Ryan Getzlaf Intends To Re-Sign With Anaheim
There were many pending unrestricted free agents that were left unprotected for Wednesday’s expansion draft but the expectation is quite a few of them will ink new deals between the lifting of the transactions freeze on Thursday and the start of the free agent market next Wednesday. Among those appears to be center Ryan Getzlaf as Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register notes that the veteran is believed to be intending to return to Anaheim and re-sign with the Ducks before free agency opens up.
The 36-year-old has spent his entire 16-year career in Anaheim and is the longest-serving captain in franchise history after taking on that role in 2010. In his prime, he was a dominant top-line center but his production has tapered off sharply in recent years. This past season, he posted career lows offensively with just five goals and 12 assists in 48 games despite still averaging more than 16 minutes per game. That had him in trade speculation at the trade deadline although with an $8MM AAV, a viable deal never materialized.
Now that he’s set to hit the open market, it’s fair to say that Getzlaf will be taking a significant drop in pay whether it comes from Anaheim or someone else. At this stage of his career, he’s probably better off on the third line or lower so his salary will be more commensurate with that role. Worth noting, he is eligible to sign a contract with performance incentives as long as it’s a one-year contract. Such a structure would seemingly make sense for both sides as it would allow the Ducks to get him on a lower base rate but allow Getzlaf the opportunity to make more if his production rebounds next season. Either way, it certainly appears as if Getzlaf’s tenure in Anaheim might not be done just yet.
Ducks Re-Sign Alexander Volkov
The Ducks have agreed to terms with one of their pending free agent as player agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star reports (Twitter link) that his client, winger Alexander Volkov, has signed a new one-year deal with Anaheim. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Volkov will receive a $925K salary on his one-way contract. The Ducks have confirmed the extension.
The 23-year-old split last season between Tampa Bay and Anaheim after requesting a trade from the Lightning to try to find a bigger role elsewhere. He certainly received that with the Ducks, averaging nearly 14 minutes per night in 18 games with the team and certainly made the most of the opportunity, notching four goals and four assists in that span. Adding in his time with Tampa Bay, his season ended with seven goals and six helpers in 37 contests.
That didn’t give him a lot of leverage heading into this contract negotiation, even with Volkov being eligible for arbitration for the first time. Even so, he managed to get a raise of $225K from his deal from last season and if he’s able to play at a similar level with the Ducks over the course of a full season, he’ll be well-positioned for another raise next summer.
This is a move that could have some expansion implications. With this agreement, Volkov can now serve as one of Anaheim’s two signed forwards (with 27 games played this past season or 54 in the past two) to be exposed to Seattle, giving them some extra flexibility if they wind up protecting seven forwards and three defensemen.
Expansion Primer: Anaheim Ducks
Over the last few weeks, we have been breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
The last expansion draft was one that the Anaheim Ducks likely want to forget. The team protected seven forwards and three defensemen in order to retain their core offense, but doing this left defenders Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen both exposed. While the Ducks tried to extend their competitive window, they dealt up-and-coming defenseman Shea Theodore to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for the team selecting Clayton Stoner instead of Manson or Vatanen. With their roster a shell of itself from four years ago, the Ducks likely won’t have nearly as much to worry about this time around.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, Rickard Rakell, Danton Heinen, Sonny Milano, Derek Grant, Troy Terry, Nicolas Deslauriers, Isac Lundestrom, Sam Steel, Max Jones, Vinni Lettieri, Sam Carrick, Alexander Volkov, Nick Sorensen
Defense:
Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, Kevin Shattenkirk, Haydn Fleury, Jacob Larsson, Brendan Guhle, Josh Mahura, Trevor Carrick
Goalies:
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
F Ryan Getzlaf, F David Backes, F Carter Rowney
Notable Exemptions
F Trevor Zegras, F Max Comtois, D Jamie Drysdale
Key Decisions
Anaheim’s key decision surrounds which protection path they’d like to use. The team is rather well-equipped to use either the 7F/3D route as well as eight skaters, but either way, the team is probably losing a semi-important piece. Anaheim has a glutton of players who are young enough to have promise but too old to be considered prospects, meaning they’re all eligible for selection.
Up front, the Ducks have a group of five forwards in Troy Terry, Isac Lundestrom, Max Jones, Sam Steel, and Alexander Volkov who could all very well be at least reliable middle-six pieces down the line. On defense, there’s Haydn Fleury to be concerned about, who’s oozed potential since locking down a full-time NHL role and was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline.
Mix in the fact that Anaheim has two valuable trade chips that will almost certainly be protected. While not a part of their realistic long-term plans at this point, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson are both prime trade candidates either this offseason or at next year’s trade deadline. Anaheim won’t want to lose out on the assets they could recoup for those two, and they’ll be protected in either scheme. Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm are stalwarts on the blueline and arguably their two best veteran skaters at this point and will be protected. It makes Anaheim’s decision rather clear: lose Fleury, or lose one out of the group of young forwards?
In all likelihood, Anaheim leans towards the latter option. Fleury showed legit NHL capability this year, especially down the stretch with the Ducks. He received top-four worthy ice-time, and his possession numbers supported that usage. Meanwhile, both Jones and Steel have struggled to find consistency at the NHL level, while Volkov figures as more of a depth piece anyways.
Projected Protection List
F Rickard Rakell
F Troy Terry
F Isac Lundestrom
F Max Jones
D Cam Fowler
D Hampus Lindholm
D Josh Manson
D Haydn Fleury
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (5): Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, Sonny Milano, Derek Grant, Nicolas Deslauriers
Defensemen (2): Kevin Shattenkirk, Jacob Larsson
The Ducks won’t have any trouble hitting either of these thresholds no matter which protection path they choose. They’ve got a large amount of veteran skaters signed through next season, meaning that they’ll have no trouble exposing two forwards and one defenseman. While names like Adam Henrique or Kevin Shattenkirk seem like potential veteran building blocks for the Kraken, they’ll likely be able to find similar players elsewhere that come with a better value proposition. Anaheim should still walk out of the expansion draft with their main roster and core intact.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
San Diego Gulls Re-Sign Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard
- Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard was extended by the San Diego Gulls today, giving him a home for the 2021-22 season. The 26-year-old impressed in his first full season of AHL hockey, posting a respectable 14 points in 29 games. Despite never being drafted, Brouillard’s put up consistently solid point totals across all leagues during his career, but his undersized 5′ 10″, 150-pound frame has left him off the radar of NHL teams. Brouillard will look to continue to impress the Ducks internally and work his way up the depth chart.
- The Iowa Wild announced the extension of defenseman Keaton Thompson to a one-year AHL deal. Thompson, a third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2013, failed to build on a solid rookies season in the USHL and has yet to play an NHL game. Thompson remained in the Ducks organization through 2018-19, but wasn’t given a qualifying offer after tallying just seven assists in 53 games. Thompson’s since spent two seasons with the Wild on AHL contracts, totaling 20 points in 78 contests. He’ll get another chance to play with their defense core this season, but the days of NHL upside for Thompson are over.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Three Players
The Anaheim Ducks have signed three minor league players to contract extensions. Sam Carrick has signed a one-year, one-way extension, while Trevor Carrick and Vinni Lettieri have signed one-year two-way contracts. PuckPedia reports that Sam Carrick will earn $750K on his one-way deal, while Trevor Carrick will have a $750K NHL salary and a $325K minor league guarantee.
Even though Sam Carrick is getting a one-way deal, he’s certainly not guaranteed a ton of playing time with the Ducks next season. In 13 games during the 2020-21 campaign he scored six points, but served as captain for the San Diego Gulls. He’s likely to return to that role with San Diego, where he has played his majority of games since arriving in the 2016-17 season. The 29-year-old forward has 11 points in 47 career NHL games.
His younger brother Trevor Carrick meanwhile only arrived in San Diego for this past season, but quickly found a home as one of the team’s most reliable defenders. The 27-year-old recorded 12 points in 39 games while leading the club in penalty minutes with 53. He’ll be back and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him wear an “A” as an alternate captain as he did in Charlotte for several seasons. Over his pro career, he has played just seven NHL games.
Lettieri, 26, scored at an exceptional rate for the Gulls, registering 14 goals and 26 points in just 22 games. He also spent a good amount of time with the NHL club, getting into five games. The former University of Minnesota star has just eight points in 51 career NHL games, but could be used again as an injury replacement in the right circumstances.
All three of the players will be eligible for selection in the upcoming expansion draft, but none of them meet the exposure requirements for the Ducks. These deals are all about securing valuable minor league depth for their AHL affiliate, while giving the team some passable replacements in injury situations.
Joel Bouchard Hired By Anaheim Ducks
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.
Anaheim Ducks Bring Back Newell Brown
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.
Snapshots: Coyotes’ Coach Search, Nylander, Ak Bars
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.
Minor Transactions: 6/23/21
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.
Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks
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.