- According to Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune, the Anaheim Ducks have sent defenseman Robert Hagg down to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Originally recalled on December 10th, Hagg served as a healthy scratch for all five of the team’s games in the meantime, failing to suit up once for Anaheim this season.
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Ducks Rumors
Ducks Recall Calle Clang, John Gibson To Non-Roster
The Anaheim Ducks have announced the recall of goaltender Calle Clang from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The move comes as former all-star netminder John Gibson was moved to the Non-Roster to attend to the birth of his child.
The 21-year-old Clang is in his second season with San Diego after dressing in five games last year. This season has been ripe with learning as the native of Olofström, Sweden has struggled through 12 games, posting a 3.76 goals-against average to go along with a 2-7-2 record and a .882 save percentage. Despite the slow start to his professional career in North America, Clang remains a promising young prospect within the Ducks organization. He was originally a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins back in the 2020 NHL entry draft and was the central piece of the Rickard Rakell trade with the Penguins back in March 2022. The deadline deal saw Rakell head to Pittsburgh in exchange for Clang, Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon and a 2022 second-round selection (Tristan Luneau).
Gibson dressed last night in the Ducks 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils and left the game in the second period after stopping 18 of 19 shots. No word on what caused him to leave, but the Ducks are back in action tonight as they take on the Detroit Red Wings. With Gibson headed back home to celebrate the birth of his child, Clang will likely serve as the backup tonight as the Ducks look to keep it going after snapping their five-game losing streak last night.
No Suspension Coming For Ryan Strome
- There will be no supplemental discipline coming to Ducks center Ryan Strome from his hit on Jets winger Kyle Connor, reports Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). Strome received a major penalty on the play, one that was upheld after review. Meanwhile, Connor was slated to undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury. Connor is off to a great start to his season with 17 goals and 11 assists in 26 games, leading Winnipeg in scoring while being tied for fourth in the NHL in goals.
Ducks Recall Robert Hagg, Tristan Luneau Loaned To Team Canada
The Anaheim Ducks have announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Robert Hagg from the AHL. Hagg has spent the bulk of the season in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls where he has dressed in 15 games and has a goal and two assists. The veteran of 338 NHL games signed a one-year deal with the Ducks on July 4th and did spend time in the NHL, however, he has yet to dress in an NHL game for the Ducks.
The 28-year-old was once a promising prospect after he was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL entry draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He made his debut with the Flyers back in 2016-17 and became a full-time NHLer the following year. Hagg stayed in the NHL for six full seasons but bounced around to four different organizations and often found himself to be a healthy scratch. As his career went on teams began to shelter his usage, often giving him the bulk of his starts in the offensive zone to try and set him up for success. This past offseason Hagg was able to secure a one-way NHL contract for the league minimum of $775K, however, thus far he has only seen action in the AHL.
Hagg was recalled to replace rookie defenseman Tristan Luneau who was loaned to Team Canada by the Ducks for the upcoming World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old was the Ducks’ second-round pick in 2022 and was recalled by the club back in November to make his NHL debut. So far this season in seven games, Luneau has a goal and two assists and has averaged almost 18 minutes a night in ice time.
Drysdale, Zegras Close To Return
The Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of two of the most important players in their organization, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Zegras, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, has been out of the lineup since November 10th, while Drysdale, has been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th.
Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on both sides of the puck, as the team has recorded only one win in the last 11 games. Aside from just returning to the lineup, the Ducks will need both players to step up their game, as Zegras has only registered two points in 12 games, while Drysdale has only been in the lineup 10 times in the last 108 regular season games.
Mason McTavish Will Not Travel With Team
Heading into the Anaheim Ducks’ two-game road trip this week, it was largely expected that Mason McTavish would be able to join the team, even after suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s loss last week to the Colorado Avalanche. However, earlier today, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reported that McTavish will not be making the trip with the team, and will likely be available for the team’s game against the Winnipeg Jets next Sunday.
Last season, McTavish produced at a solid clip, scoring 17 goals and 43 assists in a disappointing offensive season for the Ducks. His work at the center position left a lot to be desired in the faceoff dot specifically. Still, McTavish’s offensive production and his defensive attributes were good enough to see him finish seventh in Calder Memorial Trophy voting by season’s end.
Gudas, Lyubushkin Close To Return
Without a definitive commitment on their availability for the team’s game tonight, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of defensemen Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin. Gudas had previously missed the entirety of the team’s last game against the Vancouver Canucks, while Lyubushkin left during the game and did not return to action.
Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on the blue line, as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak, being outscored by a margin of 21 goals in that time. Providing mild offense in their own right, Gudas and Lyubushkin’s defensive capabilities would help the Ducks considerably in keeping the pucks out of their net.
In regards to Gudas specifically, even though he was an integral defensive cog in the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer, he has arguably become even more important to the Ducks organization. Over the last several seasons, Anaheim has had a difficult time in the defensive zone, but with Gudas’ arrival, he has aided the team with a 91.3% oiSV% through the first 21 games of the season, a higher mark than even his solid career averages in that department.
Jaxsen Wiebe Assigned To ECHL Tulsa
- The Ducks have reassigned forward Jaxsen Wiebe from AHL San Diego to ECHL Tulsa, per a team release. The 21-year-old signed an entry-level deal with Anaheim back in March but is off to a bit of a slow start in his professional career, notching just one assist through his first seven games.
Former Ducks Coach Dallas Eakins Signs As GM In Germany
Former Anaheim Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins has signed a deal with Adler Mannheim of the DEL, Germany’s top league. Eakins will serve as general manager of the team and assist with coaching through the end of the 2023-24 season, before reassessing the position next off-season.
This is an interesting career move for Eakins, whose entire professional hockey career has come in North America up to this point. The 56-year-old head coach previously played 609 career AHL games, and 120 NHL games, as part of a career that spanned from his 10th-round selection in the 1985 NHL Draft to his retirement in 2004. Eakins was never particularly productive, recording 134 career AHL points and nine career NHL points. He also recorded 1051 penalty minutes in the AHL and 208 in the NHL.
Eakins took on an assistant coaching role with the Toronto Marlies for the 2005-06 season and was promoted to an assistant role with the Maple Leafs in the year after. After a couple of years behind the Leafs’ bench, Eakins went back to the AHL to serve as the Marlies’ head coach for four seasons. It wasn’t until the 2013-14 season that Eakins finally took on an NHL head coaching role, joining the Edmonton Oilers. He would lose the role to Todd Nelson partway through the proceeding 2014-15 season and returned for another four seasons in the AHL, before joining the Anaheim Ducks for the last four seasons. It’s been a back-and-forth career for Eakins. His best years came with the Toronto Marlies, who he took to the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs Finals in 2011-12. He hasn’t been apart of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since his playing career in 1999.
Eakins is replacing Jan-Axel Alavaara as Adler Mannheim’s general manager. Alavaara was in the role for the last five seasons, after spending a couple of years as an amateur scout with the Buffalo Sabres. Eakins also relieves head coach Johan Lundskog, who has coaching experience in the GMHL, ECHL, SHL, and National League. Lundskog was in his first year with Adler Mannheim.
Anaheim Ducks Place Chase De Leo On Waivers
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have placed forward Chase De Leo on waivers this afternoon, for the purpose of sending him to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Not playing a game this season, De Leo has been on the Season-Opening Injured Reserve from a play resulting in a suspension to Los Angeles Kings’ forward, Arthur Kaliyev, in the preseason.
De Leo is on the second year of a two-year, $1.525MM contract signed with the Ducks organization back in 2022, spending much of his time with the Gulls. Last season, although only playing 22 games in the AHL, De Leo scored nine goals and 14 assists, finishing over a point-per-game pace.
This being his second stint with the Ducks organization, De Leo spent 2018-2021 in the organization after coming over from the Winnipeg Jets in an offseason trade. In his original stint in Anaheim, De Leo played three games in three years in the NHL, producing zero points.
However, much like he was last year, he was an impressive player in San Diego, scoring 45 goals and 70 assists in 154 games, becoming one of the better playmakers for the team. Now that De Leo is presumed healthy, he will have his work cut out for him at the AHL level, as the Gulls currently hold a 2-9-3-0 record, sitting dead last in the Pacific Division.