Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dallas Eakins

Anaheim Ducks Sign Defenseman Simon Benoit

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

3/7: The Duck have confirmed the signing and the terms of the deal for Benoit, noting that the first-year pro leads the Gulls and is third among all AHL rookie defensemen in plus/minus, while also leading San Diego rookie defenders in goals, shots, and games played. The strong performance from the under-the-radar junior signing has clearly impressed the Anaheim brass this season.

3/4: The Anaheim Ducks have made an unexpected splash into the free agent market, signing a player off their AHL squad. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Ducks have signed undrafted QMJHL product Simon Benoit to a three-year entry-level contract. CapFriendly adds that the contract begins next season and carries an AAV of $925K, offset by a $278K signing bonus and $348K in potential performance bonuses over the term of the deal. Benoit has played all season on an AHL contract with the San Diego Gulls.

Benoit, 20, has made the most of his first pro season after he failed to draw NHL interest this past summer. The 6’3″, 192-lb. possession defenseman has established himself as a capable two-way defender in the AHL and looks to have NHL upside. A former standout with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes, Benoit has moved to the pro level seamlessly, recording 12 points and a team-best +17 rating thus far through 50 games with the Gulls.

With San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins as the heavy favorite to take over as head coach in Anaheim next season, the future could be bright for Benoit if he can continue his dependable defensive play. The Ducks have lost Shea Theodore, Sami Vatanen, Marcus Pettersson, and Brandon Montour from their blue line in the last 18 months, opening up the door for prospects to play a bigger role moving forward. With Anaheim’s cap crunch so tight, they are unlikely to make many major additions on the back end this off-season either. With just three core defensemen remaining and signed through next season, it is very likely that there could be three, if not four or five, spots on the Ducks blue line up for grabs in training camp next year. Benoit will certainly throw his hat in the ring and at the very least could earn his NHL debut at some point in the 2019-20 season.

Anaheim Ducks Fire Randy Carlyle

at CDT | by 10 Comments

It looks like the toll of losing finally was too much for the Anaheim Ducks. Despite being told that his job was secure for the remained of the year, the Anaheim Ducks have fired head coach Randy Carlyle and will replace him with Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray for the rest of the season, according to TSN’s Brennan Klak.

“We thank Randy for everything he has done for the organization, Murray said. “Leading the team to a Stanley Cup and three conference final appearances, he has accomplished so much in Anaheim. Difficult decisions need to be made when times are tough, and our play has clearly been unacceptable. We have a tradition of success in Anaheim and we need to get back to that.”

Murray, who has no coaching experience at any level but has been a three-time finalist for general manager of the year and won it in 2013-14, is expected to name a permanent coach in the offseason with San Diego Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins, and former Edmonton Oilers head coach, being the front-runner to take over, according to Klak. With the Gulls deep in a battle for a playoff run, Murray didn’t want to disrupt Eakins and his team. The 51-year-old coach has been the team’s AHL head coach since 2015.

While Murray didn’t want to make a coaching change due to the success that Carlyle has had in Anaheim over the years, the fact that the team has lost seven straight games by a margin of 37-8, was enough that the franchise felt it had to make a change. The worst of it was that the seven-game losing streak wasn’t the worst. The team had lost 12 straight between Dec. 18 through Jan. 15 and have lost 19 of their last 21 games.

Granted the team has dealt with numerous injuries as the team has been without Corey Perry for all but five games, while Patrick Eaves has missed all but seven games this season. Young winger Ondrej Kase is out for the season, after undergoing shoulder surgery and played just 30 games this season. The Ducks have been held together by the impressive play of goaltender John Gibson and kept the team relevant for the first half of the season, but he has struggled of late and the team has suffered even more. The team’s top scorer a year ago, Rickard Rakell who had 34 goals a season ago, has just nine this season and has struggled. The team has quite a few issues as they have a number of veteran players over 30 who are locked in with long-term salaries, including Perry, (two more years at $8.625MM), Ryan Getzlaf (two more years at $8.25MM), Ryan Kesler (three more years at $6.88MM). Eaves also has one more year at $3.15MM. The team has a core of younger players, but few of them have developed they way they had hoped. Many of those players are in San Diego with the AHL affiliate, another reason to keep Eakins there and help develop them now.

Carlyle had already had one stint with the Ducks’ franchise between 2005 to 2012 where he had a record of 290-182-61. He won the Stanley Cup in the 2006-07 season, but wasn’t able to get the team deep into the playoffs after that. He was rehired in the 2016-17 season, leading the team to the conference championships that year before being swept in the first round of the playoffs last year at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. He finished his second stint with a 111-74-35 record.

Snapshots: Waivers, Panthers Coaching Candidates, Budaj

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s not a regular occurrence to see someone on waivers at this time of the season but that’s the case with Tampa Bay center Gabriel Dumont who hit the wire today, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link).  The move is required as the 26 year old has been up with the team for more than a month since last clearing waivers on trade deadline day.

Assuming he clears again this time around, Dumont will be eligible to participate for their farm team, the Syracuse Crunch, in the upcoming AHL playoffs.  He’s only the second player to go on waivers since the trade deadline, the other being Vancouver’s Drew Shore, who needed waivers in order to join the team last month.

This season, Dumont played in a career high 38 games with the Lightning, collecting two goals and two assists along with 29 penalty minutes while averaging 9:35 of ice time per contest.  He has been a more productive player at the minor league level, picking up five goals and five helpers in just 19 games.  He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Panthers are likely to interview University of Denver head coach Jim Montgomery and San Diego (AHL) bench boss Dallas Eakins for their soon-to-be-vacated coaching job, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (video link). Montgomery led the Pioneers to the NCAA title last night and has a 102-47-18 record over four years at the school and was named Coach of the Year this season.  However, he has never coached at the professional level.  As for Eakins, he coached parts of two seasons with the Oilers where his teams struggled to a 36-63-14 mark.  He has had more success in the AHL though, posting a .589 points percentage over six seasons.
  • Although goaltender Peter Budaj didn’t see much action after being acquired by Tampa Bay as part of the Ben Bishop trade leading up to the trade deadline, he noted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that he would be interested in signing a new deal with the team this offseason. Budaj played in only seven games after the trade but was instrumental in keeping the Kings afloat when Jonathan Quick went down early in the season.  On the year, he has played in a career high 60 games, posting a strong 2.18 GAA with a .915 SV% and  should be able to land a guaranteed NHL spot for next season in free agency this summer after opening 2016-17 as a third stringer.

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

scroll to top