Anaheim Ducks Sign Swedish Forward Anton Rodin
The Ducks are importing some scoring help for the coming season. Sportsnet reports that Anaheim has signed Anton Rodin, a former Swedish Hockey League MVP and brief member of the Vancouver Canucks. Rodin finished the 2017-18 season with HC Davos of the Swiss NLA, but will now return to North America to join the Ducks. Contract terms are not yet available.
Rodin, a second-round pick back in 2009, has had trouble making his mark in the NHL. He came over to the U.S. for the 2011-12 season, but found himself playing in the AHL for next two seasons without a callup, prompting the Swede to return to the SHL, the next season, which is where he stayed for another three years. He returned to Vancouver and got into three NHL games, but spent most of his time with the Utica Comets before asking for his release in November of this season.
Western Notes: Coyotes Free Agency, Perron, Jarnkrok, Fowler
With the team comfortable at both goaltending and defense, the Arizona Coyotes are expected to be add to their forward lines this offseason. Don’t be surprised if Arizona looks into the free agent market this summer and attempts to grab itself a top-six forward, according to AZCentral’s Richard Morin.
A team with ample cap space, Arizona has spent the last few years building through the draft and then this past season made multiple trades to upgrade its roster, acquiring the likes of Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Richard Panik. The scribe writes the franchise, especially after an impressive second-half run, might look to dip its feet into the free agency market. While acquiring center John Tavares is not a likely scenario, the team might be able to snag an elite winger such as James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Maroon or Rick Nash. The team will have a couple of their own free agents they must sign, including veteran Brad Richardson, Zac Rinaldo, Kevin Connauton and Luke Schenn (as well as try to extend defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson), but the team should have the assets to upgrade their offense.
Morin does also admit that general manager John Chayka might also go back to the trade route as well, but at the same time, the team believes they will see an uptick in production from rookie Clayton Keller and now believe that prospect Dylan Strome is ready to handle full-time duties in the NHL.
- While the Los Angeles Kings are expecting back defenseman Jake Muzzin from injury, the Vegas Golden Knights might get back an injured player of their own as head coach Gerard Gallant said winger David Perron is a game-time decision, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Perron, who has been out since Mar. 26 with an undisclosed injury is expected to return and start on the team’s third line if he returns to the game. “There’s a chance he might play tonight,” Gallant said.
- Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes the Nashville Predators might be getting Calle Jarnkrok back from injury soon. The forward hasn’t played since Mar. 13 due to an upper-body injury. He scored 16 goals this year as a bottom-line forward.
- Orange Country Register’s Eric Stephens reports that Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler is not expected to go on the team’s road trip to San Jose. Fowler has been out with a shoulder injury since early April.
Cam Fowler, Carl Gunnarsson Face Late-Season Injuries
The Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues are still battling for the last few wild card spots in the Western Conference, and today both announced injuries to defensemen. The Blues announced that Carl Gunnarsson will be out at least six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, while the Ducks will be without Cam Fowler for two to six weeks after suffering a shoulder injury. John Gibson also suffered an injury for the Ducks, but is considered day-to-day.
Fowler is obviously the bigger loss, as the Ducks rely on him for almost 25 minutes a night including time on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Though they have other strong defensemen, this means they’ll have to rely more on players like Francois Beauchemin or Marcus Pettersson, neither of which have shown the ability to contribute like Fowler this season. With Kevin Bieksa still out (and ineffective at times even when healthy) it’s unclear how the Ducks’ defense will shake out as they head towards the postseason. After losing players like Shea Theodore and Sami Vatanen over the last year, their depth isn’t as strong as it once was.
Gunarsson on the other hand doesn’t play nearly as much for the Blues, who have limited him to just over 16 minutes a night this season. Still, losing a player with his experience only thins out the depth of the team as they approach the postseason and makes them even more vulnerable to injuries in their top-4. The Blues though have to worry about the last few games of the season, as they sit a point back of Colorado for the final spot. Though they have a game in hand on the Avalanche, they’ll have to battle to scratch their way into the first round.
Ryan Getzlaf Leaves Game With Facial Injury
The already injury-riddled Anaheim Ducks have yet another health concern and possibly the most worrisome to date. The latest casualty was none other than captain Ryan Getzlaf, who took a shot to the face from his long-time partner in crime, Corey Perry, in the opening seconds of tonight’s game versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Getzlaf was evaluated for an “upper body injury” before eventually being declared out for the game by the team.
Initially, the injury seemed far from serious (video). Getzlaf seemed only stunned by the shot, which lost much of its momentum after a deflection by the ‘Canes Sebastian Aho. There was no blood nor any exaggerated reaction and Getzlaf skated off the ice without issue. However, when he did not return, things became somewhat more daunting for the Ducks. Getzlaf, without a doubt, is the leader of the Anaheim forward corps and plays an invaluable role for the team. Fortunately, the injury still does not have the appearance of anything major and Getzlaf’s absence could be purely precautionary. At worst, a facial injury – even a bone break – tends to be a short-term loss. The Minnesota Wild’s Marcus Foligno for example missed only a week with a facial fracture suffered in a fight earlier this season.
Yet, in the context of Anaheim’s mounting losses, any extended absence for Getzlaf could be problematic. Ryan Miller finally made his ducks debut tonight and Hampus Lindholm and Ondrej Kase re-joined the team this week as well, but that still leaves an injured reserve that features Ryan Kesler, Patrick Eaves, Cam Fowler, and Kevin Bieksa and an active Sami Vatanen who still seems unprepared to resume play. The Ducks already have Korbinian Holzer and Jaycob Megna playing key roles on the blue line; the team can’t afford the same lack of depth up front, particularly at center, where a long stretch with 35-year-old Antoine Vermette as the top option down the middle could spell disaster for the team. The Ducks need to get healthy, and suddenly that starts with avoiding any sidelining of Getzlaf (if possible).
Cam Fowler Given Four To Eight Week Timeline
The Anaheim Ducks have dealt with never-ending injuries for the past few months, and now another one will keep a key player out for some time. Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports that the knee injury that has kept Cam Fowler out since October 20th was given a four to eight week timeline. That would keep Fowler out until at least November 17th.
Anaheim have also been without Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm for the first part of the season—though the latter returned on Tuesday night—and were just dealt another blow when Kevin Bieksa was sent home from the road trip with a hand injury. While there is no timeline on Bieksa’s injury, the blueline is getting thinner and thinner for the Ducks, as they had to rely on Brandon Montour for more than 25 minutes last night.
While Vatanen is close to a return, the Ducks will miss Fowler’s presence on the back end after he developed into a legitimate top-pairing option a year ago. The 25-year old put up another solid offensive season with 39 points, while cleaning up his defensive play enough to be trusted with nearly 25 minutes a night. That excellent play in all situations earned Fowler some Norris votes as one of the league’s best defensemen, as well as an eight-year contract extension this summer. That deal won’t kick in until 2018-19, and will pay him an average of $6.5MM per season for most of the next decade.
When the season began it didn’t look like the Ducks would need to rely on Francois Beauchemin for more than about a month, but it now seems as though he’ll be needed for much longer in an advanced role. The 37-year old defenseman is averaging more than two minutes a game on both the penalty kill and powerplay, both numbers that could potentially increase with Fowler and Bieksa out long-term. For a player who was bought out by the Colorado Avalanche and signed to a one-year, $1MM deal the Ducks are certainly getting their money’s worth.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Steve Oleksy
Journeyman defenseman Steve Oleksy is set to make to join the Ducks for the first time, as Anaheim announced that they have called up the veteran blue liner. The Ducks are in Florida tonight to face the Panthers, so don’t expect Oleksy to make his debut right away, but with dates with the Lightning and Hurricanes still to come this weekend, the expectation is that Oleksy will join the team on their southeastern swing and could see some game action before the return trip to Anaheim.
Oleksy, 31, signed with the Ducks as a free agent this summer after spending last year with the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins after playing the three seasons prior with the rival Washington Capitals. Oleksy has never been an NHL regular – his career-high 33 games came in 2013-14 – but he has proven to be serviceable when called upon.
That’s all that Anaheim can ask for, as they are already on to their tenth different defender of the season. The Ducks revealed today that Kevin Bieksa is out indefinitely with a hand injury, as he joins stalwarts Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler on the sidelines. With Shea Theodore and Clayton Stoner now in Las Vegas, the Ducks simply don’t have the depth that they used to on the blue line, leading to this opportunity for Oleksy on top of regular roles already for 37-year-old addition Francois Beauchemin and the likes of Korbinian Holzer and Jaycob Megna.
Ducks Notes: Slashing Penalties, Getzlaf, Gibson, Miller
The Anaheim Ducks are holding steady at 2-2-1, but after a 3-1 loss to last year’s cellar-dwelling Colorado Avalanche on Friday, many feel that coach Randy Carlyle might point to their struggling power play, but according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, it’s the team’s inability to adjust to the NHL changes in slashing penalties.
The NHL has made changes to the slashing penalties in order to reduce them due to the number of injuries that have cropped up over the years. However, Anaheim seems to have missed the memo, according to Stephens, who writes that 12 of the 27 penalties the team has taken this year are for slashing, nine of which have come in the last two Ducks’ games and six against the Avalanche on Friday.
“Discipline has got to be adhered to, especially to the rules when they do change,” Carlyle said. “And there is a learning curve. But the learning curve should have taken place during training camp.”
Carlyle went on to suggest the reason the team has so many slashing calls is due to the team playing too much in their own defensive zone. Several players have been hit with multiple infractions, including defensemen Cam Fowler and Brandon Montour as well as forwards Rickard Rakell and Antoine Vermette.
- Stephens, in the same piece, also writes that Ryan Getzlaf, who missed Friday’s game against the Avalanche is an unknown for today’s game against the Sabres. The 32-year-old center aggravated a lower-body injury earlier this year and has only suited up for two games this year. The scribe writes that it wouldn’t be surprising if the team holds him back today since the team has a four-day break before their next game.
- Starting goaltender John Gibson is also questionable for today’s. The veteran was hurt on a shot he took in pre-game warm ups on Friday and he was removed after the first period. Stephens said the injury was to either the hands or wrist, but couldn’t get that confirmed. Journeyman Reto Berra took over since goaltender Ryan Miller was not available.
- Stephen writes that Miller is edging closer to returning to the team and should be ready to dress soon, but it won’t be for tonight, according to The Buffalo News Mike Harrington. Miller, who came over from Vancouver to backup Gibson in the offseason, suffered a wrist injury in the preseason and has not dressed yet for Anaheim.
Cam Fowler Signs Eight-Year Extension With Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have locked up a key defenseman for a long time, inking Cam Fowler to an eight-year extension worth $52MM ($6.5MM AAV). The deal will kick in for the 2018-19 season, after Fowler finishes the last year on his current contract.
Despite strong point totals every year since he broke into the league, many considered this year as a sort of breakout for the 25-year old defenseman. Instead of being sheltered in an offensive role, Fowler easily logged the most minutes on the team and was a rock in all situations. Not necessarily considered a possession darling, he took steps forward in basically every metric and was all over the ice for the Ducks.
Though the contract is a huge one, the fact that Fowler is still relatively young is a big factor. He’ll only be 34 when it ends and hopefully will have not fallen off a cliff production wise. Right now, the $6.5MM cap hit comes in 17th among defenders for the 2018-19 season, which obviously could be knocked down even further if other players re-sign between now and then. That means he’ll be expected to perform like a #1 defenseman, but not an elite one. If his game takes another step forward he could provide excellent value for the salary in the first half of the deal.
Offseason Keys: Anaheim Ducks
While expansion was the early headline in what will be a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months to come. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Anaheim Ducks.
Going with the theme of what’s old is new again in bringing back Randy Carlyle paid early dividends for the Ducks who won the Pacific Division and made it to the Western Conference Final this past season before being eliminated by Nashville. Now, GM Bob Murray is tasked with tinkering with a roster to try to take that next step forward. After re-signing Patrick Eaves, here are a few other keys to their offseason success.
Extension Talks For Fowler
Defenseman Cam Fowler had a very strong season in 2016-17, setting a career high in goals while putting up his highest point total since his rookie campaign. He also shouldered a much bigger workload, logging just under 25 minutes per game during the regular season, a number that jumped to 26:30 per night in the playoffs. This came on the heels of being in trade speculation for most of the previous season and summer.
Fowler is now entering the final year of his contract but instead of there being trade talks, the focus will be shifting towards getting a long-term extension done. He will assuredly receive a significant raise from the $4MM cap hit he’s carrying on his current deal as he will be looking to be paid as a top pairing defender.
Not only would getting a deal done take away any possibility for a distraction during the season but it would also give them a sense of whether or not they’ll be able to afford to keep the rest of their core defenders intact for the long-term. If not, that may thrust fellow blueliner Sami Vatanen back to the forefront of trade speculation once again.
Find A Backup Goaltender
Last summer, Murray brought in Jonathan Bernier to push incumbent John Gibson for playing time and he had a pretty solid season (though that will be overshadowed in part by his poor postseason play). Bernier is set to become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday and will be looking for more money and playing time than the Ducks will be willing to give him.
Veteran Jhonas Enroth is also set to become unrestricted and he was basically brought in as injury depth so it’s not likely that he will be back either. Dustin Tokarski has some NHL experience but he’s best served as a third string option that can play a few games as needed than a full-time backup. Accordingly, they’ll be looking outside the organization to find a second netminder.
There are veteran trade options out there but they’re all likely carrying too high of a cap hit to realistically be considered. Accordingly, it seems likely that Anaheim will turn to the free agent market where there will be several veteran backups to choose from. Given that Gibson will only turn 24 next month and has just 140 games of NHL experience, they will likely want someone who can handle a bit more of a workload than a typical backup and may have to pay a little bit more to get that insurance.
Add Left Side Offense
Of Anaheim’s top five point producers up front (six if you count Eaves’ full-season totals), precisely zero of them are left handed. Veteran Andrew Cogliano was their top point getter from the left side and he’s more of a middle six player than a top threat.
While the Ducks won’t complain about goal scoring as long as they get it, they would have a much more well-rounded attack if they could find a left handed forward that could play a regular top line role. Youngster Nick Ritchie has the potential to fill a spot like that down the road but he’s not ready to take on that spot just yet.
As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Murray pursue a trade or free agent to give them some more balance in their attack. Typically, it’s harder to find righties than lefties so if they do have to go the trade route, they’ll at least be dealing from a position of strength that a lot of other teams will be coveting.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Anaheim Ducks Extend Korbinian Holzer
While the Anaheim Ducks escaped the Expansion Draft with a relatively unscathed blue line, considering they could have lost a top-four defenseman in either Sami Vatanen or Josh Manson, the fact remains that they lost depth to the Vegas Golden Knights in young Shea Theodore and veteran Clayton Stoner. They also bought out the contract of Simon Despres recently as well. While Vatanen, Manson, Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Brandon Montour, Kevin Bieksa, and prospect Jacob Larsson still represent one of the strongest and deepest defensive groups in the NHL, it never hurts to have back-up.
As such, the Ducks today re-signed serviceable defenseman Korbinian Holzer to a two-year, $1.8MM deal. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reported the extension that, while sensible, is somewhat of a surprise. Rumors earlier this off-season indicated that teams in the DEL, the highest level of hockey in Holzer’s home country of Germany, were trying to woo the blue liner back across the Atlantic. It was never an overly-convincing rumor, as the DEL is not one of the better pro leagues in Europe and counts over-aged NHL castoffs Steven Reinprecht and Keith Aucoin as two of it’s better players. However, given the 28-year-old Holzer’s limited usage in the NHL, having never played more than 34 games in his four NHL seasons, it seemed possible that Holzer had resigned to the possibility that he could simply return to Germany and be a star instead of watching games from the press box for much of each season in the NHL.
However, Holzer has seemingly decided to push on with his NHL aspirations. The Ducks see value in the stay-at-home defender and he appears to be comfortable with his role on the team going forward. Holzer had a career-high seven points in 2016-17 and registered more than two hits per game in a shutdown role when called upon. It seems unlikely that Holzer’s game will change much in Anaheim – he’s no longer the up-and-coming defenseman he was in Toronto – but at $900K per year, the Ducks can enjoy a player that is able to step in and play a competent defensive game when called upon without needing to play much to stay fresh. When injury strikes, Holzer has been a dependable spot starter and Anaheim hopes he will remain so for the next two years. Holzer may not bring much offense or puck movement, but mistake-free defensive hockey still counts for something in the NHL.