Anaheim Ducks Recall Tristan Luneau From Loan
Now that the conditioning loan requirements have been satisfied by defenseman Tristan Luneau, the Anaheim Ducks have announced he has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Over the loan assignment, Luneau got into six games with San Diego, tallying two assists over that time.
No corresponding move is necessary, considering Luneau stayed on the Ducks’ 23-man roster while on the conditioning loan. The 2022 second-round pick has made the transition to pro hockey earlier than some expected, remaining on the Ducks’ NHL roster as he is not yet eligible for full-time assignment to the Gulls due to his January 2024 birthday. If the Ducks decide not to keep him on the NHL roster full-time, a likely eventual scenario considering he’s played just two games for them this season, they’ll need to return him to the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques at the junior level per the terms of the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.
Luneau, 19, last played for the Ducks on October 21 against the Coyotes. After sitting as a healthy scratch for the first two games of the season, he made back-to-back appearances against the Stars and Coyotes, recording a -1 rating, one shot on goal, and a poor 38.9% Corsi share at even strength while averaging 15:29 per game.
The Ducks will assumedly look to get Luneau into some games in the next few weeks. He can make seven more appearances before the first year of his entry-level contract goes into effect, and considering his limited role so far, it’s unlikely they keep him past that point.
That’s also because the Ducks have a pair of young defensemen, Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov, who have solidified roster spots in the early going. LaCombe is logging over 20 minutes per game and earning top-pairing duties alongside Cam Fowler in the absence of Jamie Drysdale due to a lower-body injury, while Mintyukov leads all Ducks defensemen with ten points through 16 games. Thus, competition for a roster spot has become fierce on the Anaheim blueline. While Luneau certainly has a long NHL future ahead of him, there’s no longer a clear path to consistent playing time on the Ducks roster.
Ducks Activate McGinn From IR
- The Ducks welcomed back winger Brock McGinn to the lineup tonight, activating him off injured reserve. The 29-year-old had been dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him out for their first 15 games. Last season, McGinn split time between Pittsburgh and Anaheim, who took on his contract at the trade deadline as part of the return for blueliner Dmitry Kulikov.
Injury Notes: Markstrom, Nosek, Zegras, Whitecloud
Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska shared that starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He will sit out of the team’s Friday night game, with Daniel Vladar taking over the starting role.
This is timely news, as the Flames just recalled back-to-back AHL Goalie of the Year winner Dustin Wolf to the NHL club. Wolf has yet to carve out an NHL presence but the 22-year-old goaltender has more than proven his capability, going as far as winning the AHL’s Les Cunningham Award last season, given to the league’s most valuable player. Calgary plays Toronto on Friday and Ottawa on Saturday, which could give Wolf a chance to relieve Vladar.
The team will hope that their backups getting added opportunities can turn into some sort of spark in net. Markstrom has struggled through the early season, recording a .896 save percentage and 2-6-1 record across nine games played. Vladar has managed better outcomes in his appearances, earning a 2-1-0 record in his three games, but carries a .844 save percentage.
Wolf has recorded a .924 save percentage and 5-1-0 record in six AHL games this season.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- Tomas Nosek is expected to return to the New Jersey Devils lineup on Friday, despite head coach Lindy Ruff saying he wanted to see a few more practices from the forward. Nosek has played in two games with the Devils this season, going without a point or any change in his +/-. He’s been battling a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve earlier in the year.
- The Anaheim Ducks will be without Trevor Zegras on Friday, as he’s battling a nagging lower-body injury. The dynamic forward is off to a slow start this season, with a mere two points through his first 12 games. Contract negotiations held him out of much of the team’s training camp.
- Zach Whitecloud is set to return make his season debut on Friday. The defenseman went under the knife in early October to address an issue in his hand. He was announced as week-to-week at the time and makes his return nearly one month later, holding to his history as a quick healer. Whitecloud scored 12 points in 59 games last year.
Jamie Drysdale's Return Window Uncertain
- Anaheim Ducks head coach Greg Cronin shared an update on Jamie Drysdale‘s lower-body injury, saying that it’s a hard injury to pinpoint a recovery timeline for. Cronin said that Drysdale is working closely with the team’s training staff and that the Ducks will want him, “fully healed” before he comes back. The exact nature of Drysdale’s injury hasn’t been revealed, although he was placed on injured reserve in late-October, retroactive to October 15th.
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Ducks Activate Alex Killorn, Assign Robert Hagg To AHL
The Ducks are welcoming back a key forward tonight as they announced that they have activated winger Alex Killorn from injured reserve. To make room for him on the roster, defenseman Robert Hagg was returned to AHL San Diego.
Killorn landed the richest deal for a forward in free agency last summer with Anaheim inking the 34-year-old to a four-year, $25MM agreement. He was coming off a career year with Tampa Bay, one that saw him record 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games while adding five points in six playoff contests against Toronto.
While the Ducks aren’t expected to be contending in the short term, GM Pat Verbeek clearly prioritized adding some veterans to what was (and still is) a pretty young roster and was hoping that Killorn would line up in a prominent role to start the season. Instead, he suffered a fractured finger during the preseason, one that kept him out of the lineup for nearly five weeks.
As for Hagg, he was recalled just yesterday so his time with the big club was certainly short-lived. He was brought up to serve as an extra defender with Tristan Luneau on a conditioning assignment but as Luneau remains part of Anaheim’s active roster while with San Diego, the Ducks needed Hagg’s roster spot to activate Killorn in advance of tonight’s game against Vegas. He has played in three games for the Gulls so far this season.
Alex Killorn Looking To Make Season Debut Tomorrow
- Looking to make his debut with the Anaheim Ducks after signing a four-year, $25MM contract with the team this summer, Eric Stephens of The Athletic is reporting that Alex Killorn was seen practicing on a line with Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg, and will likely make his Ducks debut tomorrow night against the Golden Knights. In his absence, Anaheim has gotten off to a better start than most would have expected, climbing up in the standings thanks to a current five-game winning streak.
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Ducks Recall Robert Hagg
The Ducks have made a roster move in advance of tomorrow’s game against Vegas. They’ve announced that they have recalled defenseman Robert Hagg from AHL San Diego.
Hagg is in his first season with Anaheim after signing a one-year, $775K one-way deal with them in the first week of free agency. However, despite a decent showing in the preseason where he had a goal and an assist in just two appearances, the Ducks waived him late in training camp. He cleared and was assigned to the Gulls where he has played in three games, recording a single assist. It’s his first AHL action since back in the 2016-17 campaign when he was with Philadelphia,
The 28-year-old battled injuries last season, resulting in him getting into just 38 games with Detroit where he had seven points and 111 hits. For his career, Hagg has 16 goals, 47 assists, and 985 hits in 338 contests over parts of seven seasons.
On the surface, it appears that this is merely a depth-related promotion. Anaheim recently loaned Tristan Luneau to San Diego on a conditioning stint, leaving them with just six healthy blueliners on their roster. Luneau’s stint can last for up to two weeks so it appears that Hagg will serve as injury insurance in the youngster’s absence.
Greg Cronin Fined $25K By The NHL
- In a controversial disallowed goal during the Anaheim Ducks’ recent game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the new head coach of the Ducks, Greg Cronin, became very animated on the bench expressing his displeasure with the call by the referee. After the play was reviewed, the call on the ice stood, causing Cronin to use extremely colorful language toward the referee, earning him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well as an ejection. Today, the NHL announced they have fined Cronin a total of $25K for the incident.
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Anaheim Ducks Assign Alex Stalock, Tristan Luneau To AHL
The Anaheim Ducks have trimmed their roster by two, sending goaltender Alex Stalock and defenseman Tristan Luneau to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Luneau, 19, is not yet eligible for full-time assignment to the AHL and will play his first games for the Gulls on a conditioning stint.
Anaheim doesn’t suit up again until Sunday against the Golden Knights, so these moves could just be to get Stalock and Luneau some playing time in the minors over the next few days. The Ducks brought Stalock up to the NHL roster under emergency conditions on Wednesday after starter John Gibson exited Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury. Listed as day-to-day, Gibson remains on the active roster but did not dress for Wednesday’s overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes.
Stalock, 36, signed a one-year deal worth $800K in the offseason to provide depth and competition for the backup role behind Gibson with youngster Lukáš Dostál. Dostál won the job in camp, however, and he hasn’t looked back. The 23-year-old was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October and has posted a 5-1-0 record in six appearances, boasting an exemplary .920 SV%, although he’s still looking for his first NHL shutout.
The veteran Stalock has battled back from multiple severe injuries in the past few years, including complications from long COVID and a severe concussion sustained last season while playing with the Chicago Blackhawks. Selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Draft, Stalock has a 2.74 GAA, .919 SV% and a 1-2-0 record in three appearances with the Gulls this season.
Luneau, who projects as a fixture on the Ducks’ power play for years to come, made the team out of camp after signing his entry-level contract in September. After recording 83 points in 65 games with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques last season, he’s been a healthy scratch in eight of ten games with the Ducks and hasn’t played since October 21 against Arizona. He can head to San Diego for a maximum of two weeks and five games, after which he must be recalled to the Ducks or returned to Gatineau.
Evening Notes: Killorn, Mayfield, Puljujarvi
Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Alex Killorn was no longer in a non-contact jersey at Ducks practice today after wearing one yesterday. The 34-year-old has yet to suit up for Anaheim after signing an eyebrow-raising four-year $25MM contract in the offseason as a free agent. Killorn spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Killorn suffered a fractured finger in the preseason in a game against the San Jose Sharks that has delayed his debut in Anaheim by a little over a month. The Ducks have high hopes for Killorn who is coming off a career year last season in which he scored 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games.
In other evening notes:
- Ethan Sears of New York Post Sports is reporting that New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has returned to action tonight against the Washington Capitals. The 31-year-old suffered a lower-body injury on opening night and was deemed a game-time decision earlier today. The Islanders have been without Mayfield for seven games and have missed his physical and defensive presence in their lineup. Islanders seventh defenseman Samuel Bolduc has been filling in for Mayfield but has been averaging a team-low 8:30 of ice time per game.
- TSN’s Chris Johnston of Insider Trading is reporting that former Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi is eyeing an NHL return in early to mid-December after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason. Puljujarvi became an unrestricted free agent after he was non-tendered a qualifying offer by the Carolina Hurricanes that followed a trade there late last season by the Oilers. The 25-year-old was once a highly touted prospect after being selected fourth overall but has never lived up to those lofty expectations managing just 51 goals and 63 assists in 334 NHL games.