The Anaheim Ducks have announced a roster move today ahead of tomorrow night’s matchup against the Boston Bruins. The Ducks announced that defenseman Robert Hagg has been recalled from their AHL affiliate in San Diego and will join the team in Boston. The move comes just three weeks after the team exposed Hagg to waivers before assigning him to the AHL.
Hagg was the Philadelphia Flyers 2013 second-round pick and is a veteran of 338 NHL games split over a seven-year career. The 28-year-old spent last season with the Detroit Red Wings where he posted two goals and five assists in 38 games. Hagg has been an NHL regular since 2016-17 when he broke into the league with the Flyers and has 16 career goals and 47 assists.
The native of Uppsala, Sweden signed a one-year/one-way contract with the Ducks on July 4th and has dressed in three AHL games this season, posting a single assist. He has bounced around the league the last few seasons between the Red Wings last year and the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres in 2021-22. Teams have always been enticed by Hagg’s size and his willingness to block shots, but his limited puck skills have always kept him from catching on with a team long-term.
In 2018-19, Hagg looked as though he was emerging as a part of the Flyers top-6 defensemen dressing in 82 games and putting up 20 points. However, during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season Hagg’s play regressed leading to him being part of the Flyers and Sabres trade that saw fellow defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen go the other way.