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Anaheim Ducks Announce Five Contracts

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While Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano may take most of the headlines, the Anaheim Ducks have signed a number of other free agents for organizational depth. The team has announced contracts for Chase De Leo (two years, two-way), Glenn Gawdin (two years, one-way in 2023-24), Justin Kirkland (one year, two-way), Austin Strand (one year, two-way), and Colton White (two years, two-way).

Ducks fans will remember De Leo, who played several seasons in their minor league system and even appeared in three NHL games a few years ago. The 26-year-old forward stands just 5’9″ but is an excellent AHL scorer, who put up 56 points in 55 games for the Utica Comets this year.

Kirkland meanwhile broke out in the minors this year, scoring 25 goals to nearly double his career total. The 25-year-old was the 62nd overall pick in 2014 but never has made it to the NHL, instead spending his entire career with the Milwaukee Admirals and Stockton Heat to this point.

Strand, 25, played eight games with the Los Angeles Kings this year, lending his huge frame to the defensive end of the rink. The 6’3″ undrafted defenseman became a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer because he has only played in 21 games so far but offers a potential injury replacement for the Ducks if needed.

White is the same, as he actually played in 27 games for the Devils this season but still didn’t reach the Group VI cutoff. A fourth-round pick in 2015, he has just 38 games to his name and is likely headed back to the minor leagues.

As we profiled yesterday, Gawdin is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch, given his strong play in the minor leagues, ability to play center, and partial one-way contract. The 25-year-old might get a look with the Ducks at some point in the bottom six, something he rarely was given in Calgary.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Ryan Strome

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The Anaheim Ducks announced that they have signed center Ryan Strome to a five-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available from the Ducks, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the contract carries a $5MM AAV. With plenty of cap to spend and a few weapons needed to compliment a young and talented core, the Ducks have begun to make their moves, Strome representing a key veteran to add to their rebuild. Sportsnet’s Nick Alberga had previously mentioned Anaheim as. a team to watch in the Strome bidding.

With the New York Rangers signing of Vincent Trocheck earlier today, it became apparent Strome was on his way out of New York after an incredibly successful tenure which saw him completely rebuild his career. Before coming to the Rangers, the former fifth-overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft had struggled after a strong showing in a 50-point sophomore season with the New York Islanders, the team that had drafted him. Following a couple of disappointing seasons on Long Island, he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers one-for-one for Jordan Eberle, but after struggles in Edmonton, he was then sent back to New York, this time to the Rangers, now one-for-one for Ryan Spooner.

The Rangers had been hoping to keep Strome in the fold, given not only his success with the team, but especially his chemistry with superstar Artemi Panarin, whom Strome teamed up with on the second line to create a formidable offensive weapon. Anaheim will hope to recreate some of that magic, bringing Strome and former Rangers teammate Frank Vatrano in to compliment a talented group of young players including Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and electric young prospect Mason McTavish.

Strome isn’t the kind of superstar that Johnny Gaudreau is, and Anaheim likely won’t be competing for a Stanley Cup just yet like the Rangers were this season, but the match seems to be perfect for both sides. For Anaheim, they will get a veteran, talented top-six forward who has shown that he can make the players around him better. Additionally, Anaheim does have a crop of young players like Max Comtois, Max Jones, and Isac Lundestrom who were all once highly-touted prospects that Strome could influence when it comes to reaching their potential, even if a bit later than expected. For Strome, he will have an opportunity to play alongside another superstar, one who is only approaching his peak in that of Zegras, as well as other dynamic names like McTavish and Terry, just as he had the opportunity to do so with the Rangers.

Anaheim Ducks Agree To Terms With Glenn Gawdin

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The Anaheim Ducks have added a top minor league player who might be ready for an NHL opportunity, agreeing to terms with Glenn Gawdin on a two-year deal, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The deal will be a two-way contract in 2022-23 and one-way in 2023-24.

Gawdin, 25, has played just nine games in the NHL, all with the Calgary Flames. His play since entering the AHL however, has resulted in 148 points through 201 games and this deal is a reward for that strong play.

Whether he actually gets a chance to compete for a Ducks roster spot remains to be seen but with the club having just eight forwards signed to one-way contracts, there should be some healthy battles at camp.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Frank Vatrano

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The Anaheim Ducks have added some proven goal-scoring, signing Frank Vatrano to a three-year contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The deal will carry an average annual value of $3.65MM. Vatrano comes to Anaheim fresh off a successful (and brief) tenure with the New York Rangers.

After being acquired from the Florida Panthers in a mid-season trade, Vatrano had a combined 26 points in 42 games as a Ranger, including 13 goals. That’s a 25-goal, 51-point pace, and Vatrano’s $3.65MM AAV is likely an indication of how his strong finish to the season heightened his leaguewide profile. Before he came to New York, Vatrano was only valuable enough to net the Panthers a fourth-round pick in a trade.

In Anaheim, Vatrano will bring speed, tenacity, and goal-scoring ability. Vatrano can fly and is the sort of player who benefits from the increased emphasis placed on speed in today’s NHL game. If Vatrano can provide 20 goals, 15 assists, and the type of shift-to-shift energy he’s provided throughout his NHL career, this will be a solid market-price signing for the Ducks and GM Pat Verbeek.

Anaheim Ducks Hire Craig Johnson As Assistant Coach, Jim Johnson As Director Of Player Development

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The Anaheim Ducks announced that they have hired former NHLer and recent member of the Los Angeles Kings organization Craig Johnson as an assistant coach on Dallas Eakins’ staff. Though Johnson doesn’t bring with him any previous NHL coaching experience, he does bring a wealth of hockey knowledge and experience between his 10 year playing career, coaching experience at various other levels, as well as other roles in scouting and directing. Johnson has spent the previous four seasons in the Kings organization, serving as a development coach, a professional scout, and an assistant coach on the staff of the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ AHL affiliate.

One of the more intriguing aspects of this hire is Johnson’s ties to the southern California hockey scene. Johnson came to the Kings in February of 1996 as part of the deal that sent Wayne Gretzky to the St. Louis Blues. The forward would spend eight seasons in a Kings uniform before spending part of the 2003-04 seasons with the Ducks. Shortly after retiring from his playing career, Johnson became the head coach of Santa Margarita Catholic High School’s hockey team, which plays in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League (ADHSHL), leading the team to three national titles during his tenure before joining the Kings organization. Craig’s son Ryan Johnson was a first round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2019, becoming the second first-round pick in that draft to come out of the ADHSHL, along with the Philadelphia Flyers’ Cam York.

  • Craig Johnson was not the only Johnson the Ducks hired today, with the team also announcing the hire of Jim Johnson as Director of Player Development. Jim Johnson has held numerous roles in coaching between USA in the USNTDP and at several World Junior Championships, as well as in the NHL, spending time as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, and most recently, the St. Louis Blues. In addition to his time behind the bench, he spent parts of thirteen seasons in the NHL, getting into 829 games as a defenseman.

Gibson's Agent Says Veteran Is Committed To Staying In Anaheim

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With the Maple Leafs being one of the teams that still need to add a starting goaltender, some have speculated that Ducks goaltender John Gibson could be a potential trade option for them.  However, his agent Kurt Overhardt told Sportsnet 590’s Nick Kypreos (Twitter link) that Gibson has “no interest” in playing in Toronto and is committed to staying in Anaheim.  Gibson has five years left on his deal with a $6.4MM AAV with a ten-team no-trade clause so even if the Ducks were inclined to move him this summer, the 28-year-old may be able to block a move.

Latest On San Diego Gulls Head Coaching Job

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The Pittsburgh Penguins had two franchise icons to re-sign this offseason, and today they finalized a deal with one of them: Kris Letang. With Letang’s extension finalized, the next priority for Ron Hextall and the Penguins is re-signing Evgeni Malkin. According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN, getting across the finish line with Malkin and his agent, J.P. Barry, could be a challenge.

Per LeBrun, Malkin and the Penguins are “not on the same page” and Malkin is reportedly “ready” to hit free agency if the Penguins don’t offer him an extension with more than a three-year term. Malkin, 35, is coming off of a season where he was above a point-per-game, although his injury woes limited him to playing in only half of the Penguins’ 82 regular-season contests. Injury issues have plagued Malkin for years, and he has not reached the 70-game mark in any regular season since 2017-18. Malkin’s desire for more term is definitely reasonable, he’s such a widely-respected superstar that he could likely get a longer-term deal on the open market, and the Penguins’ desire to keep term down on an extension for their injury-prone, 35-year-old franchise legend is also understandable. It looks like a difficult, complicated situation for the Penguins to navigate, and it seems that the unthinkable possibility of Malkin playing for another NHL franchise is more realistic than it has ever been.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The San Diego Gulls’ next head coach seems to have been found. The Athletic’s Eric Stephens reports that “multiple sources” have told him that the San Diego Gulls will hire Ray Sommer as their next head coach, on a one-year deal. The contract is not yet finalized but once it becomes official the Gulls will be adding the AHL’s all-time winningest head coach. Sommer was previously the coach of the San Jose Barracuda and has been an AHL head coach since the 1998-99 season when he led the Kentucky Thoroughblades to the playoffs.
  • The Los Angeles Kings are beefing up their hockey operations department. Earlier this year they added a former GM to their front office ranks and now they’re adding another accomplished name: Manon Rheaume. Rheaume famously became the first woman to play in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues, when she suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning for exhibition games 1992 and 1993. Rheaume will take an advisory role with the Kings.

Prospect Notes: Beck, Nelson, Lucius, Guhle

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Hockey Canada has made some changes to their National Junior Team summer development camp roster, from which the organization will select their contingent for the 2023 World Junior Championship in December. In lieu of San Jose Sharks defense prospect Gannon Laroque being unable to participate due to injury, Hockey Canada has added a pair of 2022 draft-eligible prospects in forward Owen Beck and defenseman Ty Nelson to their list.

Beck, ranked 33rd in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s final scouting poll, netted 51 points in 68 games for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads in 2021-22. The public opinion on him is rather skewed, with some listing Beck in the mid-to-late first while some have him deep within the second round. Regardless, he’s one of the better OHLers available in this year’s class. He’ll rely on his strong skating and transitional play to try and improbably work his way onto the final roster. Nelson, who hails from the OHL’s North Bay Battalion, was ranked 50th in McKenzie’s consensus rankings after a 51-point season.

  • A second Lucius brother has officially left the University of Minnesota program. 2022-eligible Cruz Lucius, the younger sibling of Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius, has switched his college commitment to rival Wisconsin. Cruz’s draft stock was hurt by injury this season, but he still managed eight points in six games for the U.S. at the U18 World Juniors and 25 points in 33 games with the U.S. National Development Team Program. If McKenzie’s consensus rankings are a proper indication, he’s slated to hear his name called in the mid-to-late third round.
  • Anaheim Ducks defense prospect Brendan Guhle won’t be staying in North America for 2022-23 after signing a contract with the DEL’s Eisbären Berlin. Guhle, originally selected 51st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, will still belong to the Ducks organization if they issue the pending restricted free agent a qualifying offer. Guhle has just 65 NHL games to his name at this point, tallying 14 points. He had just seven points in 37 games last season in the AHL with San Diego.

Anaheim Ducks Interested In Josh Manson Reunion

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One of the most speculated-about scenarios at every trade deadline is one where a team, out of the playoff race, trades away an important pending free agent only to re-sign him a few months later. After all, why not lease the player for a nice deadline return of future assets, that make the team even stronger upon his return.

In practice, this rarely happens. Those deadline additions are either extended by their new team or reach free agency and suddenly find themselves surrounded by new suitors.

This year, it appears the Anaheim Ducks will be trying to pull off the unlikely scenario of bringing back a sold-off veteran. Pierre LeBrun reports on TSN’s Insider Trading that Anaheim has an interest in a reunion with Josh Manson, once his run to the Stanley Cup Final is finished with the Colorado Avalanche.

Manson, 30, has been a nice addition for the Avalanche, giving their defense corps some additional snarl while adding some nice (and likely unexpected) offense at key moments. As LeBrun notes though, it will be very difficult for Colorado to retain him, given how many other free agents they have on the roster–some of which they’re hoping to sign after the playoffs come to an end.

Meanwhile, Manson had seen his reputation around the league take a bit of a hit in recent years, as his minutes and effectiveness waned in Anaheim. That doesn’t mean the Ducks are done with him though, as he is extremely well-liked in that dressing room and could still be a nice veteran piece to help the team transition into the next phase of their build.

Currently carrying a $4.1MM cap hit, it will be interesting to see what Manson can command on the open market. His playoff performance has only driven his value back up but defensemen who don’t offer much offensively rarely get big paydays–at least in relative terms–in free agency.

Ducks Could Take Fliers On Young Talent This Offseason

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  • The Anaheim Ducks are entering what could be a transformative offseason under new general manager Pat Verbeek after the organization’s young talent took big steps forward in 2021-22. In a piece for The Athletic, Eric Stephens names a list of young players who the Ducks could take a flier on to add to that talent pool, including Carolina’s Martin Necas and Ethan Bear, Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi, Detroit’s Filip Zadina, and Chicago’s Dominik Kubalik. All of them have been mentioned in trade rumors recently after falling down the depth charts of their respective organizations. With a lot of turnover expected in Anaheim this offseason, due in part to the retirement of captain Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim could give a chance to one of these players to excel in more important roles.

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