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Daniel Winnik Announces Retirement

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Versatile forward Daniel Winnik has retired, as he announced on his personal X page this morning. A veteran of 11 NHL seasons, Winnik had a respectable journeyman career, suiting up for eight major league teams after being taken in the ninth round of the 2004 draft by the Coyotes. The 39-year-old last suited up in the NHL in 2018 before heading to Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League, where he’s spent the last six seasons.

“For the past 19 years, I have lived a dream, from signing my first contract with the Phoenix Coyotes to my last with Geneva Servette,” Winnik wrote in his announcement. “Some experiences I thought would only remain dreams became reality: being coached by Wayne Gretzky, playing for my hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and representing Canada at the Olympic Games.”

As expected for a late-round pick, Winnik took a few years to break into the NHL. But unexpectedly, he wasn’t a depth piece or a fringe player subject to endless recalls and reassignments. Instead, he immediately cemented himself as a full-time piece for Phoenix upon making his debut in 2007-08, making 79 appearances in his rookie season while contributing 11 goals and 26 points in 14:06 of ice time per game, a good portion of which came on the penalty kill. Winnik spent the first three years of his NHL career with the Coyotes, recording 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists) in 202 games before they traded him to the Avalanche for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 offseason.

In 2010-11, Winnik rediscovered his valuable depth-scoring contributions from his rookie season, matching his 11 goals and 26 points in 80 games for the Avs while averaging 16:33 per game, the most he’d played at that point in his career. He was also one of Colorado’s most-used forwards in shorthanded situations that season, averaging 2:44 per game while down a man. Unfortunately, he was slugging it out on an Avs team that finished with only 68 points, earning them the right to select future captain Gabriel Landeskog with the second-overall pick in that summer’s draft.

Winnik was dealt again to the Sharks midway through the 2011-12 season, beginning a run of playing for seven different teams in the final seven seasons of his NHL career, including two separate stints with the Maple Leafs. He would also end up logging action for the Capitals, Ducks, Penguins and Wild, although he only managed to play more than 150 games for one team, the Coyotes. His career-defining season was split between Toronto and Pittsburgh in 2014-15, recording a career-high 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 79 games and a +23 rating, earning him a second- and fifth-place vote in Selke Trophy polling.

However, after completing a one-year, $660K contract with the Wild in 2017-18, which saw him produce six goals and 23 points in 81 games, there wasn’t much interest in his services stateside. That led him to head to Geneva, where he broke out immediately as one of the best two-way threats in the top-flight Swiss league. Over six seasons with the club, he recorded 91 goals and 234 points in 270 games, winning three major trophies – a Spengler Cup in 2020, an NL championship in 2023, and a Champions Hockey League title this season. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, contributing a goal and an assist in five appearances.

Ultimately, Winnik ended his NHL career with 82 goals, 169 assists, 251 points and a +52 rating in 798 games. We all at PHR congratulate Winnik on such a lengthy stint in the pros, especially for a ninth-round pick.

Red Wings Have Reportedly Discussed John Gibson With Ducks

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Former Jennings Trophy winner John Gibson has been in trade talks on an annual basis for the past few summers, but the years-long saga may finally reach its conclusion in the coming days. The Ducks are ramping up their efforts to move the 30-year-old and have engaged in talks with the Red Wings and another unnamed team, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. Detroit is the first team to be firmly connected to Gibson this summer after Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek acknowledged he was still drawing interest.

Gibson’s 2023-24 season was the worst of his career, continuing a long run of below-average play behind the rest of the Ducks’ rebuilding roster. He made 44 starts and two relief appearances without being significantly hampered by injuries, posting a .888 SV% and allowing 21.2 goals above average, per Hockey Reference.

He’s still carried the reputation of being one of the best up-and-coming netminders in the league in the mid-2010s, and there are many out there who believe he can get back to that level of play. Playing behind one of the most porous defenses in the league over the past five years certainly hasn’t helped his numbers. Even when accounting for the level of quality chances he’s faced, though, the stats aren’t promising. He hasn’t saved more goals than expected since the 2018-19 campaign, according to data from MoneyPuck.

For Anaheim, he’s been made expendable by the emergence of 24-year-old Lukáš Dostál. The 2018 third-round pick outplayed Gibson by every metric this season, posting a .902 SV% and 3.33 GAA with one shutout while making 38 starts and six relief appearances. He allowed 5.3 goals above expected compared to Gibson’s 9.6 over similar workloads, per MoneyPuck.

It’s not like Gibson would be arriving to a team known for its defensive responsibility in Detroit, either. While they had a competitive roster, losing out on their first playoff appearance since 2016 thanks to a regulation win tiebreaker with the Capitals, they were one of the worst teams in the league at controlling play at 5-on-5. They controlled only 46.5% of shot attempts, 45.2% of scoring chances and 43.0% of high-danger chances, according to Hockey Reference.

Goaltending is an area of need for the Wings, though. While Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa are both promising prospects long-term, they lack stability at the position entering next season. Gibson would give them a more established name to compete for starts with Ville Husso and Alex Lyon, who are both entering the final season of their contracts. But based on this year’s results, he wouldn’t be a significant upgrade. Lyon was quite serviceable, especially for his $900K cap hit, giving Detroit a solid .904 SV% through 44 appearances.

Any team acquiring Gibson is banking on a return to his 2015-2019 form, but he’ll likely need a strong defensive environment in front of him to make that a reality. If Detroit is intent on making a change to their crease next season, one of the less-established but lower-risk netminders available in free agency is a better bet. For a team on the cusp of playoff contention, adding three years of an uncertain Gibson at a $6.4MM cap hit is questionable.

Afternoon Notes: Clune, Devils, Kane, Holloway

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The Anaheim Ducks have hired former player Rich Clune as an assistant coach, shares Chris Johnston of The Athletic (Twitter link). Clune has spent the last two seasons as a development coach with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, joining the team he once captained immediately following his 2022 retirement. Clune added a role behind the bench last season, and will now get a chance to do the same at the NHL level.

Clune was a career minor-league bruiser, who played in just two full NHL seasons as part of his 15-year career in North American pros. He scored a career-high nine points in 47 games during the 2012-13 season, swapping record stats in the following year with seven points and a career-high 166 penalty minutes in 58 games. Clune would go on to play just one more NHL game in his career, though he did total an impressive 593 career games in the AHL – recording 151 points and 1,607 penalty minutes.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New Jersey Devils have signed a two-year extension with ECHL affiliate the Adirondack Thunder. The two teams have been partnered since 2017-18, following a brief connection between Adirondack and the Calgary Flames. The Thunder have only missed the playoffs once in their six-year connection with New Jersey, though they’ve failed to make it past Divisional finals.
  • The Edmonton Oilers could welcome winger Evander Kane back to the lineup on Friday, with head coach Kris Knoblauch designating him a game-time decision to Dan Rosen of NHL.com (Twitter link). Kane hasn’t played since Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and hasn’t scored since Game 5 against the Dallas Stars. In total he has just eight points in 20 games this postseason, though his aggression and grit will be a welcome boost over Dylan Holloway, who’d stand to lose his role should Kane step back in, shares Renauld Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link).

Andrew Cogliano Announces Retirement

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2022 Stanley Cup champion Andrew Cogliano is retiring after a 17-year NHL career. The Avalanche announced the news regarding their pending free agent forward in an announcement Friday. He’ll stay in Denver in a wide-spanning player development and scouting role. Cogliano released the following statement through the team:

The game of hockey has given me and my family so much and I am grateful for every moment. I am blessed to have played for so long with some great organizations and amazing teammates. I will miss being with the guys in the dressing room and battling for each other on the ice every night but it’s time to move on. Thank you to everyone I ever played with, played for and all the great fans for all of their support. I am excited to start my new chapter in the front office.

An unlikely first-round pick of the Oilers back in 2005, Cogliano had a peculiar development path as one of the few first-round picks in recent memory to be drafted out of lower-level juniors. After racking up 102 points in 49 games with the OPJHL’s St. Michael’s Buzzers in his draft year, Cogliano walked away from Canadian juniors and embarked on a collegiate career with the University of Michigan, where he again dominated. He turned pro with Edmonton in 2007-08, playing in all 82 games during his rookie season – something that would quickly become a common theme.

That rookie season was a strong one for Cogliano, who finished ninth in Calder Trophy voting after racking up 45 points, a number that would end up standing as a career-high. Suiting up for Edmonton in the early days of their so-called ’Decade of Darkness,’ Cogliano quickly developed into a respected, versatile two-way skater who could play anywhere he was needed, skating on virtually every line and at every forward position. After four years, 146 points and 328 games of service for Edmonton, never missing a contest since making his NHL debut, he was dealt to the Ducks in the 2011 offseason in exchange for a second-round pick.

The offense never popped consistently for Cogliano in Anaheim, although he did notch his only 20-goal season in the 2013-14 campaign. Still, he remained an incredibly serviceable and adept two-way skater, routinely averaging between 14 and 16 minutes per game while contributing solid secondary scoring. Consistency remained perhaps his greatest asset – his career-opening ironman streak didn’t end until a suspension in the 2017-18 campaign, his 11th one in the NHL and his final full season with the Ducks.

Cogliano remained a strong utility forward with penalty-killing upside even as he aged, giving solid showings for the Stars, Sharks and finally Avalanche as he declined into a solely bottom-six role. Colorado acquired him for just a fifth-round pick from San Jose at the 2022 trade deadline, and he went on to contribute three goals and six points in 16 playoff games as he helped the Avs to their first Stanley Cup in nearly 20 years.

Now 37, Cogliano finishes his career with 1,294 games played, tied for 75th all-time. He tallied 190 goals, 274 assists, and 464 points with a +31 rating and 449 PIMs while averaging 14:06 per game. All of us at PHR extend our best wishes to Cogliano as he begins his front-office career.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Ducks Interested In Hiring Rich Clune As Assistant Coach

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  •  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Anaheim Ducks are interested in hiring Rich Clune as an assistant coach for the 2024-25 NHL season. Clune has been serving in a similar role with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL after being promoted from his previous position as Development Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 29th. Nevertheless, there has been nothing indicating that Clune is interested in the position in Anaheim, as he spent the last seven years of his playing career with the Maple Leafs organization.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Ducks’ Trevor Zegras Offers Lucrative Trade Value

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The 2024 summer is gearing up to be dramatic, with Vezina Trophy goaltenders and young top scorers headlining a very active trade market. The Anaheim Ducks may be positioning themselves as the team of the summer amidst it all, as star Ducks forward and former top-10 pick Trevor Zegras is once again facing trade rumors. Trade speculation is nothing new for the former USNTDP standout, who faced plenty of uncertainty entering the season – missing both training camp and preseason action while holding our for a new contract. He ultimately settled on a three-year, $17.2MM bridge contract – though Zegras would regardless end up missing most of the season with a broken ankle. He returned from an 11-week absence in March and ultimately totaled 31 games on the year, scoring just 15 points. But despite the down year, Zegras’ age, scoring upside, and cheap contract offer rare and incredibly lucrative value on the trade market.

It seems Zegras’ scoring upside has been shrouded behind a down year this season – but there’s no doubting his place among the best young scorers in the league. Zegras posted an impressive 23 goals and 61 points in 75 games as a rookie in 2021-22 – being named the runner-up to Moritz Seider’s 2022 Calder Trophy. To boot, Zegras proved consistent in his sophomore year, managing 65 points and again scoring 23 goals in 81 games. Combined with his modest scoring this year, Zegras has totaled 55 goals and 154 points across his first 211 games. That equates to a 0.72 points-per-game pace, ranking Zegras among the most potent young scorers in the game, and situating him ahead of players like Seth Jarvis, Lucas Raymond, and Cole Caufield.

And unlike many young players, Zegras offers the flexibility play both center and winger at an NHL level, with Anaheim mentioning adapting Zegras to center as a key priority in his early development and time in the AHL. He was frequently used down the middle through his first two years in the NHL – though he posted a dismal 40.6 faceoff percentage. The arrival of Leo Carlsson this season was enough to bump Zegras back to the wing, where he struggled to work off the boards in a Ducks system built more on physicality than finesse. His struggles at the faceoff dot make him a hard sale as a full-time center, though his flexibility makes him a match for even more teams.

Zegras’ reputation may be unruly, but he’s been in elite scoring talent since breaking out with the NTDP’s notorious 2019 lineup. With so much consistency between his first two seasons, it seems much more likely that his down year was more the result of a shaky start to the year, marred by prolonged contracting negotiations and injury, than it was an indication that he’s fallen off course. At a spry 23, Zegras is just kicking off his career, already carving out a consistent top-six role and strong scoring pace before many players earn a daily lineup role at all. His offensive upside has vindicated Zegras’ draft spot – as he sits fourth among the 2019 class in NHL scoring – but it also makes him substantially harder to price on the trade market. There simply aren’t previous trades situated around a player as high-scoring or young as Zegras.

It, in a way, harkens back to Larry Murphy’s move from the Los Angeles Kings to the Washington Capitals in 1983. While the swap differs in a  lot of ways – Murphy most notably being a high scoring defenseman, and a player significantly closer to the league’s greatest at the time of his move. But there are plenty of similarities as well. Murphy also carried top-10 draft pedigree, vindicated by star scoring, and was moved before his 24th birthday. In that case, the Kings received stout top-four defenseman Brian Engblom and Ken Houston as he neared retirement. Zegras’ trade rumors are occurring over four decades later – so there’s like not much to be gleaned from Murphy’s move – though precedent could suggest that the Ducks may need to settle for impactful depth in any move featuring such a young star.

The Ducks will find much more present, and realistic, guidance in the trades of Martin Necas and Nikolaj Ehlers, two other potent scorers on the trade market – though Necas, the younger of the two, is still three years Zegras’ senior. Speculation around what the pair of wingers could fetch has been all over, with Carolina rumored to be interested in top prospects, though even a swap of the pair has been mentioned as a possibility. With Zegras under contract for the next two seasons, and expiring as a restricted free agent, Anaheim has plenty of time to wait and see how the Necas and Ehlers situations pan out. Whatever deal they put together for their young star will undoubtedly be a blockbuster, bringing in the pieces to boost Anaheim into a new era – one led by Carlsson, adorned by new jerseys, and hopefully bound for the playoff consistency the Ducks were once known for.

Snapshots: Conditional Picks, Tocchet, Thunderbirds

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The final series of the playoffs gets underway tonight with Edmonton taking on Florida.  The events and outcome of the Stanley Cup Final will also affect the draft order in the next three years.  As CapFriendly notes (Twitter link), the following four late-season trades will be finalized based on whoever wins this series:

Ducks/Oilers: The 2025 fifth-round pick that went to Anaheim in the Adam Henrique trade will upgrade to a 2025 4th round pick if Edmonton wins.

Sabres/Panthers: The 2024 seventh-rounder acquired by Buffalo for Kyle Okposo will upgrade to a 2024 fifth-round pick if Florida wins.  (Florida would also incur a $500K cap penalty next season in this scenario as that is payable to Okposo if they win.)

Senators/Panthers: The 2024 fourth-round pick that Ottawa received for Vladimir Tarasenko will become a 2026 third-rounder if Florida wins the series.

Penguins/Panthers: The 2025 seventh-round pick Pittsburgh acquired for Magnus Hellberg will convey if Hellberg plays in two games this round.  Hellberg is on Florida’s active roster as a Black Ace recall but has yet to play this postseason.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is heading into the final guaranteed season of his contract next season though there is a team option for 2025-26 as well. The bench boss told reporters including Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province that there have yet to be any discussions about a contract extension, nor is he concerned about that.  Tocchet led Vancouver to a surprising first-place finish in the Pacific Division with 109 points, helping him earn the Jack Adams Award last month.
  • The AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds (affiliate of the Blues) announced that they’ve hired long-time NHL blueliner Jaroslav Modry and AHL veteran Chad Wiseman as their new assistant coaches. Modry spent the last three seasons coaching in his native Czechia while Wiseman had been coaching with OHL Guelph since 2018-19.  They join NHL veteran Steve Konowalchuk on a new-look coaching staff.

John Gibson, Trevor Zegras Still Drawing Trade Interest

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Ducks starter John Gibson and developing center Trevor Zegras are still the subject of trade inquiries, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun during the ongoing scouting combine.

Both players have been the subjects of trade rumors in the past, especially Gibson, who seems to be on the block nearly every summer since his eight-year, $51.2MM extension began in 2019. Zegras also found his name in trade speculation last year after a lengthy contract battle that saw the restricted free agent miss most of training camp and preseason, finally putting pen to paper on a three-year, $17.25MM deal on Oct. 2.

Gibson, who will be 31 next month, has likely never had a lower trade value. In 2023-24, he posted career-worst numbers with a .888 SV% in 46 appearances while conceding 9.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.

He’s long been given the benefit of the doubt due to the paper-thin defense in front of him for most of the Ducks’ recent rebuild, but he was significantly outplayed by the younger Lukáš Dostál this season. There’s a strong argument that Gibson wouldn’t even be Anaheim’s opening-night starter in October.

To be fair, Gibson’s numbers were tanked by a horrid end to the season that saw him fail to put up an SV% above .900 in any of his final eight showings. The beginning of the season was some of the best hockey we’d seen from him in quite some time, logging a .904 SV% in 24 games before New Year’s Day.

While Gibson was once considered one of the best young goaltenders in the league, he hasn’t had an above-average season since his extension kicked in, even considering Anaheim’s porous defense. His last season saving more goals than expected was 2018-19, the first season of the Ducks’ current playoff drought, when he logged a .917 SV% in 58 games for 13.3 GSAx.

With three seasons left at a $6.4MM cap hit and a 10-team no-trade clause in place, it’s fair to wonder if the Ducks would even net a first-round pick in return for his services. Especially in a summer when the trade market is dominated by names with much better recent history, such as Jacob Markström, Juuse Saros and Linus Ullmark.

They also wouldn’t be dealing from a position of strength with Zegras. He was plagued by injuries this season and mustered just six goals and 15 points in 31 contests.

There’s obviously less of a long-term fit for Zegras as their prospect pool continues to bolster itself, especially after they acquired 2022 fifth-overall pick Cutter Gauthier from the Flyers this season and signed him to his entry-level contract. But there’s still a solid chance for rebound potential in Anaheim next season, and given he’s a restricted free agent at the end of his current deal, there’s no lost trade value by holding onto him for another year. Even if they decide to pull the trigger on a Zegras deal, they’re much better off waiting for a better platform season preceding the deal.

Of course, receiving trade interest in players and actively shopping them are two completely different beasts. If Verbeek’s being transparent, only the former is at play here. With no rush to recoup value for either, as their signing rights are controlled for at least a few more seasons, this summer doesn’t seem to be the right opportunity for a move.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Ducks Sign Damian Clara To Entry-Level Deal

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2:31 p.m.: Clara’s deal carries a cap hit of $878K, PuckPedia reports. In the first two years of the deal, he’ll earn a base salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, and a games played bonus of $80K. In the third year, his base salary increases to $800K while his games played bonus decreases to $55K. His minor-league salary is unknown.

The Ducks have signed netminder Damian Clara to a three-year, entry-level contract, as announced by the team Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 6’6″ 19-year-old joined the Ducks organization after being selected late in the second round of the 2023 draft (60th overall). The pick they used to select him was one of three draft choices acquired from the Bruins in exchange for defenseman Hampus Lindholm at the 2022 trade deadline.

Clara, the first Italian goalie taken in the NHL draft in league history, impressed in the professional ranks this season after spending the prior two seasons in the top-level Czech and Swedish junior leagues. This year, he was loaned to Brynäs IF of the Swedish second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan and proved he was worth his draft position.

He quickly unseated NHL veteran Anders Lindbäck for the starting role in Brynäs, finishing the regular season with a .913 SV%, 2.23 GAA, 25-8-0 record and four shutouts. He added a sparkling .931 SV% in 11 postseason games to guide Brynäs to the league championship and promotion back to the top-level Swedish Hockey League after being demoted last year for the first time since 1960.

Clara had already signed a contract with the SHL’s Färjestad BK next season. Since he wasn’t a first-round pick, the NHL’s transfer agreement with Swedish leagues dictates he must first be offered back to Färjestad when Anaheim cuts him from their training camp roster. This stipulation for day-two picks is in place until they’re 24 years old.

[RELATED: Examining A Key Change In The NHL’s Transfer Agreement With Sweden]

As such, he’ll likely spend the 2024-25 campaign on loan to Färjestad, where he’s expected to work in tandem with former Bruins, Golden Knights and Penguins netminder Maxime Lagace. He’s only signed through next season, though, so Clara will likely opt not to sign another overseas contract if all goes well. He could then report to the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego as soon as 2025-26 if he’s not yet ready for NHL action.

Since Clara’s 20th birthday falls next January, his ELC can slide for one season. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games in 2024-25 as expected, the contract will instead take effect with the 2025-26 campaign, keeping him signed until the summer of 2028. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry.

Kings Hire Newell Brown As Assistant Coach

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The Kings announced Thursday that they’ve named Newell Brown an assistant coach. He’d served in the same role for the Ducks for the past three seasons, but earlier this month, Anaheim announced they wouldn’t be renewing his contract.

Brown, 62, had a brief collegiate and minor-league playing career in the 1980s but immediately transitioned to coaching upon retiring. He’s been behind an NHL bench as an assistant in every season since 1996, working with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Canucks, Coyotes and Ducks but has never gotten a shot as a head coach at the highest level.

The Ontario native has called Southern California home for most of his coaching career, serving on Anaheim’s staff on three different occasions (1998-2000, 2006-2010, 2021-2024). After winning a Stanley Cup with the Kings’ closest geographical rival in 2007, he’ll jump to the other side of the Freeway Face-Off. There was a decent bit of interest in his services around the league after the Ducks let him go, with the Senators also expressing interest in adding him to new head coach Travis Green’s staff, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

Brown will replace Trent Yawney on the Los Angeles bench, who mutually parted ways with the club two weeks ago today. The team confirmed that his areas of focus will be working with the club’s forward group and the power play. He completes head coach Jim Hiller’s staff as he enters his first full season leading an NHL bench, joining associate coach D.J. Smith, assistant coach Derik Johnson, goalie coach Mike Buckley and video coach Samson Lee.

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