- Former Anaheim winger Kevin Roy has found a place to play this season as he has joined Brynas in Sweden, per a team release. Roy played in 28 games with the Ducks but had been a regular in the minors for the last few years. He had 33 points in 62 games with AHL Laval last season but hadn’t signed anywhere until now.
- The Ducks have re-assigned prospect Maxim Golod to Tulsa of the ECHL, per the ECHL’s transactions log. Anaheim signed the 22-year-old as an undrafted free agent back in 2020 but has seen only sparing time at the AHL level thus far. Golod has 10 points in 13 games at the ECHL level this season. Considering he’s in the final year of his entry-level deal, he will need to turn things around in the second half if he wants a chance at being tendered a qualifying offer next summer.
Ducks Rumors
Injury Notes: Caufield, Stützle, Tanev
After exiting tonight’s game early in the second period with an upper-body injury, Montreal Canadiens star sniper Cole Caufield will not return, according to the team. He was hit hard in front of the Canadiens’ net by Flames forward Trevor Lewis and reached for his head after the collision.
Caufield and Nick Suzuki’s chemistry have been instrumental in helping the Habs hover around the .500 mark this far into the regular season. Caufield’s 16 goals lead the team, and his 25 points in 27 games are second behind Suzuki’s 29. Any long-term absence from their top goal-scorer will be extremely difficult to overcome.
- Another Canadian team also lost an important young forward tonight. Ottawa Senators center Tim Stützle left their game against the Anaheim Ducks and did not return after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first frame, per the team. He was checked by Ducks forward Brett Leason, who was given an interference penalty on the play. Stützle’s 27 points are second on the team, and they’re already without their other top center in Josh Norris.
- For Calgary, they lost defenseman Chris Tanev after taking a puck to the face. The veteran stayed down on the ice after the impact but didn’t require a stretcher and was helped off the ice by teammates. If Tanev is to miss time, Calgary will need to recall another defenseman with MacKenzie Weegar battling an illness.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Lukas Dostal
The Anaheim Ducks have announced the recall of goaltender Lukas Dostal from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
According to Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register, Ducks backup netminder Anthony Stolarz is out with a lower-body injury, an injury that would necessitate this recall.
This recall puts Dostal, 22, in a position to play in just his fifth NHL game. Anaheim starter John Gibson left last night’s game against the San Jose Sharks due to an illness, and it’s unclear if that will keep him from starting the Ducks’ next game, which is Monday in Ottawa.
The Ducks do play the very next night in Toronto, so since Stolarz didn’t make the trip to Canada with the team it looks as though Dostal is in line to get one of those two starts.
The Czech netminder has been the Gulls’ number-one goalie this season, occupying the same role he took over last year. Through 20 games played Dostal has a solid .916 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against-average. In four career NHL games, Dostal has a .907 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average.
John Klingberg Expected To Return Friday
- The Athletic’s Eric Stephens writes that Anaheim Ducks defenseman John Klingberg will return to the lineup tomorrow after missing the previous seven games with a lower-body injury. Much like his Ducks, Klingberg has struggled to start this year. The offensive-minded defenseman has recorded just eight points in 20 games thus far to go with a -12 rating, which itself isn’t too out-of-line compared to his recent seasons. Klingberg had signed a one-year, $7MM deal with Anaheim this offseason with the idea that he could be dealt to a contender at the trade deadline perhaps, and test the free agent market again next summer, two things which are still on the table most likely.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Max Comtois, Move Isac Lundeström To IR
The Anaheim Ducks placed forward Isac Lundeström on injured reserve Tuesday and activated left wing Max Comtois, according to CapFriendly.
Lundeström suffered a finger injury on December 1, and the team gave him a six-week recovery timeline on Saturday. A capable young bottom-six center, Lundeström had six points in 24 games before the injury, which should see him return to the lineup in mid-January.
If needed for whatever reason, Lundeström is eligible for long-term injured reserve. With the team not needing the salary cap benefits of such a move, though, expect Lundeström to stay on IR until he’s ready to go.
Comtois hasn’t played in nearly a month, last playing in a November 12 loss to Chicago. He missed the following 11 games with a lower-body injury, and he’ll look to build on the four goals he scored pre-injury. Comtois is expected to draw into the lineup tonight when the Ducks host the Carolina Hurricanes.
Anaheim Ducks Claim Jayson Megna; Alex Galchenyuk Clears
The Anaheim Ducks have added a depth forward, grabbing Jayson Megna off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche. Alex Galchenyuk, who was on waivers with him, has cleared according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Megna, 32, certainly didn’t seem like much of a target given the fact that he hasn’t scored a single point in 14 games this season, but the Ducks must see something they like in the veteran minor league forward. He comes with a league-minimum salary and 162 games of NHL experience, though it’s hard to believe he’ll be a regular in the Anaheim lineup.
It has been nearly six years since Megna scored a goal in the NHL, his last coming on February 9, 2017. During his stint with Colorado this season, he was averaging just over seven minutes a night and recorded six shots on goal.
Galchenyuk, meanwhile, can now be assigned to the minor leagues, though it is unclear if the Avalanche will do so after losing Nathan MacKinnon last night. The team is without nearly a dozen roster players, so might need to keep the veteran forward up for the time being.
Anaheim Ducks Reassign Pavol Regenda
December 5: After nearly a month-long call-up, Regenda is headed back down to the minors. The Slovak product played in nine games during the call-up, registering a goal, a -1 rating, and 10:42 of ice time per game.
November 9: The Anaheim Ducks have brought winger Pavol Regenda back up from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on an emergency basis, according to CapFriendly. The move comes ahead of the Ducks’ home game tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
The transaction was necessitated by forward Adam Henrique’s late scratch from the lineup today. He’ll be away from the team on a short-term personal leave as he and his wife await the birth of their first baby. With Derek Grant also out of the lineup with an upper-body injury on a day-to-day basis, the team was down to 11 available forwards on the active roster.
Regenda, 22, was an undrafted free agent signing this summer who impressed and made the Ducks out of training camp. In his first five games with the team, he registered two assists prior to being sent down to the Gulls last week.
Over the past week in the AHL, he showed just why he made the team out of camp, registering two goals and two assists in four games. With a strong performance on this emergency recall, he could convince the Ducks to have him stay in the NHL full-time. His waiver-exempt status muddies that likelihood somewhat, though, as every other candidate for the Ducks to send down to San Diego would require waivers.
Derek Grant Leaves Game With Lower-Body Injury
The Anaheim Ducks were able to get a point out of today’s shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild, but didn’t come out unharmed it seems. Veteran forward Derek Grant suffered a lower-body injury during the game and was ruled out for the remainder, said Anaheim. Grant, 32, is currently in his third stint as a member of the Ducks, but has seemed to really settle in, now in his third straight season without being moved.
The forward hit a career-high 29 points last season and has three points in 14 games to begin this season. While he might not be the impact scorer for Anaheim like Trevor Zegras is, his steady two-way game and veteran presence is one the Ducks surely don’t want to be without for too long. The Ducks were already without Grant for 10 games this season, missing most of the month of November.
Isac Lundestrom To Miss Six Weeks
It has been a tough season for Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom and things just got a little worse for him as the team announced (Twitter link) that the center will miss the next six weeks due to a fractured finger. The injury was sustained during Thursday’s loss to Dallas.
The 23-year-old had a breakout year last season that saw him put up 29 points in 80 games after putting up just 15 over his first three NHL campaigns in limited action. That was enough for Anaheim to hand him a two-year bridge deal this summer, one that carries a cap hit of $1.8MM. However, Lundestrom has struggled through the first quarter of this season as he has just a goal and five assists through 24 games although he is among the team leaders in shorthanded ice time.
While Pavol Regenda is likely to take his place in the lineup for the time being as the only extra forward with the team on their current road trip, Lundestrom’s absence creates an opportunity for Mason McTavish to play down the middle more frequently for the time being. Anaheim has deployed the rookie on the wing at times this season as teams often do with young centers to ease them in but McTavish is anchoring the fourth line this afternoon against Minnesota.
Verbeek: Team Will Decide On Coaching Staff After The Season
- While things haven’t gone well for the Ducks this season (they enter play tonight dead last in points), don’t expect a coaching change anytime soon. In his latest podcast (audio link), GM Pat Verbeek indicated that his intention is to evaluate the coaching staff only at the end of the season. With the team clearly still in a rebuild, there’s no immediate need to make a change but if Dallas Eakins is hoping to stick with Anaheim beyond this season, they’ll need to play at least a little better than they have so far.