Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman unveiled that the Anaheim Ducks were working on a trade with their longest-tenured player, defenseman Cam Fowler, just before the 2024-25 preseason. Despite the rumor, and a few team’s obvious need for a top-four defenseman, Fowler still finds himself a member of the Ducks’ organization.
Ducks Rumors
Gibson Activated Off IR
- The Ducks have activated goaltender John Gibson from injured reserve, relays Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has yet to play this season after undergoing an appendectomy during the preseason. After being a top performer early in his career, Gibson has struggled considerably in recent years and posted a 3.54 GAA with a career-low .888 SV% in 46 games last season. Anaheim now has three goalies on its active roster with the others being Lukas Dostal and James Reimer. Reimer was claimed off waivers last month and unless the Ducks want to carry three goalies for a while, he could be back on the wire soon.
Ducks Reassign Tristan Luneau
The Ducks announced Friday that they sent defenseman Tristan Luneau down to AHL San Diego. The move opens up a roster spot, one they’ll need to take goaltender John Gibson off injured reserve when he’s fully recovered from his preseason appendectomy surgery.
Gibson’s return is likely imminent, but even without the roster math, Luneau heading down to the minors is likely best for the blueliner’s development. The 20-year-old played in Anaheim’s first five games of the season but has been a healthy scratch in four out of the last five. He’s averaged 16:33 of ice time through six total appearances, posting a -5 rating, nine blocks, and five hits.
A 2022 second-round pick, Luneau cracked the Ducks’ opening night roster last season. He made just seven appearances through the first couple of months, also spending some time in San Diego on a conditioning stint before being loaned to Team Canada for the 2024 World Juniors. He never got to suit up in the tournament, though. He developed a viral infection shortly after joining the national junior team that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Now fully healthy, the 2022-23 QMJHL Defenseman of the Year can get his development back on track. The 6’1″ right-shot defenseman was dominant in his junior career, totaling 144 points and a +53 rating in 159 appearances for the Gatineau Olympiques from 2020 to 2023. In 13 total NHL appearances over the past two seasons, he has a goal and two assists with a -4 rating. With Luneau on the ice at even strength, the Ducks have controlled 46.3% of shot attempts. In his short time with San Diego last season, he had two assists in six games.
His entry-level contract didn’t go into effect last season because he didn’t play 10 NHL games. That means he’s still got two seasons left on his deal after this one and won’t be a restricted free agent until 2027.
Harkins Sent Back To San Diego; Vatrano Reinstated To Active Roster
- The Ducks have re-assigned forward Jansen Harkins to AHL San Diego, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old is in his first season with Anaheim after signing with them in free agency but cleared waivers at the end of training camp. Harkins was brought up yesterday following the injury to Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano’s absence from the team for paternity leave and he suited up in their loss to Colorado, recording one shot on goal in 10:11 of ice time. In a corresponding move, Vatrano is now back on the active roster.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Anaheim Ducks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, first up is the Ducks.
Anaheim Ducks
Current Cap Hit: $68,314.167 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Leo Carlsson (two years, $950K)
G Lukas Dostal (one year, $812.5K)
F Cutter Gauthier (two years, $950K)
D Tristan Luneau (three years, $865K)
F Mason McTavish (one year, $894K)
D Pavel Mintyukov (two years, $918K)
D Olen Zellweger (two years, $844K)
Potential Bonuses:
Carlsson: $3.225MM
Gauthier: $950K
Luneau: $80K
McTavish: $2.5MM
Mintyukov: $800K
Total: $7.555MM (exceeds the 7.5% cap by $955K; that amount counts as a direct charge against the salary cap)
Anaheim took things slow with Carlsson last season, limiting him to just 55 games. However, he played big minutes in those appearances and is seeing similar ice time early on this year. That gives him a good chance to meet $1MM of his ‘A’ bonuses while the rest are unlikely. We’ve seen the price tag for top young centers approach the $8MM mark post-entry-level and at this point, there’s little reason to think Carlsson shouldn’t be in that range as well. Gauthier is in his first full NHL season after turning pro late last year. Anaheim has high hopes for him as well although he’s obviously less proven at this point, making a second contract much harder to forecast. His bonuses are also of the ‘A’ variety and could be achievable depending on the role he carves out for himself.
McTavish is the other young middleman that GM Pat Verbeek will be looking to sign in the relatively near future. His first two full NHL seasons saw him just surpass the 40-point mark but being the third-overall selection, it’s fair to say that he’s still envisioned as being part of their long-term core. His numbers at this point come in a bit below Matthew Beniers (who signed for seven years and $50MM on an extension that begins next season). That would peg a long-term price tag at or just below $7MM (closer to $7.5MM on an eight-year agreement). Alternatively, if they go with a bridge contract, that type of deal would be closer to $4MM on a two-year pact, $4.5MM or so on a three-year agreement. He has $850K of ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and reasonably could max out on those with a strong showing this season.
On the back end, Mintyukov is someone they have high hopes for as another high draft pick. He had a solid rookie campaign and is logging heavy minutes early on this year. The market for some top blueliners coming off their entry-level deals who aren’t elite offensively has pushed past $8MM recently. It’s not unfathomable that Mintyukov gets to that level over the next two seasons. He has a good chance of reaching his ‘A’ bonuses based on his early-season usage.
Luneau missed almost all of last season which doesn’t help from a development perspective but he didn’t burn the first year of his deal either. For this year, the priority will be simply getting regular game reps which makes projecting his next deal all but impossible at this point. His bonuses are games-played based so staying healthy will allow him to reach at least most of those. As for Zellweger, he was dominant at the AHL level last year and held his own in limited minutes. A bridge agreement is likely for him and with what’s likely to be decent offensive numbers, it should push past at least $2MM.
Dostal has been thrown to the wolves at times but has put up more than respectable numbers over his first couple of NHL seasons. Is he their starter of the future though? That’s not a given so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him land a bridge deal. Given the contracts handed out recently to Yaroslav Askarov ($2MM AAV) and Jesper Wallstedt ($2.2MM AAV), Dostal’s contract should come in at a higher rate than that.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Brian Dumoulin ($3.15MM, UFA)
F Robby Fabbri ($4MM, UFA)
F Brett Leason ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Isac Lundestrom ($1.5MM, RFA)
F Brock McGinn ($2.75MM, UFA)
D Urho Vaakanainen ($1.1MM, RFA)
G James Reimer ($1MM, UFA)
F Frank Vatrano ($3.65MM, UFA)
Fabbri was picked up from Detroit in a cap-clearing move over the summer which wasn’t necessarily the worst outcome for him as he’ll play a bigger role with the Ducks than he otherwise would have. Even so, given his long injury history, his next deal should check in closer to the $2.75MM range even though he consistently averages over half a point per game when he’s in the lineup. Vatrano found another gear offensively last season with 37 goals, positioning himself nicely for the type of long-term deal that has eluded him thus far in his career. He’ll be in his age-31 year next season so a max-term pact is off the table but five or six years could be doable. If he can produce at a similar rate this year, that contract should push well past the $6MM mark.
McGinn is a serviceable fourth liner whose contract pays him more than that. That’s likely to be corrected next summer when his deal should come in around half of this amount. Lundestrom might be at the end of his rope with Anaheim if things don’t go well this year. He took a pay cut to avoid being non-tendered this summer and until he can establish himself as a consistent top-nine center, he’ll be hard-pressed to land a sizable increase. Leason, meanwhile, was non-tendered this summer to avoid arbitration eligibility but returned with a $250K raise in salary. Another double-digit goal performance this season would help his value and push it closer to the $1.5MM range but he remains a non-tender risk nonetheless.
Dumoulin was also brought in with Seattle needing to clear salary. His first year away from Pittsburgh wasn’t the greatest although he’ll at least benefit from likely a slightly bigger role in Anaheim. Even so, his market wasn’t strong last time out and probably isn’t going to be much better barring an improved performance this year. He could still land something around this price tag but a big raise is unlikely. Vaakanainen has been more of a depth defender at this point of his career and has already been scratched this season. He was non-tendered last summer to avoid arbitration rights and probably is heading for a similar outcome this time around, even if he’s worth something around this price point on the open market.
Reimer was picked up off waivers as injury insurance, sparing him from the third-string role he was heading for in Buffalo (at least for the time being). At 36, he’s going to be going year-to-year moving forward, likely in the lower-end backup or third-string role so this price point is where his next deal should land as well.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Cam Fowler ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Radko Gudas ($4MM, UFA)
F Ross Johnston ($1.1MM, UFA)
D Jackson LaCombe ($925K, RFA)
F Trevor Zegras ($5.75MM, RFA)
Zegras and the Ducks couldn’t work out a long-term deal, settling on this bridge agreement last year. The first season didn’t go well, to put it lightly as he battled injuries and ineffectiveness. At this point, it’s hard to project a significant increase for his next contract unless he’s able to get back to his previous 60-point form. Johnston is a fourth-line enforcer and with a lot of teams not carrying those, that limits his long-term value. Still, as long as there are at least some teams open to deploying one, another contract around this price should be doable.
Fowler’s value depends on the eye of the beholder. He’s certainly not a true number one defenseman but he has held that role for Anaheim for several years now and has done relatively well with it. Given the minutes he covers, his price tag is solid value relative to others in that situation. But if he was deployed in a more optimal spot (either second or third on the depth chart which is where he’d land on a lot of other teams), the contract moves somewhere between market value and a slight overpayment. Fowler will be 34 when his next deal starts and if he’s elsewhere in a lesser role at that time, it’s hard to see a raise coming his way. Instead, another multi-year deal around this price tag (in a higher cap environment) might be where he lands.
The fact that Gudas landed four years at this price point after primarily playing on the third pairing raised some eyebrows but it has worked so far for Anaheim. The new captain has moved into the top four and handled it relatively well. Having said that, he’ll be 36 when this deal expires so again, a raise isn’t overly likely. A two-year deal around this price point could be, however. LaCombe signed what’s frankly a below-market bridge contract for someone who averaged over 19 minutes a game the year before. However, he at least secured a one-way salary (which is notable given that he’s still waiver-exempt) while he’ll have arbitration rights next time out. If he can shoulder a similar workload for the next two years, tripling this price tag could be doable.
Signed Through 2026-27
G John Gibson ($6.4MM, UFA)
F Alex Killorn ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Ryan Strome ($5MM, UFA)
Killorn was a surprise signing in free agency last summer, both in terms of Anaheim getting him and the contract he received. The idea was to add a quality veteran who could play in the top six and work with the young forward group. But things didn’t go quite as planned in year one and, already 35, it’s hard to forecast a sharp improvement. And considering he’ll be entering his age-38 year in 2027-28, this might be his last contract. Strome hasn’t been able to match the output he had with the Rangers but now has five straight seasons of more than 40 points under his belt. Given the annual high demand for centers, he could land a similar contract if he was on the open market now so thus far, the Ducks are getting a fair return on his agreement.
It wasn’t that long ago that Gibson was viewed as one of the top goalies in the league with his contract looking like a bargain relative to other top-paid starters. But that has flipped in recent years. His save percentage in the past five seasons combined is just .900, a mark that’s below league average. Having someone below average in that mark making top-ten money isn’t ideal. It’s possible that a change of scenery could allow him to bounce back to a point but it’s unlikely he’d rebound to a level of play that would make this a team-friendly pact.
Ducks Place Frank Vatrano On Injured Reserve
12:07 p.m.: Vatrano isn’t hurt; rather, he’s been placed on IR while on paternity leave, the Ducks said. However, center Isac Lundeström is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t play tonight, so Harkins will likely draw into the lineup. Vatrano
11:52 a.m.: Ducks forward Frank Vatrano is no longer on the active roster, per the NHL’s media site. PuckPedia indicates he’s been placed on injured reserve, meaning he likely sustained an undisclosed ailment in Anaheim’s overtime win over Utah on Wednesday. They’ve used his open roster spot to summon winger Jansen Harkins from AHL San Diego in a corresponding move, per the league’s transactions log.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Vatrano, who’s skated in a second-line role alongside Ryan Strome and Troy Terry but has nonetheless had his minutes reduced from last year. After scoring a career-high 37 goals in 2023-24 while logging 18:21 per game, the 30-year-old has only one assist through three games this season and is averaging 15:37 per night.
He’s struggled to generate chances offensively, only recording five shots on goal. It’s a tiny sample size, but that only projects out to 137 shots over 82 games after recording 231 and 272 shots over the last two years, respectively. Nonetheless, the Ducks are 2-1-0 with a +1 goal differential through their first three showings, even without many game-breaking offensive performances. Their start can be credited to strong goaltending in the early stages from Lukáš Dostál (two starts) and preseason waiver claim James Reimer (one start), who’ve combined for a .924 SV% and 2.32 GAA. Usual starter John Gibson remains on IR after undergoing appendectomy surgery almost a month ago.
Vatrano has been on one of the most value-laden deals in the league over the past few seasons. After signing a three-year, $10.95MM deal to join the Ducks as a free agent in 2022, he’s churned out 59 goals and 102 points in 166 games in Orange County. That’s good enough for 0.61 points per game, far above his 0.48 career average. The pending UFA could be one of the top names available at the trade deadline if Anaheim remains far away from playoff contention and gets his scoring back under him after he returns from what all sides hope is a brief absence.
Harkins, 28, signed a two-year, $1.58MM deal with the Ducks in free agency this offseason after an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign that saw him post just four assists in 45 games with the Penguins. It wasn’t surprising when he cleared waivers earlier this month. He had a goal and an assist in his first two games for San Diego this season after posting 12 points in 14 games during AHL assignments with the Penguins last year. The 2015 second-round Jets pick has 31 points in 199 career NHL games over the previous five years.
With 13 healthy forwards on the roster after the moves, there’s no guarantee Harkins will make his Ducks debut tonight against the Avalanche. He’ll likely sit in the press box and serve as last-minute injury insurance.
Jackson LaCombe Will Not Play Tonight
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews will not dress tonight when the team takes on the Boston Bruins (as per Avalanche play-by-play announcer Conor McGahey). The 30-year-old will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury as the Avalanche will be looking to get into the win column for the first time this season.
Colorado has started the year 0-3 as they try to overcome a growing list of injury concerns. They will be in tough against the Bruins without the services of Toews. Oliver Kylington will take Toews’s place on the top pair once again alongside Cale Makar, while Sam Malinski will likely occupy Toews’s spot on the second power-play unit.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe took the morning skate with the team but won’t play tonight as he continues to deal with an illness (as per Derek Lee of The Hockey News). The 23-year-old has yet to play this season as he will miss his third consecutive game to start the year. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native signed a two-year $1.85MM extension with the Ducks in July and will likely compete with Olen Zellweger for a spot in Anaheim’s defense core going forward.
- Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings scratched Jordan Spence tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kings opted for a third pairing of Caleb Jones and Andreas Englund which is very telling given the commitment Los Angeles showed to Spence in the summer by signing him to a two-year deal worth $3MM. The 23-year-old has had an abysmal start to the season, getting pinned in the defensive zone regularly while struggling with turnovers. The Kings hoped Spence would claim a spot on their backend after Matt Roy departed to Washington in free agency, but his struggles have become too much for the Kings to ignore. Spence’s time in the press box will likely be short-lived though as the Kings are being throttled by the Maple Leafs tonight and are sure to make changes before they take the ice tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens.
Injury Notes: Celebrini, LaCombe, Zub
Reigning first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini won’t be joining the San Jose Sharks on their first road trip of the season shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Celebrini is still nursing a lower-body injury that landed him on injured reserve the morning after his NHL debut. He would be eligible to return before the final game of the road trip – Friday’s matchup against Winnipeg. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t rule out the possibility of Celebrini joining the team ahead of that matchup, though he added that the team is taking things day by day.
Everything clicked for Celebrini in his NHL debut, with his first goal coming just seven minutes into his career on a spin-o-rama pass deflected in; and his first assist coming just 10 minutes later on a connection with scoring-winger Tyler Toffoli. He’s taken well to the role of San Jose’s top centerman, a familiar statement for anyone who watched Celebrini immediately step into Boston Univeristy’s top center role last year. That season ended in BU pushing into the NCAA Championship Frozen Four semi-finals and Celebrini becoming the youngest Hobey Baker ’MVP’ Award winner ever. The Sharks are far away from those levels of success in the NHL – but the precedent that Celebrini brings gives all the more reason to handle his first career injury with extra care. He’ll face the task of getting healthy before the week ends, to join the Sharks against the presently-undefeated Winnipeg Jets.
Other injury updates:
- Anaheim Ducks defender Jackson LaCombe missed his second consecutive game with illness on Sunday night, shares Derek Lee of The Hockey News. LaCombe was a late scratch in Anaheim’s season opener – paving way for Olen Zellweger to make his season debut, though Urho Vaakanainen who got the start on Sunday. Neither defender scored in their spot start. They’ll continue battling for ice time while LaCombe returns to form and – pending a breakout performance from Zellweger or Vaakanainen – an everyday lineup role.
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub left the team’s Monday game with an upper-body injury after a heavy first-period hit from Los Angeles’ Tanner Jeannot. Zub has taken on the role of third defender for the Senators, averaging 19:38 in ice time through the team’s first two games. He’s yet to find his first point of the season, though Zub has managed four shots, one penalty, and a +1. He faced multiple injuries last season, ultimately limited to 69 games and 25 points. He’ll be a locked-in top option when healthy, while an absence would open space for Tyler Kleven or Nick Jensen to earn more minutes.
Evening Notes: Gibson, Aube-Kubel, Bourdeleau, Vlasic
The Hockey News is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have placed goaltender John Gibson on the injured reserve. The move isn’t surprising given that Gibson underwent an appendectomy last week and was expected to miss the next 3-6 weeks. Gibson had been practicing with the Ducks during training camp but didn’t appear in any preseason action.
The 31-year-old was once a rising star in the NHL, but the shine on his game has faded in recent seasons which has coincided with the Ducks entering a long rebuild. Last season, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native had a record of 13-27-2 with a .888 save percentage and a 3.54 goals-against average in 46 games. He lost the net to backup Lukas Dostal in season, and likely wouldn’t have started opening night this season even if he was healthy.
In other evening notes:
- The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they’ve placed forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel on the injured reserve after he suffered a lower-body injury in the Sabres opening night loss in Prague this past Friday. The move signifies that Aube-Kubel will likely be out for at least another handful of days as he is required to be out a total of seven days from his last game played. The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal with Buffalo in the offseason and will likely play on the Sabres fourth line whenever he does return.
- San Jose Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka tweeted that San Jose Sharks center Thomas Bordeleau remains out week to week with a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old got hurt during training camp and will likely miss the first few weeks of the season as he tries to recover. Bordeleau dressed in 27 games last year for the Sharks posting six goals and five assists and a -18 plus/minus. This upcoming season is a big one for Bordeleau as he should have an opportunity to establish himself as an everyday NHLer.
- Sharks’ veteran defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is also out week-to-week to start the season (as per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka). Vlasic has been dealing with an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve today. The 37-year-old was one of the top defensive defensemen of the 2010s but has seen his play fall off a cliff in recent seasons and has arguably the worst contract in the entire NHL. Vlasic registered just six goals and six assists last season in 57 regular-season games and posted some of the worst underlying numbers in the entire NHL.
Ducks Claim James Reimer Off Waivers From Sabres
The Ducks have claimed netminder James Reimer off waivers from the Sabres, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
Reimer, 36, has over 500 games of NHL experience and was still serviceable in a rotation role for the Red Wings last year but was knocked squarely into a third-string spot on the Sabres’ depth chart behind Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after signing a one-year, $1MM deal there in July. He was largely expected to land on waivers unless Buffalo opted to carry three goalies.
While the veteran was solid enough for Detroit in 2023-24, his 20 starts and five relief appearances were both career-lows. His .904 SV%, 3.11 GAA, and 0.3 GSAA were all marked steps forward from the prior year’s showing with the rebuilding Sharks, however, and he’s still likely worth a shot as a full-time backup somewhere.
He’ll get that chance in Anaheim, at least for now. The Ducks were looking for a veteran name to add to the mix with John Gibson on the shelf to start the season after getting his appendix removed nearly two weeks ago. He’s still one to four weeks away from a return, meaning rookie Calle Clang (who has no NHL games played under his belt) was set to start the year as the backup to youngster Lukáš Dostál. After claiming Reimer, though, the Ducks can return Clang to AHL San Diego.
The Ducks now have their opening night roster set in stone at 13 forwards, eight defenders, and two goalies, assuming Clang is sent down. They’ll have $20.64MM in projected cap space after the acquisition, per PuckPedia.