Headlines

  • Flyers Sign Noah Cates To Four-Year Extension
  • Jets’ Rasmus Kupari Signs Two-Year Deal With Switzerland’s HC Lugano
  • Lightning Sign Yanni Gourde To Six-Year Contract
  • Aleksander Barkov Wins Frank J. Selke Trophy, King Clancy Memorial Trophy
  • Seattle Kraken Sign Josh Mahura To Two-Year Contract
  • Avalanche Sign Ilya Nabokov To Entry-Level Contract
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Ducks Rumors

Joel Bouchard Hired By Anaheim Ducks

July 9, 2021 at 1:02 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The Anaheim Ducks have announced a new AHL coach, hiring Joel Bouchard to lead the San Diego Gulls. Bouchard replaces the outgoing Kevin Dineen, who took over as Gulls head coach when Dallas Eakins was promoted to the NHL club. Ducks GM Bob Murray released a statement on the change:

We want to thank Kevin Dineen for all he contributed the last two seasons. He was key in maintaining a winning environment in San Diego, including a difficult season during the pandemic. 

The opportunity to bring in Joel Bouchard as head coach of our American Hockey League club was something that we could not pass up. Joel has a strong track record coaching and developing players at the professional, junior and international level. This is the primary focus for us, and Joel fits the bill perfectly.

Bouchard’s path to the NHL was blocked in Montreal, where he had served as head coach of the Laval Rocket the last three years. Dominique Ducharme took over the Canadiens midseason and led them to the Stanley Cup Finals, while even assistants Luke Richardson and Alexandre Burrows look like potential future head coaches (in fact, Eric Engels of Sportsnet suggests that Burrows could even be the next head coach of the Rocket).

That path isn’t so crowded in the Ducks organization, given how little success Eakins has had so far. The Ducks are 46-63-18 under his watch, which could lead to a potential opportunity for a minor league coach like Bouchard at some point. The 47-year-old was the head coach of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL for four seasons before arriving in Laval, taking the junior squad to the league championship twice in a row (but losing both). A veteran of 364 NHL games as a player, Bouchard is still waiting for his first opportunity as a coach at that level.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks

2 comments

Anaheim Ducks Bring Back Newell Brown

July 7, 2021 at 2:53 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Anaheim Ducks have brought back a familiar face, hiring Newell Brown as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. This will be Brown’s third tenure with the organization, going back to when they were still the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

It’s hard to find an assistant with more NHL experience than Brown, who has been behind a bench somewhere in the league since 1996. Most recently, he served as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks for four seasons, but will go back to the place where he won the Stanley Cup in 2007. That was as part of Randy Carlyle’s staff, but this time Brown will be joining Dallas Eakins’ group as they try to get the rebuild turned in the right direction.

The Canucks moved in a different direction this year, bringing in Brad Shaw after he parted ways with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brown had been responsible for the powerplay in Vancouver, which at times was among the best in the league; in 2019-20, Vancouver ranked fourth in the league with the man advantage, cashing in 24.2% of the time.

It’s not yet clear what role he will serve with the Ducks, but is certainly a welcome addition to a group that has missed the playoffs for three straight years. In those three seasons, the powerplay has ranked 31st, 30th, and 24th, suggesting that Brown could have an immediate effect if he can simply get the team to the middle of the pack.

Anaheim Ducks

1 comment

Snapshots: Coyotes’ Coach Search, Nylander, Ak Bars

June 25, 2021 at 7:35 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

With head coaches flying off the market and one of the top available names being the guy they just let go, the Arizona Coyotes’ hunt for a head coach is in an interesting spot. From the get-go, the word was that the ’Yotes and GM Bill Armstrong could be looking for a fresh voice, perhaps even a first-time NHL coach, so they may be unfazed by the recent run on big names. Yet, insider Craig Morgan reports that one of their top candidates is in fact a seasoned veteran. Morgan writes that Dallas Stars assistant Todd Nelson is scheduled to have his third interview for the vacancy, by all accounts the most of any candidate. Nelson has been in the NHL (or AHL) since 2006, including a brief stint as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. He has found great success in the minors, winning two Calder Cups, and never really got a fair shake as the bench boss in Edmonton, so in a way he would be somewhat of a first-time NHL head coach. He has picked up experience in Dallas over the past three years under Jim Montgomery and Rick Bowness and could be ready for another shot at the top job.

Morgan considers Nelson’s greatest competition to be Andre Tourigny, the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and most recently an assistant for Canada’s gold medal World Championship entry. Tourigny briefly coached in the NHL as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators over three years, but has mostly coached at the major junior level and has been the bench boss of Canada’s World Junior team the past two years. Tourigny has found immense success working with young players; he has been named OHL Coach of the Year (twice), QMJHL Coach of the Year, and the overall CHL Coach of the Year, not to mention medals at four World Juniors. Can he translate that ability to the pros and lead a Coyotes team that needs to take a step forward rather than continuing to tread water? That is the question that Armstrong must answer. According to Morgan, he has already decided that St. Louis Blues assistant Mike Van Ryn and AHL Providence head coach Jay Leach are not the men for the job.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks just gained some Expansion Draft flexibility. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Alexander Nylander has been declared exempt from the impending selection process. In order to be eligible for the draft, a player must have three pro service years. Nylander, who has been playing professionally in North America for five seasons, may seem like an impossibility to avoid that label, but somehow he does. Despite playing in 116 AHL games between 2016-17 and 2017-18, he played in only seven combined NHL games and his rookie contract underwent the entry-level slide each season, meaning service time did not accrue. He then played countable NHL season in each of the past two years. However, this season – in what was meant to be his third year of service – Nylander missed the entire campaign due to injury. This means that, again, his service time will not clock. After five years in and out of the NHL, Nylander will be considered a second-year pro and untouchable for the Seattle Kraken. As Powers notes, Nylander was expected to be protected by the Blackhawks next month. Now off the board, it will allow the team to protected another forward that they may not have expected. He suggests deadline addition Adam Gaudette or reliable fourth-liner David Kampf could be the pick, while young, high-upside assets Brandon Hagel and Henrik Borgstrom should now be locks.
  • The KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan has succeeded in keeping a pair of drafted prospects away from their NHL teams for a while longer. The team announced that they have re-signed Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov and Anaheim’s Artyom Galimov to multi-year extensions. At their age, this is not an NHL career death sentence for either player, but it is likely disheartening to their teams who would like to get them on North American ice as soon as possible. 20-year-old Voronkov, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, has signed a two-year deal with Ak Bars after setting career highs across the board in the KHL this season. The impressive youngster has already played two full seasons in the KHL and has been dominant for Russia on the World Junior stage as well. Voronkov’s name carries weight as a prospect and the Jackets undoubtedly hope that he will follow WJC teammate Yegor Chinakhov to Columbus as soon as his new contract expires. There is a bit more cause for pause when it comes to Galimov. The 21-year-old was an overage pick by the Ducks just last year and despite his age has signed a three-year extension with Ak Bars. Galimov is a grassroots product of Kazan and has loyalty to the club, as they do to him after two successful seasons to begin his KHL career. Galimov has actually outpaced Voronkov to this point, showing that he too is a serious NHL prospect. However, Galimov will be 25 years old before he could ever step onto Anaheim ice and will have that much more attachment to Ak Bars. His ability should keep him interested in the NHL and the Ducks in him, but it is not a guarantee.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Chicago Blackhawks| Coaches| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Expansion| Injury| KHL| OHL| Prospects| QMJHL| Seattle Kraken| Snapshots| Utah Mammoth Adam Gaudette| Alexander Nylander| Brandon Hagel| David Kampf| Henrik Borgstrom

2 comments

Minor Transactions: 6/23/21

June 23, 2021 at 2:31 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

As we cross the middle of the week, many minor transactions are coming up on the wire. Many teams are trying to solidify depth for the 2021-22 campaign as a return to normal operations is expected throughout the hockey world. You can keep up on today’s slate of minor transactions right here:

  • The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs announced today via their team website that they’ve re-signed goalie Cale Morris to a one-year contract. After four seasons (three as the starter) for the University of Notre Dame, Morris, who went undrafted, signed with the IceHogs prior to the 2020-21 campaign. As Rockford faced goalie uncertainty this year with expected starter Kevin Lankinen working his way up to the Chicago Blackhawks, Morris impressed in a backup role. Playing in seven contests, Morris amassed a .923 save percentage in spite of a 2-3-0 record. The Larkspur, Colorado native will likely split time between Rockford and the ECHL’s Indy Fuel next season as Chicago’s goalie depth chart is replenished.
  • Another AHL club made moves today as well, as the Cleveland Monsters made two additions on offense, announced today on the team’s website. One of them was Justin Scott, who’ll return to the team for a sixth straight season. Signing with Cleveland after his last OHL season, Scott’s been a member of the club since 2016-17. He served as an assistant captain this past season, posting seven points in 18 games. Scott should be a solid voice in the room, as the Blue Jackets will rely heavily on Cleveland in the coming seasons to develop their next generation of players. The team also announced the re-signing of Tristan Mullin, who got into 15 games with Cleveland last year after his college career ended with the University of Vermont. The 6′ 2″ forward showed flashes of potential, scoring three goals, but still might spend time in the ECHL next year with a restocked Cleveland roster.
  • A rather large trade was announced this morning in the QMJHL via the league’s Twitter account. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan acquired Washington Capitals first-round selection Hendrix Lapierre and a 2023 seventh-round draft pick from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in exchange for forwards Julien Bourget and Alexis Dubé along with a myriad of draft selections, including first-rounders in 2022 and 2023. Lapierre was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the 2020 draft before a season laced with injury limited him to just 17 points in 19 games. Lapierre, healthy this season, improved mightily on the scoresheet, scoring 31 points in a shortened 21-game season with Chicoutimi. He’ll now spend his last season in the OHL with Acadie-Bathurst as he continues his development.
  • Teams will be adding a couple of names to their draft boards soon, as CapFriendly clarified the draft re-entry status of two NHL prospects. Mathew Hill, a former sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, and Eemeli Rasanen, a former second-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will both re-enter the draft in July. One of the last selections taken before Kyle Dubas became general manager, Rasanen appealed with his physical presence and 6′ 7″ frame. However, the Finnish defenseman has struggled immensely overseas, posting no points this year with HPK in the Liiga. He’ll re-enter the draft as a 22-year-old overager, and it’s unlikely he’ll be selected at this point. Hill, just 20 years old, has also failed to pan out in the way Anaheim wished. With his Barrie Colts not playing a season this year in the OHL, and Hill seeing just three games of action in Demark’s junior league on loan, his future in the NHL remains extremely uncertain.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| CHL| Prospects| QMJHL| Toronto Maple Leafs| Transactions| Washington Capitals Eemeli Rasanen

0 comments

Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks

June 21, 2021 at 8:49 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Several pieces of Anaheim’s young forward group need new deals as does a franchise icon.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Maxime Comtois – Very quietly, Comtois led the Ducks in scoring this season.  That wasn’t expected at all heading into the year considering he had all of 39 career games played but he secured a spot in the top six and became a quality power forward.  In the end, the 22-year-old wound up with 15 goals and 18 assists in 55 games, a more than respectable total on a team that struggled mightily at the offensive end.  While it won’t affect his contract talks, his strong play carried over to the Worlds where he picked up six more points there.  Comtois doesn’t have arbitration eligibility and with only 94 NHL games under his belt, he doesn’t have the track record to command a long-term deal.  A bridge contract around the $2.5MM to $2.75MM mark feels like the expected outcome here allowing both sides to see what his long-term offensive upside will be.

F Danton Heinen – His fall from grace has been quick.  After looking like a good fit as a secondary scorer in Boston for the first couple of years of his career, his offense tapered off last season and went even lower this year as he had just seven goals and seven assists in 43 games.  The 25-year-old is eligible for arbitration and owed a qualifying offer of $2.775MM.  It’s hard to see him getting that so either a cheaper deal is worked out or he’ll be an interesting addition to the UFA market.

F Alexander Volkov – There are quite a few young Anaheim RFAs in similar situations but Volkov is a bit different in that he has arbitration eligibility.  The 23-year-old requested a trade from Tampa Bay to go somewhere where he had a better chance to play and the Ducks gave him that.  His ice time went up by more than four minutes per game and with four goals and four assists in 18 games, so too did his production.  This isn’t a situation where the team should be leery of his ability to request a hearing but it will be interesting to see how much his short time in Anaheim will impact those discussions.

Other RFAs: F Max Jones, F Isac Lundestrom, D Josh Mahura, F Sam Steel

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Ryan Getzlaf – It’s clear that Getzlaf’s best days are behind him and at this stage of his career, he should be on the third or fourth line most nights and not a fixture in the top-six as he was for the better part of his 16 years with the Ducks.  But he’s still a useful player and in a free agent market where there isn’t any star power down the middle (the same can’t be said for the trade market), there should be a fair bit of interest if he’s willing to move on from Anaheim.  That’s the big question as he had made it clear before he’d invoke his no-move clause to be dealt.  That wasn’t the case at this trade deadline but his $8.25MM price tag made that next to impossible anyway.  His next contract should come somewhere between a quarter and a third of that AAV.

F Carter Rowney – This season was basically a write-off as a torn meniscus ended his season back in February.  However, in his three years with the Ducks, he showed that he was capable of playing a bigger role than he had at the beginning of his career with Pittsburgh.  Now 32 and in a market that isn’t kind to role players, Rowney probably won’t be able to match the $1.133MM AAV he had on this deal but as far as physical depth players go, he will be one of the better ones out there.

F Andrew Poturalski – This is a name that many won’t be familiar with as his NHL track record is extremely limited (two games in 2017).  However, the 27-year-old has been a top scorer in the AHL when healthy.  He led the league in scoring this season with 43 points in 44 games and back in 2018-19 (he was injured for most of 2019-20), he was fifth in the league in scoring with Charlotte (70 points in 72 games) and first in playoff scoring (23 points in 18 contests).  It will be interesting to see if teams are more hesitant to hand out a one-way deal to top AHL talent as a cost-cutting measure but if some are, Poturalski should be the recipient of such a contract.

Other UFAs: F Andrew Agozzino, F David Backes, F Sam Carrick, D Trevor Carrick, F Chase De Leo, F Vinni Lettieri, D Andy Welinski

Projected Cap Space

Anaheim has been fairly tight to the cap for a while now but that will change with Getzlaf and Backes’ deals coming off the books and Corey Perry’s buyout cost dropping from $6.625MM to a more manageable $2MM.  All of a sudden, they have ample room to work with just under $59MM on the books.

Having said that, they have seven or eight spots to fill as well and of their pending free agents, Comtois should be the most expensive but still at a reasonable rate.  That should allow them to be an impact buyer over the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Anaheim Ducks| Free Agent Focus 2021 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

1 comment

Snapshots: Shore, Ward, Nelson

June 15, 2021 at 1:02 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

It’s the end of the road for journeyman forward Drew Shore, who announced his retirement today on Instagram. The 30-year-old forward was originally selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round of the 2009 draft and bounced around the hockey world over the last decade. Starting at the University of Denver, Shore became a collegiate star, while also helping the U.S. secure a bronze medal at the World Juniors. Upon signing with Florida he became an NHL regular, playing 43 games in his first season.

Unfortunately, that would be the highest total of his career, as Shore then bounced around the minor leagues and took his talents overseas in 2016. He has since played in Switzerland, China, Russia, Slovakia and Belarus, but most recently signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. He played four NHL games this season but was held scoreless and will now hang up his skates. In 98 career NHL games, Shore recorded 26 points.

  • Geoff Ward, who was let go by the Calgary Flames earlier this season, will now be joining the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Ward will join Dallas Eakins staff for next season after the team had previously shown interest in new Flames associate coach Kirk Muller. The 59-year-old Ward ended up behind the bench for just 66 games in Calgary, taking over for the outgoing Bill Peters in 2019 and then replaced by Darryl Sutter earlier this year. In those games, he posted a 35-26-5 record and actually got Calgary through the qualification round in the bubble, only to fall to the Dallas Stars in six games.  Update: The Ducks have confirmed the hire along with the addition of Mike Stothers to their coaching staff.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will have Todd Nelson in for a second interview tomorrow, according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. Nelson is one of many candidates the Coyotes are looking at and hasn’t been an NHL head coach since his one partial season in Edmonton. The 52-year-old is a well-respected assistant that has spent the last three seasons with the Dallas Stars however and has plenty of experience as head coach in the AHL. Morgan notes that the timeline for a hire in Arizona isn’t clear, though something should be done before the draft.

Anaheim Ducks| Retirement| Snapshots| Utah Mammoth Drew Shore

0 comments

Buffalo Sabres Win 2021 NHL Draft Lottery

June 2, 2021 at 6:30 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 31 Comments

For the final time for the foreseeable future, all non-playoff teams were eligible to win the first overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. Beginning in 2022, a team can only move up a maximum of ten spots, meaning the teams who finish No. 12 through No. 16 in the final league standings cannot move high enough to take over the top pick. The stage was set for a climactic send-off for the old format.

Well, the lottery balls decided not to take a crazy bounce in their last opportunity to move a team from the middle of the first round all the way to the top. Instead, the draft order stayed virtually the same. The Buffalo Sabres, who held the worst record in the NHL this season and thus the top odds in the lottery, retained the No. 1 pick. The expansion Seattle Kraken, awarded the same odds as the third-worst record in the league, moved up one spot, switching places with the Anaheim Ducks. New this year, there were only two lottery draws as opposed to the former three. Here is the official first-round draft order for the top 15 picks:

  1. Buffalo Sabres
  2. Seattle Kraken
  3. Anaheim Ducks
  4. New Jersey Devils
  5. Columbus Blue Jackets
  6. Detroit Red Wings
  7. San Jose Sharks
  8. Los Angeles Kings
  9. Vancouver Canucks
  10. Ottawa Senators
  11. Chicago Blackhawks
  12. Calgary Flames
  13. Philadelphia Flyers
  14. Dallas Stars
  15. New York Rangers

(As a reminder, the Arizona Coyotes forfeited their first-round pick this years as discipline for scouting violations)

This will be the second time in four years that the Buffalo Sabres will pick first overall after selecting Rasmus Dahlin at the top spot in 2018. It also means that two teams, the Sabres and New Jersey Devils, will have owned the first pick in four of the past five drafts. The two clubs are happy that the NHL’s new rule limiting teams to two lottery wins in a five-year span kicks in next year with a clean slate. Incredibly, the Sabres lottery win also further advances the mythology of Taylor Hall. Although Hall is now with the Boston Bruins, this is the fifth time in Hall’s career that his most recent team eligible for the draft lottery has won. A No. 1 overall pick himself, Hall has brought luck to the Edmonton Oilers, Devils, and now Sabres.

Perhaps bigger news than Buffalo at No. 1 is Seattle at No. 2, a major opportunity for the Kraken to draft a player who is ready to join the team in their inaugural season. The Vegas Golden Knights, with the same odds in the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery, fell to No. 6 overall and drafted Cody Glass, who has still yet to establish himself as a regular in the Vegas lineup. With the second pick, Seattle will have better odds of adding an instant difference-maker.

The 2021 NHL Draft is unique compared to recent years in that there is no consensus top prospect. In fact, it is difficult to remember a draft class in recent memory that is so undecided at the top. One major factor has been the lack of complete scouting due to canceled and shortened seasons and limited live viewings. However, even with complete information, there is still seemingly no prospect that stands heads above the rest. University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power and forward Matthew Beniers are largely considered the top players at each position and the two most likely candidates for the top pick, with Power having a slight lead according to draft pundits. However, current teammate Kent Johnson and Wolverines commit Luke Hughes, a forward and defenseman respectively, are also in the mix. Canadian junior standouts Mason McTavish, Dylan Guenther, and Brandt Clarke and European pros William Eklund and Simon Edvinsson may also be in play.

Anaheim Ducks| Buffalo Sabres| Calgary Flames| Chicago Blackhawks| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Los Angeles Kings| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Newsstand| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| San Jose Sharks| Seattle Kraken| Vancouver Canucks Matthew Beniers| NHL Entry Draft| Owen Power

31 comments

Snapshots: Rutherford, Urquhart, COVID Protocol

May 28, 2021 at 6:16 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 24 Comments

It sure doesn’t sound as though former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is done with hockey. The 72-year-old Hall of Fame executive left the Penguins abruptly back in January and it felt as though it could be the end of an illustrious front office career. However, it didn’t take long for speculation to mount that Rutherford wanted to get back into the management game. Now, his interest is official. PBI Sports Agency has announced that they now officially represent Rutherford, who is looking for new “NHL management opportunities.” The GM and President of the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes for 20 years and GM and Executive Vice President of the Penguins for another seven, not to mention considerable time spent in the OHL, there are few in hockey with as much front office experience as Rutherford. If he wants a new job in the league, PBI shouldn’t have a hard time finding him one.

  • San Diego Gulls assistant coach David Urquhart is moving to the college game and returning to his old stomping grounds. The Anaheim Ducks’ affiliate has announced that Urquhart has accepted the head coach position at McGill University, where he was an assistant for four years before joining the Gulls in 2018. Urquhart also played at McGill and was one the rare four-year Canadian collegiate players to go on to have an extended pro career, playing three seasons in the AHL and another three in Italy. While USports pales in comparison to its American counterpart, the NCAA, McGill is one of its most highly regarded institutions and based in a high-publicity area in Montreal. While Urquhart’s move was clearly impacted by loyalty to his university, it could also lead to greater heights in his career, especially if he finds success in his first head coaching position.
  • The NHL is loosening it’s COVID Protocol restrictions as it relates to fans. With many playoff teams having already received permission from local authorities to host increasing amounts of fans, the league is moving forward with improving that spectator experience. The NHL has announced that, beginning in the second round, fans will no longer be required to wear masks at games. Individual teams may still enforce a mask mandate if local health policies insist, but the league will no longer do the same. Additionally, the glass behind the penalty boxes and benches, initially removed to allow for more breathing room for teams, can also be removed if teams are 85% vaccinated. This will be the case for most remaining American teams.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Jim Rutherford| NHL| Pittsburgh Penguins| Snapshots Hall of Fame

24 comments

Snapshots: Ducks, Kings, Desruisseaux

May 28, 2021 at 1:27 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 4 Comments

The Anaheim Ducks will not be making any changes at the general manager or head coaching positions, according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Ducks GM Bob Murray indicated today that both he and Dallas Eakins will return for the 2021-22 season, despite the struggles the team has gone through on the ice. The team finished 17-30-9 on the season but do have some nice building blocks in young players like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.

Eakins, who now has an 82-126-32 record as an NHL head coach, is only signed through next season. With the team going through a rebuild, it seems as though he may end up being the sacrificial coach before a more experienced or successful name is brought in to really compete. Of course, if the Ducks turn things around and make the playoffs next year that could all change.

  • The Los Angeles Kings have made four additions to their hockey operations staff hiring Ryan Kruse as Vice President of Research and Development, Jake Goldberg as Senior Director of Hockey Operations, Vukie Mpofu as Manager of Hockey Operations, and Legal Affairs and Rosie Yu as Software Engineer for Research and Development. The group has a varied history, but in terms of NHL experience, Goldberg is coming from the Arizona Coyotes where he served as Director of Hockey Operations and Assistant to the General Manager.
  • The Laval Rocket have announced a one-year, two-way minor league contract for Cedric Desruisseaux, who will join the club for the 2021-22 season. Though he stands only 5’8″ 165-lbs, Desruisseaux dominated the QMJHL this season, recording 42 goals and 78 points in 40 games. That easily led the league in both categories, though the undrafted 21-year-old will have a much tougher time putting up those kinds of numbers in professional hockey. Still, he’ll get a chance to show what he can do in the Rocket organization.

Anaheim Ducks| Dallas Eakins| Los Angeles Kings| QMJHL| Snapshots

4 comments

Anaheim Ducks Hire Jeff Solomon As Assistant GM, VP Of Hockey Ops

May 24, 2021 at 7:39 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

A name well known to NHL hockey in Southern California is on the move, but isn’t going far. Long-time Los Angeles Kings executive Jeff Solomon has joined his former team’s most bitter rival. The Anaheim Ducks have formally announced Solomon as their new Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Hockey Operations. He fills the position left behind by the recently-retired David McNab. Solomon served as VP of Hockey Ops (later Senior VP and Executive VP) over 14 years across town with the Kings.

Solomon, 63, has spent 35 years in hockey, first as an agent and then with L.A. since 2007. His role with the Ducks will be very similar to how he served the Kings. Solomon will work primarily in “strategic budget planning”, managing the salary cap, negotiating contracts, and handling salary arbitration proceedings. Of course, Solomon will also have some input into player evaluations and personnel decisions.

A long-time Californian, Solomon oversaw two Stanley Cups ins L.A. but is now on to a new challenge in Anaheim. Whereas the Kings have considerable cap space heading into the off-season, the Ducks are more limited with only 15 regulars under contract, a number of restricted free agents in need of new contracts, and $22.555MM to add a much-needed boost of talent to the roster. With that said, Solomon also enters a situation where the organization has budding stars at forward and defense in Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, a deep pipeline at all positions, and a guaranteed top-four pick this year. His job of managing the cap will be made much easier if the Ducks impressive group of entry-level players all take a step forward next season.

 

Anaheim Ducks| Arbitration| Los Angeles Kings| Players Jamie Drysdale| Salary Cap

4 comments
AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
  • Top Stories
  • Recent

Flyers Sign Noah Cates To Four-Year Extension

Jets’ Rasmus Kupari Signs Two-Year Deal With Switzerland’s HC Lugano

Lightning Sign Yanni Gourde To Six-Year Contract

Aleksander Barkov Wins Frank J. Selke Trophy, King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Seattle Kraken Sign Josh Mahura To Two-Year Contract

Avalanche Sign Ilya Nabokov To Entry-Level Contract

Maple Leafs Won’t Ask Morgan Rielly To Waive No-Move Clause

Islanders Sign Kyle Palmieri, Adam Boqvist To Extensions

Sabres Hire Jarmo Kekäläinen As Senior Advisor

Kraken Hire Lane Lambert As Head Coach

Metro Notes: Hurricanes, Burns, Muse

Central Notes: Mammoth, Kupari, Desiderio

Vancouver Canucks Sign Derek Forbort To One-Year Deal

Lightning Re-Sign Steven Santini To Two-Year Deal

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

Red Wings Sign Jesse Kiiskinen To Entry-Level Contract

Oilers Sign Roby Jarventie To Two-Way Extension

Kings Re-Sign Martin Chromiak To Two-Way Deal

Senators Still Leveraging Drake Batherson In Trade Talks

Flyers Sign Noah Cates To Four-Year Extension

Rumors By Team

Rumors By Team

  • Avalanche Rumors
  • Blackhawks Rumors
  • Blue Jackets Rumors
  • Blues Rumors
  • Bruins Rumors
  • Canadiens Rumors
  • Canucks Rumors
  • Capitals Rumors
  • Devils Rumors
  • Ducks Rumors
  • Flames Rumors
  • Flyers Rumors
  • Golden Knights Rumors
  • Hurricanes Rumors
  • Islanders Rumors
  • Jets Rumors
  • Kings Rumors
  • Kraken Rumors
  • Lightning Rumors
  • Mammoth Rumors
  • Maple Leafs Rumors
  • Oilers Rumors
  • Panthers Rumors
  • Penguins Rumors
  • Predators Rumors
  • Rangers Rumors
  • Red Wings Rumors
  • Sabres Rumors
  • Senators Rumors
  • Sharks Rumors
  • Stars Rumors
  • Wild Rumors

Latest Rumors & News

Latest Rumors & News

  • Brock Boeser Rumors
  • Scott Laughton Rumors
  • Brock Nelson Rumors
  • Rickard Rakell Rumors
  • Mikko Rantanen Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors Features

Pro Hockey Rumors Features

  • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
  • 2024-25 Salary Cap Deep Dive Series
  • 2025 Trade Deadline Primers
  • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
  • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
  • Active Roster Tracker
  • Arbitration-Eligible Free Agents 2025
  • Draft Order 2025
  • Trade Tracker
  • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
  • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
  • Waiver Claims 2024-25

 

 

 

Navigation

  • Sitemap
  • Archives

PHR Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Commenting Policy

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top

Register

Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version