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.
West Notes: Predators, Pietrangelo, Oettinger
The Nashville Predators home game tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks will go on as scheduled after a water main break in the arena forced the team to postpone their Friday and Saturday night games. While team president Sean Henry said that “most fan-facing amenities will be functional,” he noted that the complete extent of repairs and restorations to Bridgestone will take months.
The league has yet to reschedule Nashville’s missed games against Colorado and Columbus, but Bridgestone will get a bit of a break on the hockey side soon. While there are occasional concerts there, Nashville’s home game against Anaheim is their last until December 9.
- According to the team, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo didn’t suit up for tonight’s game against Columbus for personal reasons. Pietrangelo is having an electric start to his third season in Vegas with 21 points through 23 games. Hopefully, everything is well with Pietrangelo and his family.
- Jake Oettinger was expected to start tonight for the Dallas Stars, but he’ll be relegated to a backup role as he deals with an illness, according to the team. He’s run into a bit of a cold streak his past few games, with his season totals dropping to a still very respectable .917 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average. He’ll likely start in Dallas’ next matchup against Anaheim on December 1.
Ducks Activate Derek Grant Off Injured Reserve, Place Max Comtois On IR
The Ducks will have a bit of extra help up front as they get set to take on Seattle tonight. Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter link) that center Derek Grant has been activated off injured reserve and will suit up against the Kraken. He’ll take the place of rookie winger Pavol Regenda.
The 32-year-old has been out for a little over three weeks due to an upper-body injury. Prior to sustaining it, Grant had played in 11 games, picking up a goal and an assist while logging heavy minutes shorthanded; his 2:39 of ice time per game in that situation is second among Anaheim forwards behind only Jakob Silfverberg.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Grant is the type of depth forward that tends to be moved closer to the trade deadline as someone that can kill penalties, play both down the middle and on the wing, and is affordable on the cap (he carries a $1.5MM AAV). With the Ducks appearing to be well on the path towards selling over the next few months, Grant figures to be on the move at some point but he’ll give Anaheim a boost in the bottom six in the meantime now that he’s healthy.
It’s not all good news on the injury front for the Ducks, however, as Dillman also notes that blueliner John Klingberg will miss his second straight game due to a lower-body injury. It has been a tough start to the season for the veteran who was looking to rebuild some value after not getting the type of contract he was seeking in free agency last summer. Instead, he has just one goal in 20 games and will be out of the lineup a little longer.
Meanwhile, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Max Comtois has been placed on injured reserve. He has been out for the last two weeks due to a lower-body injury which allows Anaheim to backdate the placement. Accordingly, he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s healthy. Comtois has four goals in 15 games so far this season.
Anaheim Ducks Assign Urho Vaakanainen On Conditioning Loan
The Anaheim Ducks have assigned defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on a long-term injury conditioning loan, according to the team.
It’s a great sign for Vaakanainen and his playing future that he’s able to give it a go in the minors on a short-term basis. The young defenseman has already had an injury-plagued career, and potentially his scariest injury came in a September 30 preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. Vaakanainen left the contest on a stretcher after a collision caused his head to hit the boards.
Today, it was reported that Vaakanainen had resumed practicing. It’s unclear when he’ll play in his first game with San Diego, but as he’s just returned to the ice, don’t expect it to be right away.
Vaakanainen, a stout defensive prospect, was one of the main pieces in the return from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Hampus Lindholm at last season’s trade deadline. The 2017 first-round pick eclipsed 10 NHL games for the first time in 2021-22 and remained in the league full-time with Anaheim after the trade. He had two assists in 14 games, even working his way into a top-four role.
The Ducks weren’t great last season defensively, and they haven’t demonstrated any improvement this season either. Whether or not Vaakanainen can make a material difference to the team’s porous play remains to be seen, but he would allow the team to relieve some less NHL-ready players.
Urho Vaakanainen Returns To Practice
- Ducks defenseman Urho Vaakanainen has resumed practicing as he works his way back from an injury sustained late in the preseason, relays Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register. He was injured at the end of September when he went crashing into the boards where he had to be stretchered off the ice. There’s still no firm timeline for his return but the fact he’s now skating with the team suggests he should be back sooner than later. He’d be a welcome addition to an Anaheim back end that has struggled so far this season; the 23-year-old logged more than 19 minutes a game after joining them at the trade deadline a year ago.
Austin Strand Returned To AHL
With the Anaheim Ducks now at home for the next three games, they’ve reduced their roster again. Austin Strand has been returned to the minor leagues after playing fewer than 12 minutes on Monday night.
The team dressed seven defensemen that game, with Max Comtois still dealing with a lower-body injury and Pavol Regenda sitting out. Strand’s assignment suggests that one of those things will change for tonight’s home tilt against the New York Rangers. The Ducks will be playing in Anaheim for the next three, meaning they don’t need extra bodies hanging around instead of suiting up with the San Diego Gulls.
Strand, 25, has barely seen the ice whenever he does dress for the Ducks, and has failed to register a point in his five appearances. The minor league veteran has only 26 games of NHL experience under his belt and is an unlikely candidate for more playing time moving forward.
Although, if the Ducks do decide to sell at the deadline, perhaps Strand will be one of the beneficiaries. The defensive trio of John Klingberg, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Dmitry Kulikov are some of the most likely trade chips, meaning someone will have to be patrolling the blue line down the stretch.
Latest On Anaheim Ducks
At last season’s trade deadline, Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek decided to sell, and sell hard. Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, and Rickard Rakell all went out the door, changing the makeup of the dressing room considerably. Those three had been with the team for years and made up a good part of their core.
Now, less than a year into Verbeek’s tenure, the club is flailing at the bottom of the NHL standings and appears to be poised for another selling season. The Ducks are dead last in the league with a -30 goal differential and have just five wins through 18 games.
On the latest 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman discusses the Ducks and suggests that they are already talking to a number of teams about potential trades.
I’m sure we’re going to start hearing a lot of things out of the Ducks. Like I said, I heard they have a lot of people out looking to see what’s out there.
One of those connections is Toronto Maple Leafs and Frank Vatrano, though Friedman pours some cold water on that scenario because of the cap hit involved – Vatrano is signed through the 2024-25 season with a $3.65MM hit.
There are plenty of other names on the Ducks roster that could be of interest to teams though. John Klingberg, Kevin Shattenkirk, Dmitry Kulikov, Derek Grant, Nathan Beaulieu, and Anthony Stolarz are all pending unrestricted free agents, while younger names like Max Comtois and Simon Benoit are set to reach RFA status. Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg have a year remaining after this one before they hit the open market, though they may need to see some salary retention to be moved this season.
One thing to remember when it comes to the Ducks is that the team has all three salary retention slots available, meaning they could be involved in some creative trades over the next few months. The team already has six selections in the top three rounds for the upcoming draft, and will likely be in contention for the first-overall pick.
With some young talent already in place, the idea of a fast-tracked rebuild has to be running through the mind of Verbeek and his staff. He’ll certainly be a popular number as we move through the year.