Ducks’ Robby Fabbri Undergoes Meniscus Surgery, Out Six Weeks
Ducks winger Robby Fabbri underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn meniscus and will be out for around six weeks, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.
It’s another entry on a long list of injuries for the 28-year-old throughout his nine-year NHL career. He sustained the tear on Sunday against the Blue Jackets and missed Wednesday’s game against the Golden Knights after landing on injured reserve earlier in the day.
Anaheim acquired Fabbri, who’s in the final season of a three-year, $12MM contract, from the Red Wings on July 4 along with a 2025 fourth-round pick in exchange for goalie prospect Gage Alexander. He has just two goals in 14 games with the Ducks while averaging 16:33 per game, skating primarily on a line with Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras that’s been one of the worst in the league defensively at even strength. They’re allowing 5.06 expected goals against per 60 minutes, per MoneyPuck, the worst among any forward line with at least 50 minutes together this season.
Fabbri recorded 18 goals and 32 points in 68 games last season for Detroit. It was the most games he’d played in a season since his rookie campaign back in 2015-16. He went nearly two years between games at one point during the first few years of his career with the Blues due to a torn ACL in his left knee, followed by a groin injury. He sustained a second ACL injury in 2022 that also took significant bites out of his 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns with the Red Wings.
A first-round pick by St. Louis in 2014, Fabbri should return around Christmas given a six-week timeline. That puts him out for roughly 20 games, including the contest he already missed earlier this week against Vegas.
Matt Irwin Announces Retirement
Unrestricted free agent defenseman Matt Irwin is stepping away from the game, the NHLPA announced. He confirms his retirement after 10 NHL seasons and 461 appearances.
“As I reflect on my career, I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful and fortunate to have lived out my childhood dream of playing in the NHL,” Irwin said in a statement released by the players’ association. “My success would not have been possible without the support of my family, my in-laws and especially my wife, Chantel, and two kids, Beckem and Lennon. You all pushed me to be the best version of myself on and off the ice.”
“I’m fortunate to have been surrounded by the best group of teammates that I could have possibly asked for,” Irwin continued. “Each and every one of them made coming to the rink the best years of my life. I hope our paths cross somewhere down the road.”
Now 36, Irwin never played major junior hockey and instead jumped straight from the junior ‘A’ BCHL to NCAA hockey with UMass. The left-shot defender spent two seasons there before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Sharks in 2010, kicking off his professional career.
Irwin spent two full seasons with San Jose’s AHL affiliate, then in Worcester, Massachusetts, before receiving his first NHL recall in 2012-13. He appeared in 38 of 48 games for the Sharks during the lockout-shortened season, recording 12 points and a -1 rating while averaging 19:06 per game and finishing 19th in Calder Trophy voting. Irwin also played in all 11 of San Jose’s playoff games as he got an audition in top-pairing minutes at even strength alongside Dan Boyle.
The Victoria, British Columbia native managed to stick around as a full-time NHLer for the following two seasons in the Bay Area but steadily saw his minutes reduced. After a 2014-15 campaign that saw him record a career-high eight goals, Irwin became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Bruins.
However, Irwin only made two NHL appearances in a Boston sweater, instead spending nearly all of the 2015-16 season on assignment to AHL Providence. Understandably, he was one-and-done with the Bruins, and landed a deal with the Predators in free agency the following offseason.
It was the right choice for Irwin, who ended up playing 195 games in parts of four seasons in Nashville – the most of the six NHL franchises he appeared for. Aside from four appearances for AHL Milwaukee in 2016-17, Irwin managed to avoid being sent to the minors for the next seven years, sticking around in bottom-pairing/press box roles for the Predators, Ducks, Sabres, and Capitals.
Irwin’s last NHL games came with Washington in 2022-23. He recorded five points, a -8 rating and 36 PIMs in 61 games along with 75 blocks and 117 hits. He signed a two-way contract with the Canucks for 2023-24 but didn’t make the team, instead spending all of 2023-24 on assignment to AHL Abbotsford, where he recorded 16 points (5 G, 11 A) and a +2 rating in 65 games while serving as an alternate captain.
Irwin closes the book on his NHL career with 25 goals, 68 assists, 93 points, and a -9 rating in 461 games. He also logged 211 PIMs, 725 shots and a respectable 50.6 CF% at even strength while averaging 15:26 per game. He also appeared in 47 playoff games for the Sharks and Preds in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018, most notably playing in all 22 postseason contests as Nashville advanced to the only Stanley Cup Final in franchise history in 2017.
Irwin also logged 314 AHL appearances in parts of seven minor-league seasons, totaling 32 goals and 103 assists for 135 points. All of us at Pro Hockey Rumors extend our best wishes to Irwin in retirement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Sabres Reclaim James Reimer Off Waivers From Ducks
Nov. 13: The Sabres have reclaimed Reimer off waivers from the Ducks, per Friedman. It’s unclear if they were the only team to submit a claim, but regardless, he’ll likely remain on the active roster for now with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Nov. 12: The Ducks have placed goaltender James Reimer on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL San Diego, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday.
Anaheim acquired Reimer, 36, off waivers from the Sabres in early October, just before the regular season began. If Buffalo submits a claim for Reimer over the next 24 hours and is the only team to do so, they can send him directly to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
The Ducks claimed Reimer to provide veteran support to breakout starter Lukáš Dostál while John Gibson was on the shelf for the first few weeks of the season after undergoing appendectomy surgery. With Dostál putting up some of the best numbers in the league in the early going, Reimer made only two starts over the past month, winning neither of them and posting a subpar .864 SV%, 4.50 GAA and -2.4 GSAA. Gibson came off injured reserve last Friday, meaning Reimer was no longer needed on the active roster.
Reimer is coming off a solid campaign with the Red Wings, where he recorded a .904 SV% and 3.11 GAA in 20 starts and five relief appearances. Those numbers indicate he still has it in him to be a solid backup option and could certainly handle a No. 3 role. That’s what the Sabres were banking on when they signed him to a one-year, $1MM contract over the summer, likely hoping that a seven-figure price tag was high enough to deter teams from claiming off waivers when they attempted to send him down at the beginning of the year.
That didn’t happen, but they’ll get another chance to have him starting for their minor-league affiliate while providing a much more stable recall option in case of injury to either Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Devon Levi than what they currently have. Their current No. 3 option, former Flyer Felix Sandström, has a .900 SV% in five appearances for the Amerks.
Ducks Recall Jansen Harkins, Drew Helleson
The Ducks have recalled forward Jansen Harkins and defenseman Drew Helleson from AHL San Diego ahead of Wednesday’s home game against the Golden Knights, Patrick Present of The Hockey News reports.
The moves give Anaheim some necessary reinforcements, especially up front. The team placed Robby Fabbri and Cam Fowler on injured reserve yesterday with lower-body and upper-body injuries, respectively, while also announcing that Mason McTavish was day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and uncertain for tonight’s game. Without Fabbri and McTavish, the Ducks would have only had 11 forwards and six defensemen on hand.
Harkins and Helleson thus come up to fill the two roster spots vacated by Fabbri and Fowler’s IR placements. While Helleson is likely ticketed for the press box, Harkins will likely find himself making his second appearance of the season should McTavish miss the game.
Harkins, 27, signed a two-year, $1.58MM contract with Anaheim in free agency over the summer. Despite inking a one-way contract, though, he failed to make the team out of camp and cleared waivers at the end of the preseason.
He’s been recalled once, recording a shot, hit and block in 10:11 of ice time in an overtime loss against the Avalanche on Oct. 18. The versatile 6’2″ forward has continued to be a high-end point-producer in the AHL – his 17 points (5 G, 12 A) in 11 games for San Diego are tied with Vinnie Hinostroza for the league lead.
Despite producing over a point per game in the AHL over the last three seasons, Harkins still hasn’t had much offensive success in the NHL. The 2015 second-round pick has made 200 career appearances with Anaheim, Pittsburgh and Winnipeg but has only 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points with a -12 rating while averaging just 9:22 per game. Last season, his only one in the Penguins organization, was especially difficult for him. He made 45 appearances but failed to score a goal on 37 shots, only totaling four assists.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Helleson will look to play in his first NHL game since the 2022-23 season while Fowler is on the shelf. The 2019 second-rounder has struggled heavily with San Diego this season, though, posting no points and a -5 rating in 12 outings. The 6’3″ right-shot defender scored once and averaged 13:39 per game across three NHL contests two years ago, his only top-level audition to date.
The Ducks’ active roster is now full, although that will likely change this afternoon. Goaltender James Reimer is on waivers and his roster spot will open up, either by virtue of him being claimed or being assigned to San Diego.
Anaheim Ducks Issue Injury Updates
The Anaheim Ducks could have a light group for their game tomorrow night against the Vegas Golden Knights. The organization announced forward Robby Fabbri is out with a lower-body injury while Cam Fowler and Mason McTavish are considered day-to-day with differing ailments.
Fabbri was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings this past offseason and was expected to offer some scoring potential in the Ducks’ middle-six. He’s played in all 14 of Anaheim’s games to start the season but only has two goals to show for it. He’s maintained his physicality on the West Coast but is far off his 20-goal production with Detroit from a year ago. The Ducks didn’t mention how long Fabbri is expected to remain on the shelf.
Multiple outlets are reporting that Fabbri and Fowler have been placed on the injured reserve although the latter has already missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. Since the IR placement is likely retroactive to Fowler’s most recent game on November 5th, he’s eligible to play in tomorrow night’s contest against the Golden Knights.
Arguably the most important injury news, albeit the mildest, is regarding McTavish. After finishing fourth on Anaheim’s roster in scoring with 42 points in 64 contests last season, McTavish is again off to a solid start with two goals and eight points in 13 contests. Still, given that the Ducks officially listed McTavish’s status as day-to-day, the organization may view him as a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s contest. If he’s unable to go, Anaheim will have to make a call-up from the AHL with only 12 healthy forwards on the roster.
Cam Fowler Still On Trading Block
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman unveiled that the Anaheim Ducks were working on a trade with their longest-tenured player, defenseman Cam Fowler, just before the 2024-25 preseason. Despite the rumor, and a few team’s obvious need for a top-four defenseman, Fowler still finds himself a member of the Ducks’ organization.
Gibson Activated Off IR
- The Ducks have activated goaltender John Gibson from injured reserve, relays Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing an appendectomy during the preseason. After being a top performer early in his career, Gibson has struggled considerably in recent years and posted a 3.54 GAA with a career-low .888 SV% in 46 games last season. Anaheim now has three goalies on its active roster with the others being Lukas Dostal and James Reimer. Reimer was claimed off waivers last month and unless the Ducks want to carry three goalies for a while, he could be back on the wire soon.
Ducks Reassign Tristan Luneau
The Ducks announced Friday that they sent defenseman Tristan Luneau down to AHL San Diego. The move opens up a roster spot, one they’ll need to take goaltender John Gibson off injured reserve when he’s fully recovered from his preseason appendectomy surgery.
Gibson’s return is likely imminent, but even without the roster math, Luneau heading down to the minors is likely best for the blueliner’s development. The 20-year-old played in Anaheim’s first five games of the season but has been a healthy scratch in four out of the last five. He’s averaged 16:33 of ice time through six total appearances, posting a -5 rating, nine blocks, and five hits.
A 2022 second-round pick, Luneau cracked the Ducks’ opening night roster last season. He made just seven appearances through the first couple of months, also spending some time in San Diego on a conditioning stint before being loaned to Team Canada for the 2024 World Juniors. He never got to suit up in the tournament, though. He developed a viral infection shortly after joining the national junior team that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Now fully healthy, the 2022-23 QMJHL Defenseman of the Year can get his development back on track. The 6’1″ right-shot defenseman was dominant in his junior career, totaling 144 points and a +53 rating in 159 appearances for the Gatineau Olympiques from 2020 to 2023. In 13 total NHL appearances over the past two seasons, he has a goal and two assists with a -4 rating. With Luneau on the ice at even strength, the Ducks have controlled 46.3% of shot attempts. In his short time with San Diego last season, he had two assists in six games.
His entry-level contract didn’t go into effect last season because he didn’t play 10 NHL games. That means he’s still got two seasons left on his deal after this one and won’t be a restricted free agent until 2027.
Harkins Sent Back To San Diego; Vatrano Reinstated To Active Roster
- The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp. Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to Colorado, recording one shot on goal in 10:11 of ice time. In a corresponding move, Vatrano is now back on the active roster.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Anaheim Ducks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, first up is the Ducks.
Anaheim Ducks
Current Cap Hit: $68,314.167 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Leo Carlsson (two years, $950K)
G Lukas Dostal (one year, $812.5K)
F Cutter Gauthier (two years, $950K)
D Tristan Luneau (three years, $865K)
F Mason McTavish (one year, $894K)
D Pavel Mintyukov (two years, $918K)
D Olen Zellweger (two years, $844K)
Potential Bonuses:
Carlsson: $3.225MM
Gauthier: $950K
Luneau: $80K
McTavish: $2.5MM
Mintyukov: $800K
Total: $7.555MM (exceeds the 7.5% cap by $955K; that amount counts as a direct charge against the salary cap)
Anaheim took things slow with Carlsson last season, limiting him to just 55 games. However, he played big minutes in those appearances and is seeing similar ice time early on this year. That gives him a good chance to meet $1MM of his ‘A’ bonuses while the rest are unlikely. We’ve seen the price tag for top young centers approach the $8MM mark post-entry-level and at this point, there’s little reason to think Carlsson shouldn’t be in that range as well. Gauthier is in his first full NHL season after turning pro late last year. Anaheim has high hopes for him as well although he’s obviously less proven at this point, making a second contract much harder to forecast. His bonuses are also of the ‘A’ variety and could be achievable depending on the role he carves out for himself.
McTavish is the other young middleman that GM Pat Verbeek will be looking to sign in the relatively near future. His first two full NHL seasons saw him just surpass the 40-point mark but being the third-overall selection, it’s fair to say that he’s still envisioned as being part of their long-term core. His numbers at this point come in a bit below Matthew Beniers (who signed for seven years and $50MM on an extension that begins next season). That would peg a long-term price tag at or just below $7MM (closer to $7.5MM on an eight-year agreement). Alternatively, if they go with a bridge contract, that type of deal would be closer to $4MM on a two-year pact, $4.5MM or so on a three-year agreement. He has $850K of ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and reasonably could max out on those with a strong showing this season.
On the back end, Mintyukov is someone they have high hopes for as another high draft pick. He had a solid rookie campaign and is logging heavy minutes early on this year. The market for some top blueliners coming off their entry-level deals who aren’t elite offensively has pushed past $8MM recently. It’s not unfathomable that Mintyukov gets to that level over the next two seasons. He has a good chance of reaching his ‘A’ bonuses based on his early-season usage.
Luneau missed almost all of last season which doesn’t help from a development perspective but he didn’t burn the first year of his deal either. For this year, the priority will be simply getting regular game reps which makes projecting his next deal all but impossible at this point. His bonuses are games-played based so staying healthy will allow him to reach at least most of those. As for Zellweger, he was dominant at the AHL level last year and held his own in limited minutes. A bridge agreement is likely for him and with what’s likely to be decent offensive numbers, it should push past at least $2MM.
Dostal has been thrown to the wolves at times but has put up more than respectable numbers over his first couple of NHL seasons. Is he their starter of the future though? That’s not a given so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him land a bridge deal. Given the contracts handed out recently to Yaroslav Askarov ($2MM AAV) and Jesper Wallstedt ($2.2MM AAV), Dostal’s contract should come in at a higher rate than that.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Brian Dumoulin ($3.15MM, UFA)
F Robby Fabbri ($4MM, UFA)
F Brett Leason ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Isac Lundestrom ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Brock McGinn ($2.75MM, UFA)
D Urho Vaakanainen ($1.1MM, RFA)
G James Reimer ($1MM, UFA)
F Frank Vatrano ($3.65MM, UFA)
Fabbri was picked up from Detroit in a cap-clearing move over the summer which wasn’t necessarily the worst outcome for him as he’ll play a bigger role with the Ducks than he otherwise would have. Even so, given his long injury history, his next deal should check in closer to the $2.75MM range even though he consistently averages over half a point per game when he’s in the lineup. Vatrano found another gear offensively last season with 37 goals, positioning himself nicely for the type of long-term deal that has eluded him thus far in his career. He’ll be in his age-31 year next season so a max-term pact is off the table but five or six years could be doable. If he can produce at a similar rate this year, that contract should push well past the $6MM mark.
McGinn is a serviceable fourth liner whose contract pays him more than that. That’s likely to be corrected next summer when his deal should come in around half of this amount. Lundestrom might be at the end of his rope with Anaheim if things don’t go well this year. He took a pay cut to avoid being non-tendered this summer and until he can establish himself as a consistent top-nine center, he’ll be hard-pressed to land a sizable increase. Leason, meanwhile, was non-tendered this summer to avoid arbitration eligibility but returned with a $250K raise in salary. Another double-digit goal performance this season would help his value and push it closer to the $1.5MM range but he remains a non-tender risk nonetheless.
Dumoulin was also brought in with Seattle needing to clear salary. His first year away from Pittsburgh wasn’t the greatest although he’ll at least benefit from likely a slightly bigger role in Anaheim. Even so, his market wasn’t strong last time out and probably isn’t going to be much better barring an improved performance this year. He could still land something around this price tag but a big raise is unlikely. Vaakanainen has been more of a depth defender at this point of his career and has already been scratched this season. He was non-tendered last summer to avoid arbitration rights and probably is heading for a similar outcome this time around, even if he’s worth something around this price point on the open market.
Reimer was picked up off waivers as injury insurance, sparing him from the third-string role he was heading for in Buffalo (at least for the time being). At 36, he’s going to be going year-to-year moving forward, likely in the lower-end backup or third-string role so this price point is where his next deal should land as well.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Cam Fowler ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Radko Gudas ($4MM, UFA)
F Ross Johnston ($1.1MM, UFA)
D Jackson LaCombe ($925K, RFA)
F Trevor Zegras ($5.75MM, RFA)
Zegras and the Ducks couldn’t work out a long-term deal, settling on this bridge agreement last year. The first season didn’t go well, to put it lightly as he battled injuries and ineffectiveness. At this point, it’s hard to project a significant increase for his next contract unless he’s able to get back to his previous 60-point form. Johnston is a fourth-line enforcer and with a lot of teams not carrying those, that limits his long-term value. Still, as long as there are at least some teams open to deploying one, another contract around this price should be doable.
Fowler’s value depends on the eye of the beholder. He’s certainly not a true number one defenseman but he has held that role for Anaheim for several years now and has done relatively well with it. Given the minutes he covers, his price tag is solid value relative to others in that situation. But if he was deployed in a more optimal spot (either second or third on the depth chart which is where he’d land on a lot of other teams), the contract moves somewhere between market value and a slight overpayment. Fowler will be 34 when his next deal starts and if he’s elsewhere in a lesser role at that time, it’s hard to see a raise coming his way. Instead, another multi-year deal around this price tag (in a higher cap environment) might be where he lands.
The fact that Gudas landed four years at this price point after primarily playing on the third pairing raised some eyebrows but it has worked so far for Anaheim. The new captain has moved into the top four and handled it relatively well. Having said that, he’ll be 36 when this deal expires so again, a raise isn’t overly likely. A two-year deal around this price point could be, however. LaCombe signed what’s frankly a below-market bridge contract for someone who averaged over 19 minutes a game the year before. However, he at least secured a one-way salary (which is notable given that he’s still waiver-exempt) while he’ll have arbitration rights next time out. If he can shoulder a similar workload for the next two years, tripling this price tag could be doable.
Signed Through 2026-27
G John Gibson ($6.4MM, UFA)
F Alex Killorn ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Ryan Strome ($5MM, UFA)
Killorn was a surprise signing in free agency last summer, both in terms of Anaheim getting him and the contract he received. The idea was to add a quality veteran who could play in the top six and work with the young forward group. But things didn’t go quite as planned in year one and, already 35, it’s hard to forecast a sharp improvement. And considering he’ll be entering his age-38 year in 2027-28, this might be his last contract. Strome hasn’t been able to match the output he had with the Rangers but now has five straight seasons of more than 40 points under his belt. Given the annual high demand for centers, he could land a similar contract if he was on the open market now so thus far, the Ducks are getting a fair return on his agreement.
It wasn’t that long ago that Gibson was viewed as one of the top goalies in the league with his contract looking like a bargain relative to other top-paid starters. But that has flipped in recent years. His save percentage in the past five seasons combined is just .900, a mark that’s below league average. Having someone below average in that mark making top-ten money isn’t ideal. It’s possible that a change of scenery could allow him to bounce back to a point but it’s unlikely he’d rebound to a level of play that would make this a team-friendly pact.