Leo Carlsson Out Three To Five Weeks
The Ducks, who have been struggling in recent weeks, will now have to try to turn things around without the services of one of their top players for the next little while. The team announced (Twitter link) that center Leo Carlsson will miss the next three to five weeks after undergoing a procedure today to treat a Morel-Lavallée lesion in his left thigh.
After showing some improvement in his sophomore year last season, Carlsson has been one of the league’s breakout performers in 2025-26. He has emerged as a legitimate number one center for Anaheim, playing in all situations with head coach Joel Quenneville entrusting him with a much bigger role.
On the offensive side of things, Carlsson has 18 goals and 26 assists in 44 games so far, making him their leading scorer, two points ahead of veteran Troy Terry who is also dealing with an injury. He has already set a career high in assists and is only one point shy of matching his career high in points. In the final season of his entry-level contract, the 21-year-old is putting himself in line for a significant raise on his next deal with a jump to a double-digit AAV not out of the question on a max-term agreement.
On top of having significant implications for Anaheim’s efforts to get back into the playoff picture (they’re four points out heading into tonight’s action), Carlsson’s absence could also affect a second team as well. He was named to Sweden’s Olympic roster earlier this month with their first game coming on February 12th. If his recovery time is the short end of that range, he should be good to go to participate. However, if it looks like it will be closer to the longer end, he’d miss the first week at a minimum and given the short length of the tournament, Carlsson would become a potential roster casualty. He’ll undoubtedly be reassessed in a few weeks to help determine if he’ll be cleared to suit up in that event.
At the moment, Carlsson is on Anaheim’s active roster. With that currently being at the maximum of 23, he’s likely to be shifted to injured reserve in the near future.
Ducks Recall Sam Colangelo, Place Troy Terry On Injured Reserve
Earlier today, the hope was that the Ducks would welcome back winger Troy Terry from the upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the last three games. However, that won’t be the case as the team announced that Terry has been placed on injured reserve. Taking his place on the roster is winger Sam Colangelo, who has been recalled from AHL San Diego.
After seeing his point total dip to the mid-50s over the last couple of seasons, Terry has bounced back quite nicely this season, flirting with the point-per-game mark for most of the year. He currently sits second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 29 assists in 43 games. Terry was originally viewed as a game-time decision back on Tuesday so the fact he’s now set to be out a little longer could be a sign for concern or merely the team exercising a bit more caution with one of their top players. His placement is retroactive to January 6th, meaning he has already served the required week and thus can be activated at any time.
As for Colangelo, this is his first recall back to Anaheim since being sent down in mid-November. At the time, he had only played sporadically, getting into just seven games where he had one goal while averaging just over 10 minutes per night. The 24-year-old has fared better in the minors, however, picking up seven goals and nine assists with the Gulls in 23 games but that’s still below the point-per-game showing he had in 40 outings last season.
With Leo Carlsson (lower body) out once again and Jeffrey Viel still on his way to join the team after being acquired earlier today, Anaheim wouldn’t have had enough forwards for tonight’s game without Colangelo. But with Terry ideally back soon and Viel likely to report to the team on Saturday, it could be a short-term stint for Colangelo on Anaheim’s roster.
Anaheim Ducks Acquire Jeffrey Viel
According to a team announcement, the Boston Bruins have traded bottom-six forward Jeffrey Viel to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick. The Ducks originally had the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers’ fourth-round picks for the upcoming draft, and the highest one will go to Boston.
Viel, 28, had spent the last two years in the Bruins organization after signing a two-year, $1.55MM contract with the team ahead of the 2024-25 season. He spent much of last season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, scoring 13 goals and 37 points in 68 games with a +14 rating. Additionally, he was again one of the most penalized forwards in the league, finishing with 148 PIMs.
That’s been the status quo for Viel throughout his professional career. Since the 2018-19 campaign, with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Viel has recorded 75 goals and 170 points in 349 AHL games with 688 PIMs. It averages out to nearly one minor penalty per game.
Instead of beginning this season in the AHL, Viel cracked Boston’s opening night roster as the team was looking to become more hard-nosed. Still, he’s been a healthy scratch most nights, going scoreless across 10 games, averaging 9:30 of ice time per game.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Ducks utilize Viel in their lineup, if at all. The team already has a comparable forward in Ross Johnston, though Johnston offers more offensive upside, at least this season. There’s certainly a chance they will send Viel to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, where he would usurp Travis Howe as the team’s “tough guy,” given that he could also be a reliable secondary scorer.
Meanwhile, the Bruins had an opening on their roster after sending Viel to Orange County. Moving quickly, Boston announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Billy Sweezey from AHL Providence.
Sweezey, a native of Massachusetts, is in his second year with the Bruins organization. He’s already surpassed his scoring totals last year, starting with one goal and 11 points in 34 games to start the year with a +22 rating. Sweezey’s recall is likely linked to the status of Andrew Peeke, who left Boston’s game last night due to a lower-body injury.
Ducks Reassign Nikita Nesterenko
The Anaheim Ducks have assigned winger Nikita Nesterenko to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. This move comes after Nesterenko cleared NHL waivers last week. It is Nesterenko’s first assignment to the minors since signing a two-year, $1.6MM contract with the Ducks in June.
Nesterenko earned Anaheim’s extra forward role in the second half of the 2024-25 season. He recorded six points and a minus-four in 20 games, to go with 34 points in 50 AHL games on the year. The season continued Nesterenko’s gradual climb up Anaheim’s depth chart that started when he signed his entry-level contract out of college in 2023. With a strong training camp, Nesterenko took another step up, and locked himself into an NHL roster spot for the first half of the season.
But the 24-year-old forward has made little work of his extended look. He has one goal and nine points in 29 games – and only one point in his last 11 games. His biggest impact has come in the physical game, where his 53 hits ranks fourth among Ducks forwards. On the heels of a snapped losing streak, the Ducks will send Nesterenko to find a spark in the minor leagues. He has already racked up 71 points in 120 career games in the AHL. His presence will be welcome for a Gulls team riding a 1-3-1 record in January.
Latest On Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, & Troy Terry
The struggling Anaheim Ducks will be especially short handed tonight, as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Troy Terry are all absent, per Derek Lee of The Hockey News. The team updated that Carlsson has a lower-body injury and Gauthier is ill, along with Terry’s known upper-body injury.
After a great start to the season, the Ducks have faltered recently, with just one regulation win in their last 10 games, and a five game losing streak. Carlsson, Gauthier, and Terry rank in order as the team’s top three scorers, so all of them out of the mix against the league’s second best team, Dallas, will make an especially formidable challenge.
Ducks Recall Tim Washe, Place Petr Mrazek On Injured Reserve
According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have recalled Tim Washe from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The Ducks also placed netminder Petr Mrázek on the injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.
Washe, 24, is in his second year with the Ducks after signing as a collegiate free agent last season. He was coming off a remarkable year, scoring 16 goals and 38 points in 42 games with the NCAA’s Western Michigan University Broncos with a +22 rating. Additionally, Washe captained the team to their first National Championship in program history.
Due to the Broncos advancing as far as possible in the national tournament, Washe only played in two games for Anaheim to conclude the 2024-25 season. This season has been spent entirely with AHL San Diego, where Washe has scored 13 goals and 25 points in 30 games, boasting a +7 rating. He’s currently tied for third with three other players in rookie scoring in the AHL.
Anaheim passed bottom-six forward Nikita Nesterenko through waivers earlier today, and Washe will likely slot into a similar role. However, it’s important to note that although Nesterenko has cleared waivers, the Ducks haven’t yet reassigned him to AHL San Diego, necessitating the additional roster move with Mrázek.
Meanwhile, Mrázek’s placement on the IR was largely expected. The 14-year veteran left Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers with an undisclosed injury, and the Ducks quickly recalled Ville Husso on an emergency basis the following day. Throughout the season, his first in Anaheim, Mrázek has compiled a 3-5-0 record in eight starts, with a .858 SV% and a 4.07 GAA in a backup role.
Ducks’ Nikita Nesterenko Clears Waivers
Jan. 7: Nesterenko has cleared waivers, per Friedman.
Jan. 6: The Ducks placed winger Nikita Nesterenko on waivers Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Nesterenko, 24, had broken camp with Anaheim but only recently returned to the lineup after a lengthy string of healthy scratches. Since stepping back into the lineup on Dec. 29 against the Sharks, he had an assist and nine hits in four games while averaging 13:19 of ice time. He was a -3 in yesterday’s 7-4 loss to the Capitals.
The 2019 sixth-round pick had parlayed solid minor-league production and some good call-ups last year into his first one-way contract last offseason, signing a two-year, $1.575MM extension. There were questions about whether he’d carve out an opening night job over waiver-exempt competitors like Sam Colangelo and Tim Washe, but in the end, a strong training camp and fears over losing him on waivers led to Nesterenko getting the roster spot.
He’s made 27 appearances for Anaheim this year, scoring a goal and eight assists while ranking sixth on the team with 50 hits. He was deployed as something of a defensive specialist despite not receiving regular penalty kill deployment, only starting 44.3% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone while controlling a team-worst 48.3% of shot attempts.
Anaheim will be absolved of his $787.5K cap hit for the time being if he clears waivers and is reassigned to AHL San Diego. With nearly $24MM in current cap space, though, that’s not much of a concern.
Ducks Recall Ville Husso On Emergency Basis
The Ducks announced they’ve recalled goaltender Ville Husso from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an emergency basis. They have an open roster spot with Frank Vatrano on injured reserve, so no corresponding transaction is necessary.
Husso will dress in place of Petr Mrázek tonight against the Flyers. Mrázek sustained an undisclosed injury during yesterday’s 7-4 loss to the Capitals and was relieved by Lukáš Dostál at the second intermission after he allowed five goals on 24 shots.
The 30-year-old has received plenty of NHL action already as Anaheim’s third-stringer. He was relied upon heavily for a stretch in December while both Dostál and Mrázek were on injured reserve, posting a 5-3-1 record with a 3.25 GAA and .884 SV% in eight starts and one relief appearance. He allowed 3.3 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, but that’s a better cumulative figure than what Dostál and Mrázek have put up. The former’s play has taken a nosedive since returning from his upper-body injury, posting a 2-5-1 record and a garish .842 SV% in his last nine.
Husso is the highest-priced No. 3 in the league after signing a two-year extension with a $2.2MM cap hit last summer. He was previously acquired from the Red Wings midway through 2024-25. He’s also one of the most experienced ones, however. He’s taken the ice 154 times since debuting with the Blues in 2020 and has a 76-49-20 career record with seven shutouts, a 3.06 GAA, and a .901 SV%.
In on-and-off action with San Diego this year, Husso has a .903 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 8-6-3 record, and three shutouts in 17 outings.
Ducks Reportedly Interested In Andrew Mangiapane
According to a new update from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Oilers have spoken to the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Winnipeg Jets regarding Mangiapane. Edmonton is reportedly looking to acquire a “two-way” forward in return.
Outside of being division rivals, it’s difficult to imagine the Ducks and Oilers lining up on a trade for Mangiapane. Anaheim has a relatively deep forward core, and although they do need a winger on the third line, it’s only temporary while Frank Vatrano recovers from an upper-body injury. Additionally, even if the Ducks think that Mangiapane can rebound offensively, they already have a top-10 offense in the league without him.
Regardless, for speculation’s sake, the Oilers have likely contacted the Ducks due to their overwhelming cap space, and may covet one of Anaheim’s fourth-line forwards, namely Ross Johnston. The big-bodied winger is enjoying his best season to date, registering 11 points (the same as Mangiapane) in 39 games. Additionally, he offers more of a two-way style that they’re seeking, being one of the most physical forwards in Orange County and averaging a 92.3% on-ice SV% at even strength across his 10-year career.
Meanwhile, similar to Anaheim, the Red Wings make little sense as a trade partner given their deep forward core. Unlike the Ducks, Detroit could theoretically use more offense at even strength, though much of their drawbacks this year have been on defense, save a few players. The Red Wings could offer Mason Appleton, who is also signed through next season, in the hope of more offense from their bottom-six. Additionally, the Red Wings could offer struggling youngster Elmer Söderblom, who has been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this season, like Mangiapane.
Vatrano Placed On IR
- Unsurprisingly, following Wednesday’s announcement that Frank Vatrano will miss six weeks due to a fractured shoulder, the Ducks have moved him to injured reserve, notes Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Anaheim had been carrying a full 23-player roster so they now have an opening to recall someone from AHL San Diego, a move that could be made relatively soon.