- According to Derek Lee of the Sporting Tribune, Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry was practicing today in a non-contact jersey and will travel with the team for their upcoming road game against the San Jose Sharks. Thankfully, Terry has only been out a total of four days, so it does not sound like the upper-body injury will keep him out of the lineup long-term. Enjoying a mildly healthier season than last year, Terry has skated in a total of 54 games for the Ducks this season, scoring 17 goals and 45 points in the process.
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Ducks Rumors
Ducks Will Retain Salary In Adam Henrique Trade
Teams’ interest in the services of Ducks center Adam Henrique continues to intensify ahead of next week’s trade deadline, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports. “It’s a matter of when, not if, he’s traded,” Pagnotta said, also reporting it’s “all but certain” the Ducks will retain up to half of Henrique’s $5.825MM cap hit in a deal.
All signs are pointing for the Ducks potentially adding a first-round pick in the next nine days after centers Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan fetched first-rounders a few weeks back. Henrique, who can also seamlessly shift to a left-wing role, has 16 goals and 38 points in 57 games this season. His 0.67 points per game are the third-most of his career, trailing the pace he set with Anaheim in 2021-22 (0.72) and the Devils in 2011-12 (0.69).
Trevor Zegras Ready To Return To Ice
In a report from Eric Stephens of The Athletic, Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras has been off crutches for about a week and can return to the ice in a week or two. If the predicted time of his return is accurate, the Ducks may have a potential trade chip available for the March 8th trade deadline.
Outside of this season, Zegras has typically maintained a clean bill of health, averaging over 75 games in his first two full-time seasons in the NHL. Over four years with the Ducks, Zegras has played in a total of 200 games in Anaheim, scoring a total of 53 goals and 146 points in the process.
Former Duck Derek Grant Signs Extension In Switzerland
- Veteran NHL forward Derek Grant has signed a one-year extension with the ZSC Lions of the National League, Switzerland’s top league. Grant, 33, is in his first season in Switzerland after not landing an NHL deal this summer. He has 13 goals and 30 points through his first 45 games in Switzerland. Grant spent the last 10 seasons in the NHL, playing with seven different organizations. He totaled 427 career games in that span, netting 57 goals and 132 points. His career-year came in 2021-22, when he scored a career-high 15 goals and 29 points in 71 games with the Anaheim Ducks.
Ducks Activate Alex Killorn, Place Brock McGinn On IR
The Ducks have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight versus Toronto. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Alex Killorn has been activated off IR. To make room on the roster, winger Brock McGinn has been placed on IR retroactive to February 10th with an upper-body injury.
Killorn is in his first season with Anaheim after signing a four-year, $25MM contract with them back in July. However, it’s been a campaign riddled with injuries. The 34-year-old fractured his finger in the preseason, causing him to miss the first month of the season. Then last month, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. Fortunately for him and the Ducks, Killorn recovered quicker than anticipated as he was supposed to miss four to six weeks and came back a little before the four-week mark.
In between recovering from those injuries, Killorn got off to a decent start offensively with his new club, collecting 19 points in 34 games. While those numbers are down from a year ago, it would have been unrealistic for Anaheim to expect Killorn to beat his career-best numbers from a much deeper Tampa Bay team in his first year with a rebuilding club that was expected to be near the bottom of the league in the goal department.
As for McGinn, he last played back on January 25th, making the placement back to February 10th a bit of an odd choice. However, since the placement has been dated back by a week, he’s eligible to be activated at any time. The 30-year-old has had a very limited role this season, suiting up in just 24 games where he has three points in 37 hits while averaging just over 11 minutes per game.
Pavel Mintyukov And Mason McTavish Return To The Lineup
The Vegas Golden Knights made some roster moves today as they’ve assigned goaltender Jiri Patera and forward Sheldon Rempal to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.
Patera dressed last night as starting netminder Adin Hill’s backup as netminder Logan Thompson was out of action due to an illness. The 24-year-old Patera has appeared in five games this season for Vegas, registering a 1-3 record with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Rempal has also appeared in five games at the NHL level this season and has posted the first two goals of his NHL career. The Calgary, Alberta native has appeared sparingly over parts of five NHL seasons and once again finds himself in the AHL where he has posted solid offensive numbers with 21 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.
In other Pacific Division notes:
- Roots Sports reporter Scott Malone tweeted that the Seattle Kraken have activated forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare off the injured reserve. The 38-year-old has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury back on December 18th and has appeared in 29 games this season for the Kraken, posting four goals and a single assist while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. Bellemare is in his tenth NHL season as he was a late arrival to the NHL having spent his first 11 professional seasons playing in his native country of France.
- Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have welcomed back defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as the rookie 20-year-old was activated off the injured reserve today. According to Lee, Mintyukov skated on the Ducks’ third pairing tonight alongside Ilya Lyubushkin. Mintyukov has had a solid first season in the NHL, posting two goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
- The Ducks also welcomed back forward Mason McTavish after a one-game absence. The 21-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined briefly but was healthy enough to be reinserted into the lineup tonight as the Ducks fell to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. McTavish is mired in a six-game goalless drought but still has 13 goals on the season to go along with 18 assists in 44 games.
Rangers Have Interest In Adam Henrique, Won't Move A First-Rounder For Him
- The Rangers are believed to have interest in center Adam Henrique but are not willing to part with the first-round pick the Ducks are seeking, reports USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano. The 34-year-old is the best rental middleman left on the trade market, giving Anaheim some extra leverage in discussions. Henrique has 15 goals and 18 assists in 49 games so far this season while winning 53.4% of his faceoffs. However, he carries a $5.825MM cap hit, one that the Ducks will need to pay down half of to maximize his value.
Mason McTavish Out With Upper-Body Injury, Max Jones Activated
- Ducks sophomore Mason McTavish is out Friday against the Oilers with an upper-body injury, head coach Greg Cronin said. It’s unclear whether this is a recurrence of the upper-body injury that sidelined McTavish for seven games in December. The 2021 third-overall pick looks well on his way to holding down a long-term center spot in Anaheim’s top six, ranking fourth on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 31 points in 43 games. His 54.2 faceoff win percentage is the highest on the team, and while his possession metrics this season are mediocre, they don’t suggest he’s been a defensive liability.
Alex Killorn Resumes Skating
- Ducks winger Alex Killorn skated before practice today as he works his way back from knee surgery, relays Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 34-year-old had the procedure two weeks ago and it carried a four-to-six-week recovery period. While he didn’t stick around for Anaheim’s full practice, the fact Killorn is back on the ice is a promising sign that his return date could come closer to the earlier part of that range. He has 19 points in 34 games so far this season, his first with the Ducks.
Frank Vatrano Hoping To Remain With Ducks
- Ducks winger Frank Vatrano is having his best season, notching 36 points in 50 games already to secure an All-Star spot. With one year left on his contract at $3.65MM and Anaheim in a firm rebuild, some have wondered if the 29-year-old could be a trade candidate. Speaking to reporters on All-Star Media Day including Forever Blueshirts’ Jim Cerny, Vatrano acknowledged the situation is out of his hands but that he’d prefer to remain with the Ducks. That said, teams looking for some scoring help on the wing and don’t want to pay a high price tag for a rental will likely be calling about Vatrano over the next few weeks.