- The Department of Player Safety has issued a $5,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct to Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome for his actions in last night’s game against the Avalanche. Strome threw a water bottle from the bench as Colorado won the game in overtime, and will have to pay a small fee.
- The Ducks have also made a roster move, sending Olle Eriksson Ek back to the minor leagues. This is the fourth time in just a few days that Eriksson Ek has been involved in a transaction, bouncing up and down through the last part of the season as Anaheim tries to get to the summer break.
Ducks Rumors
Anaheim Ducks Sign Jackson LaCombe
Another Minnesota Golden Gopher is turning pro after a crushing loss in the NCAA Championship. Jackson LaCombe has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, ending any speculation that he could test free agency later this summer.
The contract will begin immediately, meaning LaCombe is eligible to play in the Ducks’ final two games and will burn the first year of the deal in 2022-23.
LaCombe, 22, was a second-round pick in 2019 and developed into the most consistent two-way defensemen in the country, racking up points and playing big minutes for the University of Minnesota.
In four years at the NCAA level, he registered 99 points, including a 35-point senior campaign. Had he decided to wait, he could have become an unrestricted free agent in August, allowed to sign with any team in the league.
Few organizations can give more opportunity to young defensemen though, as Anaheim goes through a complete rebuild. Kevin Shattenkirk, Nathan Beaulieu, Michael Del Zotto, Andrej Sustr, and Scott Harrington are all pending unrestricted free agents, leaving plenty of spots to fill with players like LaCombe.
He’ll also be reunited with some familiar faces from the US junior program. In 2021, LaCombe was part of the team that took home gold at the World Juniors, a group led by Trevor Zegras, who had 18 points in seven games, and included recent Ducks call-up Drew Helleson.
Max Comtois To Miss Final Three Games With Upper-Body Injury
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that winger Max Comtois will miss the final three games of the season due to an upper-body injury. His year comes to an end with just nine goals and ten assists in 69 games. The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights but with a $2.55MM qualifying offer, he looks like a potential non-tender candidate in June.
Ducks Recall Drew Helleson
It appears that Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson will have a chance to make his NHL debut tonight against the team that drafted him. Per the AHL’s transactions log, Anaheim has recalled the blueliner from San Diego.
The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by the Avs (47th overall) back in 2019 but has certainly outperformed his draft stock. Helleson had a strong three-year career at Boston College while also representing Team USA internationally at both the World Juniors and the Olympics. That made him the key part of the trade that saw Anaheim send Josh Manson to Colorado last season.
Helleson signed soon after, getting his feet wet in the pros but this has been his first professional campaign. He hasn’t exactly lit it up like he did in college with just five goals and 13 assists in 63 games. However, it’s at least worth noting that the Gulls are the lowest-scoring team in the AHL and sit dead last in points with many of Anaheim’s top prospects still at the junior level.
Scott Harrington was a late scratch for Anaheim yesterday in their overtime loss to Arizona, forcing them to play with just five defensemen and 13 forwards while also resulting in Cam Fowler setting the NHL record for most ice time for a player in a regular season game at 38:55. If Harrington isn’t able to suit up against Colorado, Helleson will be in line to make his debut while allowing the Ducks to get back to a more traditional lineup in the process.
Scott Harrington Out With Upper-Body Injury
- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Harrington will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, per a team statement. The 30 year old has played 45 games this season with the Ducks, and has played over 20 minutes in each of the team’s past three games. The team did not give any further details other than to say Harrington would not play tonight.
Ducks Recall Olle Eriksson Ek
Apr. 7: Another day, another Eriksson Ek transaction. This time, he’s back on his way to Anaheim with the team announcing that he has been recalled once more from San Diego.
Apr 6: Eriksson Ek has been returned to the AHL today. The Ducks don’t play again until Saturday, after losing to Edmonton last night.
Apr 5: In case of a potential injury to starting goaltender John Gibson, Derek Lee of the Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks have recalled Olle Eriksson Ek from their AHL affiliate San Diego Gulls. This will mark Eriksson Ek’s third call-up to the professional club so far this season.
After being drafted 153rd overall in the 2017 NHL draft, Eriksson Ek has had a difficult time moving up in the Ducks’ organization. He has spent the last four seasons in North America, splitting time between the AHL and the ECHL. Understandably, he has produced much better numbers playing with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, Eriksson Ek has produced increasingly depressed numbers each season he has been within the organization. In his rookie season in the AHL, he played in 15 games, going 8-6-1, carrying a .901 SV% and a 3.14 GAA.
Last year, Eriksson Ek followed his rookie campaign up with a 7-15-3 record in 26 games, posting a .880 SV% and a 3.44 GAA. This year hasn’t been any better, going 2-14-0, with a .852 SV% and a 4.81 GAA in 20 games. If Gibson is injured for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, and Eriksson Ek does play, it will be his first-ever start in the NHL.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Adam Henrique from IR
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that they have activated centre Adam Henrique from the IR. Henrique has been sidelined with a sprained MCL since February 21. He has been effective this season for the lowly Ducks scoring 19 goals and 14 assists in 57 games.
The 33-year-old appeared on a lot of trade bait boards prior to the NHL’s trade deadline but was effectively removed from it when he went down to injury. He will likely remain a trade target for a lot of teams this summer as he enters the final year of his contract with Anaheim. Henrique is set to count $5.825MM against the cap and has a modified no trade clause. With the Ducks in the middle of a long rebuild Henrique would likely welcome a move to a contender.
It’s been a long road for Anaheim, they haven’t made the playoffs since they lost in the first round in 2018 and are currently in the running for the first overall pick, with the chance to draft Connor Bedard. Anaheim is tied for last place in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets. The Ducks do have some intriguing young pieces in place and some solid veterans that can be moved for additional draft capital and prospects. Henrique is likely to be at the top of the list of pieces the Ducks would like to move.
Ducks Reassign Andrej Sustr
The Anaheim Ducks today announced that defenseman Andrej Sustr has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate San Diego Gulls. Sustr recently rejoined the Ducks, being one of the assets traded that landed John Klingberg on the Minnesota Wild.
Primarily playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning throughout his career, Sustr has played in a total of 362 games in the NHL, scoring 11 goals and 58 assists. After his first season in Anaheim during the 2018-19 season, Sustr went overseas, playing two years for the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL. Rejoining the Lightning for the 2021-22 season, Sustr would then return to the Ducks after being claimed off waivers.
Although signed by the Minnesota Wild before this year, Sustr only spent this season playing for their AHL affiliate Iowa Wild before his midseason trade back to Anaheim. In 39 games in Iowa, Sustr scored two goals and also racked up 10 assists. Similarly to his time in Minnesota, Sustr has only played in San Diego since being reacquired by the Ducks organization. In seven games so far for the Gulls, he has scored one goal and one assist.
Sadly, Sustr will not be playing any games into late April, as the Gulls are well outside the playoff picture as they have a current record of 20-44-2. The same holds if he were to receive playing time in the NHL this year, as the Ducks have a record of 23-44-10, and have been mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture for some time.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Judd Caulfield
The Anaheim Ducks have announced the signing of college prospect Judd Caulfield to a two-year entry-level contract set to begin next season. The team has also signed him to an ATO agreement so that he can play with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, for the rest of the season.
The Ducks acquired Caulfield two days ago in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, sending prospect Thimo Nickl back to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return. Caulfield was originally selected by the Penguins at the 2019 draft, in the fifth round 145th overall.
A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Caulfield has spent the last four seasons playing college hockey for the University of North Dakota. He finishes his collegiate career with 62 points in 133 career games, including this past season where he scored 10 goals and 19 points in 39 games, ranking fourth on his team in both goals and points.
Caulfield turned 22 on March 19th and brings size and a powerful game to the Ducks’ system. Caulfield was not ranked inside the top 15 prospects of the Penguins’ 29th-ranked system earlier this year according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, (subscription link) but he does bring some intriguing qualities for their development staff to get to work on.
The Ducks selected six-foot-three QMJHL pivot Nathan Gaucher in the first round of last year’s draft, and all four forwards the Ducks selected at the 2023 draft stand at least six-foot-two.
With just one player above six feet tall in the team’s top-five scoring forwards this season, it could be that this acquisition of Caulfield adds to some growing indications that GM Pat Verbeek has made acquiring bigger forwards a heightened organizational priority.
Max Comtois A Likely Non-Tender Candidate?
- This season hasn’t been a great one for Ducks winger Max Comtois. Now two years removed from a 33-point campaign, his point total since then is 33 between 2021-22 and 2022-23. Accordingly, Eric Stephens of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that it’s unlikely that the 24-year-old will be tendered his $2.55MM qualifying offer this summer. Not long ago, Comtois was viewed as a possible power forward on the rise but Stephens notes that he was available in a trade this season with a swap obviously failing to materialize.