Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg missed the final 23 games of the 2021-22 season due to a blood clot and had to deal with one once again this summer. Gefle Dagblad’s Daniel Sandstrom reports that the 32-year-old sustained one while suiting up for his native Sweden at the Worlds back in May. Fortunately, he is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Silfverberg is coming off a 26-point season while playing over 80 games for the first time since 2015-16 and is entering the final year of his contract which carries a cap hit of $5.25MM.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Still with Anaheim, while there is an expectation that Ducks prospect Leo Carlsson will make the jump to the NHL next season, GM Pat Verbeek told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that no determination has been made just yet on their plans for him. Carlsson was the second overall pick back in June and had a productive year with SHL Orebro, recording 10 goals and 15 assists in 44 games. If Carlsson doesn’t make the team, Verbeek indicated that he’d be assigned to AHL San Diego next, not back to the Swedish league. If he does make the team at his natural center position, Verbeek feels that Trevor Zegras who would move to the wing to make room for him.
- At the moment, the defensive depth chart for the Rangers suggests that defenseman Zac Jones – now waiver-eligible – could be in line to land the seventh spot on the back end. However, in that scenario, Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the likelier outcome would be New York trading the 22-year-old over risking having his value stagnate as a frequent healthy scratch. Jones seemed likely to crack the top six before the Rangers brought in veteran Erik Gustafsson (who played for new head coach Peter Laviolette last season in Washington) which should give him a leg up in the competition for a regular spot on the third pairing.
- Seattle will be entering a bid to host the 2026 World Juniors, reports NHL Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). If their proposal is accepted, Climate Pledge Arena – the home of the Kraken – would be one of the host facilities which means the Kraken would be eyeing a long road trip during the event. A decision on the host city for the event is expected later this year.
NativeAmerican
Glad to hear Carlsson will be assigned to AHL San Diego if not in the NHL to start the season and not back to the Swedish league. That’s great. The Anaheim “shuttle” to/from SD will be busy in 2023/24.