Salary Cap Deep Dive: Anaheim Ducks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Anaheim Ducks
Current Cap Hit: $75,316,667 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Leo Carlsson (three years, $925K)
D Jackson LaCombe (one year, $925K)
D Tristan Luneau (three years, $897K)
F Mason McTavish (two years, $894K)
D Pavel Mintyukov (three years, $918K)
Potential Bonuses
Carlsson: $3.25MM
LaCombe: $925K
Luneau: $80K
McTavish: $2.5MM
Mintyukov: $550K
Total: $7.31MM
Carlsson was the second-overall pick back in June and while he opens the season as a cap-exempt player on SOIR, that won’t be the case for long. With Anaheim’s depth down the middle, they have the luxury of easing him in at center if they want or to start him on the wing. It’s far too early to forecast a second contract but he’s a big part of their future plans. McTavish is also a key cog for them for the long haul. The third-overall pick in 2021 had a strong first full season and is expected to play a bigger role this year. If he stays on that upward trajectory, he could command a long-term deal around the $8MM range that other young middlemen have landed. That is, if GM Pat Verbeek is willing to break from his tendency of sticking with bridge deals. In that case, something around $6MM could be the target.
LaCombe made his NHL debut late last season, burning the first year of his deal in the process. He was quite productive with the University of Minnesota in his college career, particularly the last two years. However, with him really only having one year to base his second contract on, it’s almost certain to be a short-term agreement. If he holds a regular role this year, it could check in around the $1.5MM mark. Luneau and Mintyukov both broke camp with the team but might not be up for too long. Two of the top blueliners in major junior last season, both have considerable offensive upside which will serve them well on their second contracts.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Sam Carrick ($850K, UFA)
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx ($775K, RFA)
F Adam Henrique ($5.825MM, UFA)
F Brett Leason ($775K, RFA)
F Isac Lundestrom ($1.8MM, RFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Max Jones ($1.295MM, RFA)
F Jakob Silfverberg ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Urho Vaakanainen ($850K, RFA)
Get used to hearing Henrique’s name in trade speculation throughout the season. When healthy, he has shown he can still play on a second line although his role on a contender might be a bit lower. Henrique’s injury trouble will limit his value on the open market, however. He’s still capable of putting up 20 goals – he did so just last season – but as he starts to look more like a third-liner moving forward, his value will drop accordingly. Something in the $3.5MM range might be the right spot. Silfverberg is another trade deadline rental candidate assuming the Ducks retain a sizable portion. He has struggled the last few years and is more of a role player at this point in his career. In free agency, those players typically get about a third of what he’s making now.
Lundestrom’s platform year isn’t off to a good start as he suffered a torn Achilles tendon back in August, keeping him out for the first half of the season at a minimum. Between that, the fact he’s coming off just a four-goal showing, and the fact that he filed for arbitration on his last deal, it’s possible that he becomes a non-tender candidate. Otherwise, a one-year agreement at or very close to this price tag is where his next deal should be. Jones has also battled injuries on his current deal but is coming off a career-best showing last year. If he can build on that, he could land a bit more than his $1.5MM qualifying offer next summer.
Carrick had 11 goals back in 2021-22 which helped him earn this deal after being primarily an AHL regular before that point. He’s a pure fourth liner which will cap his earnings upside unless he’s able to put up another double-digit showing offensively this season. Groulx is the beneficiary from Lundestrom’s injury as he was able to break camp with the team. He has primarily been in the AHL so far which doesn’t give him much leverage in negotiations but if he can lock down a full-time role, he could come in close to the $1MM mark. Leason was claimed off waivers last season and played a somewhat regular role. Similar to Groulx, if he can become an every-game player, he could land a small raise next summer as well.
Lyubushkin comes over following a late-summer trade as Verbeek continues to add grit to his roster. He’s a third-pairing blueliner with some limitations but if last summer was any indication, it’s quite possible that he lands a similar-sized multi-year agreement in 2024 given the desire for right-shot blueliners around the league. Vaakanainen just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Anaheim picked him up as part of the Hampus Lindholm trade, hoping he could be a part of their future plans on the back end. That still could happen but with how much time he has missed, a one-year deal next summer is likely, one that should check in near the $1MM mark.
Signed Through 2024-25
G Lukas Dostal ($812.5K, RFA)
F Brock McGinn ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Frank Vatrano ($3.65MM, UFA)
Vatrano’s first season with Anaheim was a successful one as he set a new career high in points with 41 while topping the 20-goal mark for just the second time. At the time the deal was signed in 2022, this looked like a bit of an overpayment but if he can sustain those numbers, they’ll get a good return on the contract while the veteran will have a strong case for another multi-year pact in the $4MM range. McGinn was a salary dump from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline but while he’s overpaid for his role, he’s still a serviceable checker. His market value is around $1MM less than what he’s making now.
Dostal is in his first full NHL season after being up and down between Anaheim and AHL San Diego the last couple of years. If he can hold his own as a backup, he should easily double this price tag. If he can push to play more than just a typical backup, something closer to $3MM becomes potentially plausible.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Jamie Drysdale ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Cam Fowler ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Radko Gudas ($4MM, UFA)
F Ross Johnston ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Trevor Zegras ($5.75MM, RFA)
It took a while for Zegras and Anaheim to come to terms on the bridge deal that many expected but an agreement was reached just before the season. The contract gives both sides more time to assess if he can become a true number one middleman. If so, it’s possible that his next contract is closer to the $9MM mark while even if he stays around the 60-point mark that he has reached the last two years, he’d still be well-positioned for a decent raise with arbitration rights in 2026. Johnston was just claimed off waivers this week, giving the Ducks a true enforcer, further enhancing their grit. He had a very limited role with the Islanders and will need to lock down a regular spot by the time this deal is up if he wants another seven-figure AAV.
Fowler isn’t a true number one blueliner from the standpoint of being a high-end offensive producer who also plays on the top penalty kill. But he’s not far from that either. He is typically Anaheim’s best offensive weapon each season while logging big minutes in all situations. For the contract that he’s on relative to the role he fills on their back end, this deal has aged well for the Ducks so far. Fowler will be turning 35 soon after his next contract begins, however, which will hurt him a bit. Performance-wise, there’s a case to be made that he’s worthy of a fair-sized raise. However, his age will negate that. Accordingly, a multi-year deal around this price point might be where his next deal lands assuming his recent level of performance holds up.
Gudas was another addition made with an eye on upgrading team toughness. He has shown that he’s best suited to play on a third pairing but that he can log bigger minutes if needed. This is an overpayment for that type of role but with so many of their blueliners being youngsters that could legitimately be a couple of years away, the term shouldn’t hurt them much. Drysdale’s deal also just came together recently; his contract was more complex after he missed almost all of last season with a shoulder injury. He’s going to be part of the long-term core but with just 113 games under his belt, it’s still hard to assess how much of an impact he’ll be able to make.
Minor Transactions: 10/14/23
With most leagues now underway for their 2023-24 seasons, there is still a lot of activity on the minor transactions front as players look to secure spots before it’s too late. Here’s a rundown of transaction activity that has an NHL connection.
- The Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario announced that they’ve released veteran goalie Jean-Francois Berube from his tryout agreement; he had previously been in camp with Los Angeles. The 32-year-old has bounced around the minors over the past few seasons, spending time with five different organizations over the last four years. Berube last saw NHL action back in 2021-22 with Columbus but will have his work cut out for him to get back to the top level as first, he’ll need to catch on with another AHL squad.
- After getting cut from Carolina’s training camp, veteran forward Nick Shore is returning to HV71 in Sweden according to a report from SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson and Jacob Johannesson. The 31-year-old last saw regular action back in 2019-20 with Toronto and Winnipeg and has 299 games at the top level under his belt.
- Scott Harrington’s tryout with Anaheim’s farm team was short-lived as AHL San Diego announced that he has been released. The 30-year-old finished last season with the Ducks after being claimed on waivers at the end of February and held his own, picking up four points in 17 games while averaging over 18 minutes a night. Now, he’ll have to head to a new organization and will likely have to settle for an AHL contract at this point to catch on somewhere.
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Red Wings Recall Zach Aston-Reese
With Robby Fabbri set to miss tonight’s game against Tampa Bay, the Red Wings needed to bring up a forward. They’ve decided that forward will be Zach Aston-Reese as the team announced that the winger has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids.
The 29-year-old was able to turn a PTO into a guaranteed deal last season with Toronto, a move that worked out relatively well for him. Aston-Reese set career highs in games played (77) and goals (10) in 2022-23 while recording 163 hits in what was predominantly a fourth line role. He also suited up in six playoff contests, picking up a goal along with 16 more hits despite averaging less than nine minutes a night.
However, Aston-Reese once again had to go the PTO route for this season, getting one with Carolina a month ago today. It wasn’t successful and he was cut earlier this month although he was able to rebound quickly, inking a two-way deal with Detroit last Sunday. That move coincided with a waiver placement where he passed through unclaimed, resulting in him suiting up for the Griffins in their opener last night.
While Aston-Reese’s recall gives Detroit a dozen healthy forwards on the roster, don’t expect that to automatically mean that Aston-Reese will play tonight. Instead, it appears as if they’ll go with seven defensemen, allowing Olli Maatta to make his season debut. Fabbri, meanwhile, is listed as day-to-day and hasn’t been ruled out for Monday’s contest against Columbus.
Markus Niemeläinen Clears Waivers
Saturday: Niemeläinen has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. He has been assigned to Bakersfield.
Friday: The Edmonton Oilers announced they’ve placed defenseman Markus Niemeläinen on waivers. With Niemeläinen now cleared to play and eligible for waivers and a subsequent AHL assignment to the Bakersfield Condors, the team will add a forward before tomorrow’s home opener against the Vancouver Canucks, says The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman.
It seems unlikely Niemeläinen will be claimed by another team over the next 24 hours, given he has just one assist in 43 NHL games to date. The 25-year-old Finn is strictly a shutdown defender, and he hasn’t managed to post positive possession numbers despite playing extremely sheltered minutes. His 6-foot-6 frame may be appealing to some teams, though.
He’d been dealing with a short-term undisclosed injury which prevented the Oilers from waiving him before the season started and, in part, forced them to play with 17 skaters due to salary cap constraints in Wednesday’s 8-1 road drubbing at the hands of the Canucks.
Niemeläinen is in the final season of a two-year, $1.525MM contract. While it carries a cap hit of just $762.5K, below the league minimum for this season, he is making the minimum $775K in actual salary this season at both the NHL and AHL levels. In 30 games with AHL Bakersfield last season, Niemeläinen notched two goals, five assists and seven points in 30 contests. Edmonton selected him in the third round, 63rd overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Capitals Assign Clay Stevenson, Recall Aliaksei Protas From AHL
Saturday: With Kuemper back, the Capitals have reversed this transaction, sending Stevenson back to Hershey while recalling Protas.
Friday: The Washington Capitals today recalled netminder Clay Stevenson from the AHL’s Hershey Bears, as starter Darcy Kuemper will miss tonight’s season-opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins after welcoming a son last night. Forward Aliaksei Protas was loaned to Hershey to allow Washington the cap space to recall Stevenson.
Stevenson will backup Charlie Lindgren, who will start opening night for the Caps after recording a .899 save percentage in a career-high 31 games last season. The 24-year-old Stevenson has yet to make his NHL debut after signing with Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2022. In his first pro campaign last season, the former Dartmouth standout assumed the starting role for the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He appeared in 36 games there, recording a 2.54 goals-against average, .916 save percentage, three shutouts, and a 19-12-3 record. He also made three appearances for Hershey, going undefeated and posting a sparkling .924 save percentage and 1.96 goals-against average.
In 2023-24, Stevenson will be the primary AHL backup to Hunter Shepard, who broke out for Hershey en route to a Calder Cup win last season and captured the playoff MVP award.
Protas, meanwhile, still does not require waivers to head to the minors and was the odd man out with 2019 first-round pick Connor McMichael locking down a top-six role for opening night. The 22-year-old Belarusian was also a member of the Capitals’ 2019 class and stuck mostly in the NHL last season, notching 15 points in 58 contests. He’ll likely get recalled back to the Capitals’ NHL roster once Kuemper has rejoined the team and Stevenson is returned to Hershey.
Sharks Recall Jacob Peterson
The Sharks have made a roster move in advance of their game tonight against Colorado, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Jacob Peterson from AHL San Jose. To make room for him on the roster, they’ve placed forward Mikael Granlund on IR, a move that was expected to happen yesterday; the placement was made retroactive to Friday.
Back in 2021-22, Peterson worked his way into a fairly regular role in Dallas, suiting up in 65 games that season where he provided some quality depth scoring, notching a dozen goals. However, that wasn’t enough to secure a spot with the Stars as he played just once with Dallas last season. The 24-year-old was then flipped to San Jose for minor leaguer Scott Reedy at the trade deadline.
Peterson eventually became a late-season recall by San Jose and fared quite well for himself, notching eight points in 11 games down the stretch while logging nearly 18 minutes a night of ice time. At that point, it looked like he had played his way into the plans for this season but wound up being a late cut, clearing waivers last weekend.
Granlund will miss at least the next three games with his lower-body injury so Peterson will have a bit of time to try to force his way into a longer stint with the Sharks if he can pick up where he left off last season.
Flyers Open To Taking On A Contract And Going Into LTIR
On the surface, the Flyers don’t appear to have a lot of cap space – less than $900K, in fact, according to CapFriendly – but that number is a bit misleading. With defenseman Ryan Ellis already ruled out for the year, they can place his $6.25MM AAV on LTIR, opening up considerably more spending room.
To that end, GM Daniel Briere made an appearance on TSN 1200 (audio link) where he indicated that he has told teams that he is open to taking on a contract but as is always the case, helping a team out of a cap bind comes at a cost:
I’ve talked to many teams, and I’ve let them know there’s a possibility for us to help them if they’re able to help us on the back end with some younger guys.
Ottawa is a team that is certainly needing to open up some cap space to sign Shane Pinto and there’s no doubt the two sides have spoken although clearly, there hasn’t been a match in a trade just yet. Mathieu Joseph and Erik Brannstrom are the two speculated players that they’re open to moving to accomplish that; of the two, Brannstrom might fit in a bit better as he’s young enough to potentially be part of Philadelphia’s future plans on the back end. That said, it’s worth noting that moving Brannstrom and his $2MM price tag alone isn’t enough to get Pinto signed.
With more than half the league using LTIR or being within $1MM of the Upper Limit of the salary cap, the Sens certainly aren’t the only team that will be looking to open up some extra flexibility so Briere is in the driver’s seat with this one. Accordingly, Philadelphia appears to be well-positioned to leverage that cap room into adding another young asset to aid in their rebuild.
Morning Notes: Benn, McGinn, Benoit
Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jordie Benn has signed a one-year contract to play for Brynäs IF in the second-tier Swedish league HockeyAllsvenskan. Brynäs IF had been in the top tier SHL for 63 years until they were relegated at the end of last season. The 36-year-old elder brother of Jamie Benn had been on a PTO with the Dallas Stars but was cut earlier this week.
The veteran of 607 NHL games spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs but dressed in just 12 NHL games registering a goal and an assist. Benn spent much of last year in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies where he posted two goals and four assists in 23 games while providing a veteran presence to the Marlies’ younger players. Benn was apparently close to signing with Brynäs IF earlier this summer but elected to take the Stars PTO to see if he could hang on to an NHL roster spot. Given Benn’s age and current skillset, it could be very likely that he has played his last game in the NHL.
In other morning notes:
- CBS Sports is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Brock McGinn has been placed on injured reserve effective October 13th. The move means that the earliest McGinn can return from his lower body injury is October 21st. McGinn had been on a day-to-day timeline with the injury but was downgraded yesterday and will likely be replaced in the lineup by recent waiver claim Ross Johnston. McGinn was acquired at the 2023 trade deadline along with a third-round pick in exchange for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. He is expected to be a regular in the Ducks lineup despite his struggles in recent seasons. Last year McGinn posted 12 goals and seven assists in 75 games and was essentially a cap dump for the Penguins as he still has another year on his contract after this season at a cap hit of $2.75MM.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Simon Benoit for the second time this week. This comes on the heels of the club loaning Benoit to the AHL Toronto Marlies just two days ago. The moves are of little financial consequence to Benoit as he is on a one-way contract and is paid $775K regardless of whether he plays in the NHL or AHL. Benoit is certainly capable of playing in the NHL having dressed in 78 games last season with the Anaheim Ducks where he posted three goals and seven assists. However, given the Maple Leafs precarious salary cap situation he could find himself shuffled back and forth between the NHL and AHL throughout the season as the team tries to maximize salary cap space.
Canucks Injury Notes: Blueger, Soucy, Mikheyev
Patrick Johnston of The Vancouver Province is reporting that Vancouver Canucks center Teddy Blueger injury status has been changed to week to week. Blueger was originally thought to have a bruised knee, but apparently will not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Blueger originally suffered the injury when he blocked a shot back on October 6th in a preseason game against the Calgary Flames. He joined the Canucks two days later for practice but lasted just 15 minutes before the injury caused him to leave.
The injury will force Blueger to further delay his regular season debut with the Canucks after a solid preseason had fans feeling optimistic about his upcoming season with the team. Blueger signed a one-year $1.9MM contract with the Canucks on July 1st after a disappointing season last year split between the Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins. Blueger posted just four goals and 12 assists last year in 63 games while being deployed largely as a fourth-line center and penalty-kill specialist.
In other Canucks injury notes:
- The Canucks injury news isn’t all bad. The Vancouver Province posted that injured defenseman Carson Soucy skated with the Canucks yesterday in a non-contact jersey and will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Soucy also took part in extra skating drills before practice as he tries to get into game shape. Soucy was originally injured a week ago in a preseason game against the Flames and was thought to be out week to week but could be back sooner than later.
- The Vancouver Province reported that Canucks forward Ilya Mikheyev has gone from practicing with the team in a regular jersey to a non-contact jersey. The 29-year-old had been in a regular jersey for almost a week but was downgraded yesterday for an undisclosed reason. The Canucks thought earlier in the week that Mikheyev might be ready for the Canucks October 17th game against the Philadelphia Flyers but given the setback that return now seems unlikely. Like Soucy, Mikheyev took extra skating before the team’s practice yesterday as he tries to get into game shape.
Update On Steven Stamkos Contract Negotiations
Back in mid-September, Sportsnet aired a brief interview segment with the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos, expressing his disappointment in the lack of extension conversations the Lightning have been willing to have over the course of the summer. A few days later, Elliotte Friedman, also of Sportsnet, reported that the going notion at the moment is that Tampa Bay ‘wouldn’t be crushed’ to see Stamkos leave next summer.
In a minor update to the drama surrounding a potential contract extension for the Lightning’s captain, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that the General Manager of Tampa Bay, Julien Brisebois, had already indicated to Stamkos that they would be waiting until the end of next season to address the future between the two parties, but would ultimately like to see Stamkos retire as a member of the Lightning.
Although it is generally unsurprising for most teams to want to wait until after the season to negotiate a new contract, this instance is more peculiar for the Lightning specifically. Throughout the last two offseasons, Tampa Bay has quickly given out sizeable extensions to all of Nick Paul, Erik Cernak, Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Brandon Hagel. All of these players have been important pieces to the juggernaut the Lightning have become over the last several years, but they certainly do not have the pedigree of Stamkos in that organization.
At 33 years of age, and with over 1000 games played in a Lightning uniform, Stamkos is potentially staring down his last contract as a professional hockey player. Over the course of his career, having spent the last decade as the captain of the organization, Stamkos has been a part of four Tampa Bay teams to reach the Stanley Cup Final, winning two of them.