- The Ducks announced that they recalled goaltender Alex Stalock from AHL San Diego. The 36-year-old had been brought up four times this season but has yet to see game action with Anaheim, instead serving in a short-term backup role. He’ll be reprising that role against Tampa Bay with John Gibson out for personal reasons. Stalock has played in a dozen games for the Gulls this season while playing on a one-year, one-way deal worth $800K, posting a 3.72 GAA with a .894 SV%. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Ducks Rumors
Zegras Listed As Game-Time Decision For Sunday
Ducks center Trevor Zegras is listed as a game-time decision for their game tomorrow against Tampa Bay, reports Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has missed more than two months with an ankle injury, his second extended absence after missing 20 games earlier in the year with a lower-body issue. In between, Zegras has struggled offensively, notching just four goals and seven assists in the 20 games he has been able to suit up for which fueled trade speculation leading into the trade deadline. With Mason McTavish and Leo Carlsson locked in down the middle, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Anaheim deploy Zegras on the wing when he’s cleared to return.
Ducks, Tomas Suchanek Agree To Entry-Level Deal
6:34 p.m.: Suchanek’s deal carries an $870K cap hit, per CapFriendly. The deal pays him a $775K base salary, a $95K signing bonus, an $80K games played bonus, and an $82.5K minors salary in all three seasons.
2:25 p.m.: The Ducks have signed goaltender Tomas Suchanek to a three-year, entry-level deal beginning next season, per a team release. Eric Stephens of The Athletic reported earlier Thursday that the two sides were close to a deal. No financial details have been reported.
Suchanek, 20, is a name familiar to World Juniors watchers. Undrafted, he stole the show at Czechia’s 2023 tournament, posting a .934 SV% and 1.51 GAA in seven games en route to a silver medal and an All-Star Team nod. Again passed over in last summer’s NHL draft as a potential overage selection, Suchanek, who had spent the last two seasons with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, found a professional home with the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego.
After suiting up in some preseason games for the Ducks on a tryout, he began the season on loan from San Diego to ECHL Tulsa. There, he had a decent showing with a .906 SV% and a 3-5-0 record in his first eight professional games. However, below-average play from the Ducks’ NHL-contracted goalies in San Diego, youngster Calle Clang and veteran Alex Stalock, paved the way for Suchanek to get a recall to the AHL in November.
He hasn’t looked back, proving himself as the best netminder out of the three with a .919 SV%, 2.56 GAA, 12-6-3 record, and two shutouts – all team-highs. They’re exceptionally strong numbers, given his age and the weakness of the club in front of him, which sits four points out of a playoff spot in the league’s Pacific Division.
Suchanek has decent size at 6-foot-2 and 181 lbs, and he’s put up strong numbers at every level since arriving in the North American circuit from Czechia in 2021. In a scouting report last year, Elite Prospects called him a “low-risk, high-reward selection” for teams looking for goalie help in the later rounds of the 2023 draft but cited his overall refinement, post integration, and footwork in the crease as some trouble spots in his game.
He’ll finish the season on an AHL contract, so he won’t make his major league debut before the summer. However, he’ll be eligible to do so as soon as next fall and will remain under contract with Anaheim through 2027, at which point he’ll be an RFA.
Trevor Zegras Close To Return
In an update today on Anaheim Ducks’ forward Trevor Zegras, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that Zegras has been a full participant in two straight practices. Although there is still no set timetable for Zegras’ return, two full practices without restrictions indicate that he could be making his return to the lineup very soon.
When Zegras eventually makes his return to the active roster, he will have much more responsibility upon his shoulders after the team parted with center Adam Henrique at the trade deadline. As Zegras was also mentioned in trade rumors throughout the deadline season, his play down the stretch may impact the offers that the Ducks receive for his services over the summer.
Afternoon Notes: Bischel, Marner, Lyubushkin, Regenda
The Boston Bruins have returned to the well in South Bend, signing the University of Notre Dame’s Ryan Bischel to a one-year, minor-league contract that begins next season. Bischel joins the Providence Bruins just one week after Notre Dame teammate Drew Bavaro signed a deal with the team. Bavaro – who signed an amateur try-out for the rest of this season, in addition to a one-year deal next season – has since played in the first two AHL games of his career, recording one penalty and two shots. Boston also acquired former Notre Dame captain Andrew Peeke at the Trade Deadline, sending Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Bruins are landing one of the top NCAA free agents in Bischel, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year this season after winning the award last year. The 24-year-old netminder has served as Notre Dame’s full-time starter over the last two seasons, recording a combined 31 wins and .928 save percentage. He’s been dazzling for the Fighting Irish, earning the eighth-most wins and seventh-best save percentage in program history over his five years in Indiana.
Bischel now joins a Bruins goalie room filled with great talent, including reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, William M. Jennings Trophy batterymate Jeremy Swayman, and 2023 AHL All-Star Brandon Bussi. The Bruins reportedly tried to move Ullmark at the Deadline, though the esteemed netminder invoked his no-trade clause to block the deal. Boston could be poised to revisit those trade talks this summer, after bolstering their depth charts with this move.
Other notes from around the league:
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin is doubtful for the team’s Tuesday game against Philadelphia, per head coach Sheldon Keefe (Twitter Link), who shares that Lyubushkin is battling illness. Keefe also shared that star forward Mitch Marner continues to carry a day-to-day designation and won’t join the team on their upcoming two-game road trip. Marner has missed Toronto’s last three games with a high ankle sprain, while Lyubushkin may exit the lineup after battling through an undisclosed injury, and questionable designation, for the team’s Saturday game.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Pavol Regenda back to the AHL after recalling him on an emergency loan on March 12th. Regenda played in four NHL games on the recall, recording no points, two penalty minutes, and a -1. He also managed four blocks, six shots on net, and 10 hits. The matchups bring Regenda to 19 career NHL games, though the one goal and three points he managed in 14 games last season stand as his only scoring. The 24-year-old winger also has 16 goals and 29 points in 39 AHL games this season.
Ducks Eliminated From Playoff Contention
- On the other side of the coin, the Ducks became the third team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention after losing 4-2 to the Blues on Sunday night. Sitting with a 23-42-3 record (49 points) through 68 games, they trail the current second wild card, the Golden Knights, by 30 points but can only earn 28 if they win out. This marks the sixth straight season without playoff hockey in Anaheim, last cracking the field in 2018, when the Sharks swept them in the first round. Only four players who suited up in regular-season games for the team that season remain in SoCal – forwards Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry, defenseman Cam Fowler, and goaltender John Gibson.
Carlsson Returns From Concussion
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that center Leo Carlsson was cleared to return from his concussion tonight against St. Louis. The rookie had missed eight straight games because of it. Between injuries and early-season load management, Carlsson has been limited to just 40 games so far this season but he has played well, picking up nine goals and 14 assists in those contests.
Upper-Body Injury For Gudas, Lower-Body Injury For McTavish
Prior to their game tonight against Winnipeg, the Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Radko Gudas was out with an upper-body injury while center Mason McTavish was out with a lower-body issue. Gudas was injured early in Thursday’s contest against Minnesota while McTavish made it through the game. Gudas is averaging 19:24 per night in his first year on Anaheim’s back end, his highest ATOI since the 2015-16 season, his first in Philadelphia. McTavish, meanwhile, has had a strong sophomore year with 40 points in 56 games so far, good for fourth on team scoring. There’s word for how long either player will be out for. Notably, Anaheim could only dress 11 forwards so if McTavish is to miss any time beyond tonight’s action, a recall will likely be coming from AHL San Diego.
Anaheim Ducks Recall Pavol Regenda
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled forward Pavol Regenda from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, per a team announcement. It will be the second call-up for Regenda this season, with the first one coming less than a week ago before the trade deadline. In his only game with the Ducks on the year, Regenda played over 12 minutes of that game but was unable to put any points on the scoreboard.
[SOURCE LINK]
Leo Carlsson Expected To Return Thursday
- Ducks rookie center Leo Carlsson is set to return to the lineup for Thursday’s game in Minnesota, meaning he’ll miss a sixth straight game with a concussion when they take on Chicago tomorrow, GM Pat Verbeek said. Carlsson, 19, has settled nicely into NHL work after being selected second overall in the 2023 draft and is already the Ducks’ best two-way center by the numbers. His concussion, a right MCL sprain, and an early-season load-management plan have limited him to 40 games on the year and likely pushed him out of Calder Trophy consideration. Still, he’s posted decent secondary scoring numbers with nine goals and 23 assists while ranking second among qualified Ducks skaters with a 51.6 CF% and a team-high +1.7 expected rating. The Ducks, again in the draft lottery conversation with 49 points, have gone 2-3-0 without Carlsson in this latest stretch and have conceded six goals in back-to-back games.