 34 games at the NHL level for his career.
Perhaps in the most well-known moment of his career, Tokarski suited up for the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 playoffs when Carey Price went out with an injury in the Eastern Conference finals. After backup Peter Budaj faltered in relief the team went to Tokarski and he actually put up a solid performance even in an ultimately losing effort. Since that .916 save percentage in a short playoff run, he hasn’t been quite the same goaltender, struggling even at the AHL level. Last year, he recorded an .898 mark in 27 games with the Gulls.
Irving on the other hand is a former first-round pick who has bounced around all over the world. Since being selected by the Calgary Flames in 2006, Irving has played in the WHL, ECHL, AHL, NHL, KHL and Finnish Liiga, never sticking for too long in one spot. Though he has always shown some impressive reflexes and skill, he’s never been consistent enough to warrant a real look at the highest level. In 13 career NHL games (the last of which came in 2013) Irving has a .902 save percentage.