Earlier today it came to light that the Anaheim Ducks and long-time cornerstone defenseman Cam Fowler were working on a trade to move Fowler to a new organization. Fowler has spent nearly 1000 games as a member of the Ducks. Still, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman explained that Anaheim wants to give their young blue-liners more opportunity moving forward.
Fowler owns a modified no-trade clause in his current deal which gives him a relative amount of control over where he ends up. Friedman reported that Fowler is willing to edit the list if prompted but there are only a handful of teams with the cap space and the need for a top-four defenseman. One could reasonably assume for various reasons that Fowler likely won’t end up on the Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, or San Jose Sharks which helps iron out a more concrete list of hypothetical landing spots.
The Winnipeg Jets immediately jump out as a team that could have interest in Fowler as one of Dylan Samberg, Ville Heinola, or Logan Stanley are currently pegged for top-four duties. That trio leaves much to be desired in a top-four role which could lead the Jets to pivot to Fowler. Winnipeg has just under $6MM in cap space with Cole Perfetti the only restricted free agent left to sign. Perfetti shouldn’t eat up too much of the available space which should allow the Jets to comfortably fit Fowler’s contract into the fold for the next two years especially if the Ducks retain some salary off the top.
Utah Hockey Club has already added heavily to their defensive group this summer swinging separate trades for Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. The team is looking to contend in their first season in Salt Lake City and Fowler would give them a complete blue line. Most lineup predictions have Juuso Valimaki on the second defensive pairing but his inconsistency over the last two seasons may give general manager Bill Armstrong some pause. Utah still owns one of the better prospect pools in the league and would not need Anaheim to retain any salary in a hypothetical trade.
Another team looking to make it back to the playoffs after an eight-year drought is the Detroit Red Wings. The team nearly swung a trade for New York Rangers’ captain Jacob Trouba earlier this summer although he used his no-movement clause to block the deal. The nixed trade for Trouba indicated that the Red Wings are still looking to upgrade their blue line making them an enticing fit for Fowler. The team largely has no reliable options outside of youngster Moritz Seider and Fowler would represent a veteran defenseman who has maintained plenty of responsibility throughout his career as evidenced by his career average of 23:15 time on ice. There is a bit more uncertainty with the Red Wings salary cap picture as they still need to look down Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Jonatan Berggren on new deals.
Fowler and the Ducks organization will inevitably agree on a trade profitable for both sides. It’s uncertain at this time whether a trade will come together relatively quickly or if Fowler will start the 2024-25 season as a member of the Ducks. Will one of the abovementioned teams swing for Fowler or will another team off the board pull the trigger?
Cam has a huge say in where he goes. He’s from Windsor, although I don’t know where he spends his summers. Chicago, Toronto, Columbus, Detroit all make sense to me.
He was born in Windsor but grew up in Farmington Hills, Michigan when he was like 9 months old, His Mom is from Michigan and his two younger Sisters were born there. His Dad works for Ford. He and his Wife live in West Bloomfied, Michigan where they bought a new home there in 2017. Outside of Detroit there’s no way he’s waiving for any of those teams you suggested here.
same hometown as DeBrincat, i really miss him in a Hawks sweater
You’re in for a surprise.
Columbus or even Dallas if they can fit him. Maybe Detroit. Why does it seem like Verbeek is often a couple months late to the table though?
They were talking about reducing Fowler’s TOI and letting the yutes play. So I don’t see Verbeek accepting an older player back in return, so that rules out most teams that have little or no cap space.
New Joisey
Dallas. Bet on it
They need RD not LD and i’m pretty sure he’s looking at East Coast close to his Detroit home.
Does this mean Hinds, Warren, Luneau have a legit shot at a roster spot? I’m guessing they start in SD but shuttle back and forth so season until someone shines
Dallas does seem like a good fit.
Dallas needs RD not LD like Cam Fowler I seriously doubt he waives for Dallas. Pretty sure he’s looking at East Close. Close to his Detroit home.
Depends on how much playing for the Cup means to him.
The best fit would be a middling team that doesn’t plan to contend, honestly.
Or where he can put on bottom pair.
Toronto. Not sure if it makes sense moneywise, but they need defense..
Though Detroit makes sense Edmonton is looking to fill that hole on defense after trading Ceci and not matching Broberg, perhaps adding Fowler makes sense even if someone plays their offside
Doubt if the Oil has the cap space for Fowler. Ana would have trouble with the lower cap limit too.