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Garret Sparks

Snapshots: Brookbank, Zadina, Maple Leafs

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The Chicago Blackhawks have promoted Sheldon Brookbank to an NHL assistant, moving him from the AHL where he had previously been an assistant for Jeremy Colliton. Colliton of course took over head coaching duties of the Blackhawks earlier this season when Joel Quenneville was fired, but had not immediately brought Brookbank with him. Anders Sorensen, who had been serving as a development coach for the Rockford IceHogs, will take over as an assistant for the AHL club.

Many will remember the 38-year old Brookbank from his recent playing career, which ended in 2016-17 with the Cleveland Monsters. The physical defenseman actually ended his NHL career with the Blackhawks, and will return to that bench for the first time since 2013-14. The Blackhawks have obviously decided to move to a younger group of defensemen after moving out Jan Rutta and Brandon Manning recently (not to mention waiving Brandon Davidson), and with Brookbank’s promotion have given them another familiar face to help their development along.

  • Filip Zadina is heading back to the Grand Rapids Griffins now that his World Junior tournament is over, but certainly didn’t get the experience he or the organization were hoping for. The 19-year old forward was supposed to “be the man” for the Czech team, but ended up with just a single assist in his five games. Going without a goal seemed impossible for a player who makes his living with his incredible shot and recorded seven goals in seven games during last year’s tournament at an even younger age. That lack of scoring is something that has plagued him at times in the minor leagues too, and will need to disappear if he’s to become the player the Detroit Red Wings are hoping for.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will start Michael Hutchinson again on Saturday night after confirming that Garret Sparks did suffer a concussion earlier this week in practice. Frederik Andersen, who is getting closer to returning from a groin injury, admitted to reporters including Luke Fox of Sportsnet that it’s something he’s dealt with for a while this season. The injury apparently didn’t heal as well as the team had hoped over the holiday break, but shouldn’t keep him out much longer.

Toronto Maple Leafs May Search For More Goaltending

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were forced to put newly acquired goaltender Michael Hutchinson right into the spotlight today after Garret Sparks suffered an injury in practice. Frederik Andersen, the regular starter is on the shelf with a groin injury, meaning Kasimir Kaskisuo was on the bench today as the backup. Hutchinson allowed four goals in a loss to the Minnesota Wild, and though he couldn’t be blamed entirely for the loss it is obviously a concern of the team. Head coach Mike Babcock said after the game to reporters including Jonas Siegel of The Athletic that the team is discussing whether or not they’ll go after another goaltender in order to let Kaskisuo return to the minor leagues.

There is an experienced goaltender on waivers today in Mike McKenna, but that doesn’t necessarily give the Maple Leafs a better option than Hutchinson moving forward. If the team isn’t comfortable with him as the starter perhaps they will go after another netminder with more upside. Regardless, it’s an interesting comment given how close Andersen appears after hitting the ice the last few days. Sparks was put into the concussion protocol after taking a puck to the head and it’s not clear how long he’ll be out.

Goaltending depth is a familiar issue for the Maple Leafs, who over the last few years have struggled to find a reliable backup. Curtis McElhinney eventually took on that role after being claimed off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but was subsequently lost at the start of this season when the Maple Leafs decided to keep Sparks in the NHL. Calvin Pickard, similarly acquired to help add some organizational depth last season, was also lost on waivers and has bounced around the league since.

With Andersen facing so much work since joining the Maple Leafs, the team must surround him with some depth as they prepare for a long playoff run. Lower-body injuries can linger for goaltenders even well after they are ready to get back into game action, and can pop up at the most inopportune times down the line. While Sparks has done enough to keep the backup role for now, two consecutive injuries are showing just how thin the position is in Toronto.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Two Goaltenders

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Ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs lost Calvin Pickard and Curtis McElhinney on the same day earlier this season, fans have dreaded a situation where their remaining two NHL netminders both suffered injuries, however minor, at the same time. With Frederik Andersen currently on the shelf, the team had recently gone out and acquired Michael Hutchinson from the Florida Panthers as a precautionary measure. Today that measure was necessary, as the Maple Leafs have recalled both Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo to serve as their goaltending duo this afternoon. Garret Sparks, who had been carrying the load since Andersen’s injury, is in the concussion protocol after taking a shot to the head at practice.

Hutchison looks like he’ll get the start for the Maple Leafs in a rare afternoon game today against the Minnesota Wild, which would mark his fifth appearance of the season. The other four were for the Panthers, an organization Hutchinson was supposed to serve in this capacity all season. Florida had signed Hutchinson to a one-year, $1.3MM deal to be the third goaltender behind oft-injured Roberto Luongo and James Reimer, but ended up sending him to Toronto for a 2020 fifth-round pick. The 28-year old goaltender comes with plenty of experience in the NHL and a history of success there, though his time in Florida didn’t go well.

Originally selected by the Boston Bruins, Hutchinson would make his debut for the Winnipeg Jets in 2013-14 and ended up playing 102 games for them over parts of five seasons. The big goaltender had his best season in 2014-15 when he went 21-10-5 with a .914 save percentage, but hasn’t been able to replicate those numbers since. Still, he represents a much more experienced option than Kaskisuo, who has just 83 games of professional experience including zero appearances at the NHL level.

Andersen has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to December 23rd meaning he can come off whenever necessary, while both Hutchinson and Kaskisuo have been recalled under emergency conditions.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Goaltender Michael Hutchinson

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With Frederik Andersen currently day-to-day with a groin injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs had already been forced to call up Kasimir Kaskisuo – and his .866 AHL save percentage. The team was a Garret Sparks injury away from having the struggling Kaskisuo as their starter in the short term. Depth in net had become a dire need for the organization and today GM Kyle Dubas was quick to address that need. The Maple Leafs have announced that they have acquired goaltender Michael Hutchinson from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick.

Hutchinson, 28, is a shrewd pickup for Toronto, especially for a future late-round selection. Hutchinson is not far removed from being a regular fixture in net for the Winnipeg Jets from 2014 to 2017. While Hutchinson lost that job in Winnipeg last season, making only three appearances, he managed to play in 76 games over the three seasons prior. In a total of 106 NHL appearances, including four with Florida this year, Hutchinson has a .907 save percentage and 2.70 GAA. Hutchinson has had his fair share of struggles at both the NHL and AHL level this season and has not been the reliable third-string option to injury-prone Roberto Luongo and James Reimer as the Panthers had hoped when they signed him this past off-season. However, his minor league play has been vastly superior to Kaskisuo’s and his career NHL numbers are quite similar to Sparks’. The Leafs still don’t have a stalwart backup goalie to Andersen, but have cheaply acquired an experienced veteran keeper that is a clear upgrade to their depth in net.

Perhaps the best part about adding Hutchinson is that he has already cleared waivers this season and may be moved back and forth between the Maple Leafs and Marlies at will. Toronto’s goaltending depth issues began just prior to the start of the season, when both Calvin Pickard and Curtis McElhinney were claimed on waivers when the Leafs opted to protect Sparks. Pickard had a rough experience with the Philadelphia Flyers early on, but the Maple Leafs nevertheless tried to reclaim their lost property when the Flyers also placed him on waivers. However, they failed to bring Pickard back in as he was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes. McElhinney, on the other hand, has been the best of the Carolina Hurricanes’ trio of goalies and is unlikely to be up for claim again this season. Hutchinson was likely one of the top two-way keepers available and apparently one of the more affordable.

As for the Panthers, when healthy the duo of Luongo and Reimer have the roster spots in Florida locked up. Hutchinson was never going to overtake either keeper, especially given his performance this season. The team also hoped to get young Sam Montembeault some NHL experience this season and the Springfield Thunderbirds starter now takes over as the organization’s No. 3. It makes sense that the Panthers got what they could for a disappointing signing. However, if injury does strike Luongo again, Reimer’s struggles and Montembeault’s inexperience become of greater concern for Florida, especially if they are fighting for a playoff spot. Expect the Panthers to keep an eye on waivers and the goalie market for the remainder of the season.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Dvorak, Maple Leafs

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The NHL has handed out the Three Stars for the second week of the season, and once again a center from the Atlantic Division leads the way. Following in Auston Matthews’ week one honors is Patrice Bergeron, who gets the first star after a nine-point week with the Boston Bruins. Bergeron’s brilliance was on display in full force when he sent a backhand saucer pass to David Pastrnak for a tap in on Monday night against the Ottawa Senators. It wasn’t the first time the Bruins center is included in these awards, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Behind Bergeron were two more Eastern Conference opponents in Morgan Rielly and Sebastian Aho. Both players continued their scorching hot starts by adding seven points in three games, and helping the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes to league-leading records. While both have been good before, each could be experiencing another breakout in performance that could lead to playoff success for their clubs.

  • Christian Dvorak of the Arizona Coyotes has suffered a setback in his rehab from a lower-body injury according to Matt Layman of AZ Sports, who notes that the team will give an update on his status later in the week. Dvorak hasn’t played yet this season as he tries to make good on the six-year, $26.7MM extension he signed this summer, and will likely now be held out of the lineup even longer. Now on the final year of his entry-level contract, Dvorak is looked to as a leader on the Coyotes and one that was expected to take a step forward from the 15-goal, 37-point performance of 2017-18. The 22-year old will need to perform at an even higher level in order to eclipse that if he misses much more of the season.
  • The Maple Leafs were forced to recall minor league goaltender Eamon McAdam today to fill in while Frederik Andersen deals with a minor knee injury, and as CapFriendly points out are using one of their two goaltender exemptions for the year. The team is sitting at 24 players on the roster since they didn’t move Andersen to injured reserve, and will now have to be even more careful going forward. McAdam will serve as backup tonight while Garret Sparks makes his second start of the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Eamon McAdam As Emergency Backup

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4:10pm: McAdam will in fact serve as the backup tonight for Sparks, as the team announced that Andersen is day-to-day with a knee injury.

2:25pm: A few weeks ago the Toronto Maple Leafs had plenty of goaltending depth, and a tough decision to make. They ended up placing both Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers in order to keep Garret Sparks, but lost both goaltenders in the process when the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers submitted claims. That left Kasimir Kaskisuo as the third option on the depth chart, and Eamon McAdam a distant fourth while he played in ECHL Newfoundland—Jeff Glass, the AHL backup, is on a minor league deal and can’t be recalled. Today, a tough scenario has happened for the Maple Leafs as they were forced to recall McAdam to be the emergency backup for tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, given suspected injuries sustained by both Frederik Andersen and Kaskisuo this weekend.

Andersen’s injury isn’t expected to be major, given he finished Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals and was a full participant in the team’s morning skate. As Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun tweets, McAdam will be on standby in case Sparks—the starter for tonight—or Andersen can’t dress. Still, this is exactly the scenario the team wanted to avoid, given McAdam’s inexperience. The 24-year old goaltender has played just 35 games above the ECHL level, and has never come close to an NHL start. The Maple Leafs could quickly find themselves in trouble should Andersen or Sparks suffer a serious injury.

Sparks will take the net tonight after his season debut in Chicago went poorly, while McElhinney and Pickard sit with a combined 4-0 record in Carolina and Philadelphia. Neither goaltender has been outstanding for their new teams, but would certainly be helpful depth for the Maple Leafs at this point.

Snapshots: Waiver Wire, Sundqvist, Burdasov

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With the waiver wire having received a lot of action over the past week or more, don’t be surprised if there is even more significant action on Monday, reports TSN’s Frank Seravalli. It’s the last day for a team to place a player on waivers to have him clear prior to teams are asked to submit their opening day rosters on Tuesday afternoon.

So far only the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils have claimed a player when Tampa took forward Danick Martel from the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey took Jean-Sebastien Dea from Pittsburgh, but that could change within the next day or two as teams have been holding off placing some of their top players on waivers. For instance, Toronto must make a decision on a backup goalie and could be placing two goalies on waivers on Monday, including Garret Sparks. Especially with a rash of injuries over the last few days, teams may be looking to fill voids on the depth chart now that their training camp roster has been determined.

  • After taking a hit to the head from Tom Wilson during a preseason game today, St. Louis Blues coach Mike Yeo reports that forward Oskar Sundqvist is “not good,” according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. While there has been no official diagnosis yet, Yeo said he has a couple of upper-body injuries and expects him to be out a while. The 24-year-old had been penciled in as a bottom-six player for this year’s squad, but now may miss a part of the season.
  • NHL general managers may be looking at another possible free agent available to teams next season as NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that one of the KHL’s current points leaders, Anton Burdasov, has expressed interest in trying to make it in the NHL next year when he’s an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old Burdasov has averaged 16 goals per season in his previous two seasons, but has taken off this year, having already scored eight times in Ufa Salavat Yulayev’s first 12 games.

Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Goalies, Carrick, Kronwall, Joseph

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a tough decision in front of them in net as head coach Mike Babcock and general manager Kyle Dubas must decide who will be their backup goalie as the team still has four goalies on their training camp roster, including starter Frederik Andersen, incumbent backup Curtis McElhinney as well as AHL stars Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard, according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star.

That could be a bigger decision than thought despite the solid season that McElhinney had last year. The 35-year-old posted a 2.14 GAA and a .934 save percentage in 18 games last year, but is on the final year of a team-friendly contract ($850K) and could conceivably cost the team, expected to have cap problems starting next season, quite a bit next season. Sparks, on the other hand, will just be a restricted free agent next season after posting impressive numbers for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the Calder Cup champions, when the 25-year-old posted a 1.79 GAA in 43 games with a .936 save percentage. Pickard, thought to be the future of the Vegas Golden Knights, is also on the roster.

The fear is the team would likely lose Sparks if they place him on waivers to send him to the AHL, which might force the team to decide which player they would rather have, not just this season, but as their future long-term backup. Pickard, who was a backup in Colorado two years ago, could also be lost as well if they decide to place him on waivers.

  • McGran, in the same story, adds that the Maple Leafs are also looking to trade a few of their players, most notably defenseman Connor Carrick, who the team fears they will lose if they place him on waivers. Carrick got into 47 games last season, posting four goals and 12 points, but could be highly coveted by teams with defensive issues such as the Vancouver Canucks or even the Detroit Red Wings.
  • The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan writes that veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall tweaked something in practice and now is questionable for the team’s season opener, joining Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley as questionable for Thursday. Mike Green is already considered out. With those potential losses, Detroit will have to depend on their plethora of young defensemen to fill in. Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that defenseman Dennis Cholowski has already won a spot on the team’s defense, but Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak all could stay depending on those injuries.
  • While there is no specific word on whether or not he’s made the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s expected that rookie Mathieu Joseph is a top candidate to make the team, according to Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times. Joseph stands out the most with a preseason high of four goals. The scribe describes Joseph as a future star, who could come out of no where such as Brayden Point.

Washington’s Options At Backup Goalie

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The Washington Capitals have four goaltenders under contract for the coming season, Vezina Trophy-winning starter Braden Holtby and three unproven young backups: Pheonix Copley, Vitek Vanecek, and Ilya Samsonov. The defending Stanley Cup champions do not necessarily need to make any changes to their current depth chart and would most likely be fine this season with a tandem of Holtby and the hot hand among the three prospect keepers, with Copley getting the job initially.

However, championships are built on being prepared to handle the worst. This current iteration of the Capitals, while almost identical to the team that hoisted the Cup just months ago, is not. The only major departure out of D.C. this off-season was backup Philipp Grubauer, who was traded away to the Colorado Avalanche where he could compete for the starting job. Grubauer was far from a typical backup last season; the 26-year-old made 35 appearances, including 28 starts, which was tied for 37th-most in the league, among the NHL’s most active backups. When Holtby went through a rough patch down the stretch, Grubauer took over the reins as the starter and even got the call in the Capitals’ first two postseason contests. His 2.35 GAA was fifth among goalies with 30+ appearances, while his .923 save percentage was eighth among the same group. Grubauer was as solid as they come last season. Meanwhile, Holtby quietly had the worst season of his NHL career. His .907 save percentage and 2.99 GAA were a major deviation from his career performance, as he struggled with streaky play all year long. Without Grubauer, the Capitals likely would have had a worse playoff seeding and potentially would not have won the Stanley Cup.

So what happens if Holtby struggles again? Normally, it would be easy to say that the star goalie will regress positively back to the numbers that made him a top ten NHL stopper. However, after a deep playoff run added 23 appearances to his workload and significantly shortened his summer, it is hard to imagine that Holtby is fully refreshed and ready to be back in Vezina shape. His play last year may not be an indication of what is to come, but it may be a more accurate comparison for Holtby’s probable performance in 2018-19 than would his three prior seasons of dominant play. Without a reliable backup, the Capitals may be hesitant to lessen Holtby’s workload, but if they don’t they could risk another breakdown. Either way, the Washington backup goalie will not be a non-factor this season.

The first option behind Holtby will likely be Copley. Copley, 26, is a career minor leaguer with just two NHL appearances. In contrast, every team in the NHL last season began the year with a backup goaltender that had more than two previous appearances. Copley is also far from a prodigy; his numbers with the AHL’s Hershey Bears last season were poor and he only returned to Washington as nothing more than a toss-in to the Kevin Shattenkirk trade. So far in the preseason, Copley has made 41 saves on 46 shots for a paltry save percentage of .891. While the Capitals have put their faith in Copley to this point to be a serviceable backup, the undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech has never been considered anything but minor league depth before now. Jumping to a primary backup for a goalie who may need substantial assistance is quite the task. Next up would likely be Vanecek, the Captials’ 2014 second-round pick who has not yet lived up to expectations. Vanecek is still only 22 and has room to improve, but since coming to North America three years ago, he has impressed at the ECHL level and failed to do so in the AHL. Vanecek’s numbers while splitting time with Copley on the Hersey Bears last year were even worse; Copley had an .896 save percentage and 2.91 GAA, while Vanecek had an .888 save percentage and 3.04 GAA. Vanecek has potential, but is not ready to be an NHL backup. Samsonov, in his first season in North America, is easily the most talented of the group. A 2015 first-round pick, Samsonov has been playing significant minutes in the KHL since he was 18. In three seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Samsonov was the primary backup to Vasili Koshechkin and posted a .925 save percentage or better each year. Some hope that young Samsonov can step in and immediately provide that same level of support for Holtby. However, the adjustment to the NHL – and even AHL – can be a difficult one when coming over from Europe. There is no guarantee that Samsonov’s performance will immediately translate. There is also a question of whether Washington will want to harm their heir apparent’s development by costing him starts as the NHL backup. As such, the Capitals are likely to play it safe with Samsonov this season.

Washington’s in-house options to back-up Holtby are not inspiring. The team could absolutely move forward with this group and hope that Holtby can make 65+ starts without a hitch, but there is ample risk involved with that strategy. Normally, it would be tough to significantly upgrade the goaltender position at this time of year, but not this season. Intriguing names are already available and more soon will be. On the free agent market, veterans Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason remain unsigned. The Capitals do not have much cap space, but if either is willing to take a show-me deal, they would become a massive improvement on the team’s goalie depth. However, both players have been available for much of the off-season and the Caps have yet to pull the trigger. They may instead have their eye on younger, more affordable options. Michael Hutchinson, a free agent signing of the Florida Panthers this summer, is one possibility, as he was already placed on waivers at the earliest possible time. St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Vegas’ Oscar Dansk are other waiver options who may have slightly more upside than Copley. That is just the first subset of the backup goalie market though. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs (Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks, Calvin Pickard), Philadelphia Flyers (Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon), and Los Angeles Kings (Peter Budaj, Jack Campbell, Cal Petersen) have major logjams in goal that are prime for a trade or waiver claim. Washington could also wait to target one of a number of third-string goalies trying to be slipped through waivers, such as Al Montoya, Eddie Lack, Andrew Hammond, Anton Forsberg, Zane McIntyre, Jared Coreau, or J-F Berube. The opportunities are out there to upgrade at backup goalie. The only question is whether the Capitals make the move before it’s too late and those opportunities have disappeared.

Trade Rumors: Faulk, Bobrovsky, Ritchie, Wood

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When TSN released their off-season Trade Bait List in early July, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk was ranked #4, among the most likely players to be dealt. A little more than two months later, all three players ranked ahead of him – Erik Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, and former teammate Jeff Skinner – have changed teams, while Faulk remains in Raleigh. But for how much longer? Appearing on TSN Radio 1050 recently, insider Pierre LeBrun revealed that Faulk was a target of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer and speculated that the team could still move to acquire him this season. LeBrun opines that Faulk, a right-handed shot signed to an extremely reasonable $4.83MM cap hit over two more years, would be a perfect fit for the Leafs. Toronto has long been searching for a top pair defenseman to complement lefty Morgan Rielly and Faulk fits the bill. LeBrun speculates that the Hurricanes are likely asking for a major package in exchange for Faulk, but meeting those demands may not be an impossible task for Toronto. Several Maple Leafs players and prospects could fill gaps in Carolina, such as veteran center Nazem Kadri, promising wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, and young goalies Garret Sparks and Joseph Woll, as well as a full cabinet of draft picks. There have also been some inclinations that the Hurricanes are preparing to move on from Faulk as well, such as acquiring a new top pair righty in Dougie Hamilton and passing over Faulk, a career ’Cane, for their captaincy. The team is under no pressure to deal their long-time stud defenseman, but if GM Don Waddell receives a strong enough offer, he seems likely to pull the trigger.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been clear that he does not want to trade either Artemi Panarin or Sergei Bobrovsky, but as both remain unsigned and approaching free agency and trade calls continue to come in for Panarin, there has been rampant speculation as to where the star winger may land. After recent comments from Bobrovsky that could be read as implying that his time in Columbus could soon be over, many have begun to predict where he may land as well. In a recent segment for TSN Radio 1200 in Ottawa, Darren Dreger stated his belief that the New York Islanders would be the front runners in a Bobrovsky trade scenario. Dreger adds that there will be more than a few suitors should the two-time Vezina winner hit the trade market or, better yet, the open market. However, Dreger feels that the Islanders and new GM Lou Lamoriello feel more pressure to add a true No. 1 goaltender in their hopes of soon returning to contender status. The Isles currently roster unpredictable Robin Lehner, on a one-year deal, and failed starter Thomas Greiss, as well as two prospects overseas in Ilya Sorokin and Jakub Skarek. Lehner and Greiss do not instill much hope and Sorokin may never make the jump to North America. The Islanders are without a solution in net in the immediate future and could target Bobrovsky at any cost to solve that problem.
  • How long will the Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils wait on contract resolutions with Nick Ritchie and Miles Wood respectively? The restricted free agents continue to hold out for better contracts and miss valuable time in training camp, despite underwhelming numbers through their first three seasons to support their absence. At this time last year, Columbus Blue Jackets RFA forward Josh Anderson – a similar power forward-style player – remained unsigned and was the subject of numerous trade rumors. Yet, Anderson had just 34 points through 96 games in his first three seasons, whereas Ritchie and Wood have more experience and production through the same amount of time. Ritchie, a first round pick in 2014, has 59 points in 186 games. Wood, one of the Devils’ top scorers last season, has 49 points through 137 games. One would think that either team could drum up interest if they began actively shopping their respective RFA, but it hasn’t happened to this point. Wood is not without flaws to his game, but has exceeded expectations and played a major role for New Jersey last season and with more play time has the potential to be even better. In contract, Ritchie has his strengths, but has not lived up to his first-round billing. Between the two, it would be less of a surprise to see Anaheim part with Ritchie.

 

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