Ducks Activate Lukas Dostal From Injured Reserve
The Ducks have their starting netminder back in play. The team announced they’ve activated Lukáš Dostál from injured reserve and assigned Vyacheslav Buteyets to ECHL Tulsa in the corresponding move.
Dostál has missed the last nine games and three weeks with an upper-body injury, making today’s activation right on schedule. Before that, the 25-year-old was breaking into his own as a top-tier No. 1. In 17 appearances – all starts – he’s racked up an 11-5-1 record, .904 SV%, 2.81 GAA, and a .647 quality start percentage. Among goalies with at least 15 showings, his 0.592 GSAx/60 ranks 10th in the league, per MoneyPuck.
He has been invaluable for a Ducks team that’s still finding its way defensively, but has received plenty of scoring and quality goaltending to make them a relatively safe bet to end their seven-year playoff drought. So far, general manager Pat Verbeek’s decision to sign the 2018 third-rounder to a five-year, $32.5MM deal last summer looks more like a bargain than a fair bet, particularly after he amassed a .903 SV% and 14.3 GSAx in 54 appearances last season.
With Dostál out, it wasn’t backup Petr Mrázek holding things down. He’s also spent the better part of the last two weeks on injured reserve after leaving a Nov. 30 game against the Blackhawks with a lower-body injury. His return is expected to come closer to the holiday break.
That’s left Anaheim with experienced third-stringer Ville Husso and the rookie Buteyets as their tandem for the month of December. Husso has started six in a row and appeared in eight straight and has been a no-fuss option – exactly why Anaheim shelled out a pricey $2.2MM cap hit last offseason to keep him in the organization despite knowing he was ticketed for waivers and a minor-league role behind Dostál and Mrázek. He’ll now be relegated to backup duties behind Dostál until Mrázek returns.
There’s a legitimate argument that Anaheim might be better off keeping Husso and placing Mrázek on waivers once he’s healthy, though. Husso posted a serviceable .888 SV% and 3.16 GAA – enough to win five out of his eight decisions – while logging 1.2 goals saved above expected. The 33-year-old Mrázek’s numbers were down at a .876 SV% and 3.69 GAA in seven starts before his injury. On an expiring deal at a $4.25MM cap hit, he’s at virtually no risk of being claimed.
As for Buteyets, the 23-year-old was only up as an emergency option. His only action – his NHL debut – came after a mercy pull for Husso in a 7-0 loss to the Mammoth last week. He played the third period of that contest and allowed three goals on 13 shots for a .769 SV% and 9.00 GAA.
A 2022 sixth-round pick, Buteyets is in his second season in North America and has shown promise in the ECHL. After recording a .905 SV% in 36 games as Tulsa’s rookie starter last year, he’s upped that in a big way to a .924 mark in seven showings this season. His .858 SV% in five games at the AHL level for San Diego over the past two years, though, shows he needs some more runway in the low minors before he’s ready to make a significant push up Anaheim’s depth chart.
Ducks Recall Vyacheslav Buteyets
The Ducks announced they’ve recalled goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets from AHL San Diego. Fellow netminder Lukáš Dostál was placed on injured reserve in the corresponding move.
Anaheim is now without both of its regular netminders. Dostál is facing a two-to-three-week absence because of an upper-body injury, while No. 2 option Petr Mrázek left Sunday’s start against the Blackhawks in the third period with a lower-body injury and did not return. He’s been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Blues, meaning Buteyets will dress for an NHL regular-season game for the first time tonight as the backup to veteran third-stringer Ville Husso.
Buteyets, 23, had started the season with ECHL Tulsa but was promoted to San Diego in mid-November after a strong start. He made seven appearances for Tulsa and posted a pristine .924 SV% with a 2.81 GAA and a 4-3-0 record. Life hasn’t been as smooth since the promotion, though. With Husso up with the Ducks, Buteyets has started San Diego’s last three games – all in a six-day span – and recorded a 3.72 GAA and .878 SV% with a 1-2-0 record.
While he’s shown upside in the lower minors, the NHL isn’t where the Ducks want Buteyets at this stage in his development. The 6’4″ Russian was a sixth-round pick in 2022 and is now in his second season in North America after signing a two-year entry-level deal in 2024. He was coming off a pair of strong showings with Chelmet Chelyabinsk of the VHL, Russia’s second-tier pro league, and recorded a .905 SV% in 36 appearances for Tulsa last year.
Anaheim doesn’t have any back-to-backs on its schedule until Dec. 15 and 16. Even if Mrázek’s absence is a lengthy one, Dostál’s return timeline puts him back in the lineup around then. If he’s available even for the second of those two games, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Ducks ride Husso for a series of seven consecutive starts leading into that back-to-back while Buteyets serves solely as yet another injury insurance option.
Ducks Sign Vyacheslav Buteyets To Entry-Level Deal
The Ducks have inked goalie Vyacheslav Buteyets to a two-year, entry-level deal, per a team announcement Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Anaheim picked up the signing rights to Buteyets, 21, in the sixth round of the 2022 draft – the same one that landed them blue-chip defense prospect Pavel Mintyukov in the first round. The pick they used on Buteyets, 178th overall, was picked up from the Predators in a February 2020 trade involving depth defensemen Korbinian Holzer and Matt Irwin.
The Russian netminder stands at 6’4″ and 185 lbs. He’s spent nearly his entire career in the Chelyabinsk organization, much like Hurricanes goalie prospect Ruslan Khazheyev, who signed his ELC earlier today. Unlike the younger Khazheyev, though, he’s graduated from the junior ranks, putting up exemplary numbers with Chelmet in the professional second-tier VHL as their undisputed starter the past two seasons.
2022-23 was a banner year for Buteyets, who was a top-ten goalie in the league with a .933 SV%, 2.11 GAA, three shutouts and an 18-12-4 record in 35 appearances. He made another 35 showings this season with more middling results, posting a .913 SV% and 2.57 GAA with a 16-18-0 record. He also made his top-level debut for KHL Traktor, surrendering three goals on 19 shots against Dynamo Moscow back in December.
With veteran Alex Stalock headed for unrestricted free agency, Buteyets will likely compete for minor-league time next season with the Ducks’ three other goalie prospects under contract – Gage Alexander, Calle Clang and Tomas Suchanek. Whether Buteyets is able to carve out a backup or third-string role for himself with AHL San Diego or begins his career in North America with ECHL Tulsa is something to watch in training camp. Being loaned back to Chelyabinsk for a season is also an option, albeit less likely.
Buteyets will be a restricted free agent when his deal expires in 2026.