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Anaheim Ducks, Paul MacLean Part Ways

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Fresh off a playoff elimination at the hands of the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final, the Anaheim Ducks don’t seem content to stand pat this off-season. Changes are expected to come this summer, and the first news has come out already. Assistant coach Paul MacLean, whose current contract had come to an end, will not be retained. According to the team, it was a mutual parting of ways.

MacLean, 59, is a former NHL head coach and Jack Adams Award-winner, serving as the bench boss for the Ottawa Senators from 2011 to 2014, leading the team to the postseason twice in three (and a half) seasons. MacLean was fired by Ottawa midway through the 2014-15 campaign. MacLean joined the Ducks that off-season, working under Bruce Boudreau, whom he beat out for the Jack Adams in 2013. After Boundreau was fired and replaced by Randy Carlyle last year, MacLean was retained. However, the team has promised to shake things up and it appears that they felt the best move for the team was to move on from the veteran coach.

MacLean will certainly land on his feet. Beyond Ottawa and Anaheim, MacLean has an extensive coaching resume to lean on. MacLean had previously served as an assistant in Anaheim before, under Mike Babcock with the Mighty Ducks in the early 2000’s, and followed Babcock to Detroit as well. MacLean also has a long, successful history in the minor leagues where, if no NHL opportunities arise, he would surely be welcomed back. MacLean’s son, A.J., is also an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, so don’t rule out a move to Canadian major junior either. MacLean will be fine; the Ducks on the other hand are just beginning their re-tool and more news is sure to come this off-season.

Notes: Stalberg, Bieksa, Vegas

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Ottawa’s Viktor Stalberg could be seeing a quick return to playoff action. Coach Guy Boucher stated that the speedy winger is “hopeful” for Game 1 of the Conference Finals series against Pittsburgh tomorrow. When he left the lineup midway through Game 6 against the New York Rangers, it was uncertain how long he would be sidelined. Stalberg has proved a solid addition to an already deep forward corps since acquired by GM Pierre Dorion at the deadline. His flexibility has been a useful asset for Boucher, who has been able to slot him up and down the lineup.  Stalberg provides solid penalty killing and has added energy to the new second line alongside Derick Brassard and Bobby Ryan.

  • Kevin Bieksa did not take the ice tonight for the Anaheim Ducks in their first game against the Nashville Predators. Bieksa has been in and out of the lineup for coach Randy Carlyle. Bieksa is obviously nursing a substantial lower-body issue, although there have been plenty of options on the blueline to replace him. He’s missed the last six games and was a potential go for this evening. The Ducks have had many of their players quickly recover from short-term injuries and return to action, leaving the likes of Korbinian Holzer and Clayton Stoner in the press box. Winger Patrick Eaves is also out with an injury for the team, as is the mobile but fragile defenseman Simon Despres.
  • Mock drafts are all the rage with the fast-approaching Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft. Plenty of moves are sure to precede the events which will start on June 18th and conclude on the 21st. TSN’s Scott Cullen provided an interesting potential squad to add to consideration. It included the likes of Brian Dumoulin, Matt Dumba, and Trevor van Riemsdyk on D, as well as forwards Lee Stempniak, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Craig Smith. It seems like potent offensive talent will be the hardest role to fill in any hypothetical Golden Knights roster, but hopefully the addition of flashy center Vadim Shipachyov can alleviate some of that need. Defense should be easy to come by, especially considering that many teams will opt to only protect three of their own. Regardless, the concern franchises will have over losing valuable pieces for nothing at all will certainly spur movement of some kind.

Snapshots: Ducks, Blues, Goalie Interference

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Anaheim could possibly see the return of two players this evening in their potentially series-deciding Game 6 against Edmonton. Forward Ondrej Kase has only played in two post-season games, but was a spark-plug for the Ducks when inserted. The 21 year-old had played parts of two seasons with the AHL affiliate San Diego Gulls before his call up and 53 games this season for Anaheim, tallying 5 goals and 10 assists. His quick ascension as a 205th overall pick has been impressive, if largely unheralded and under-the-radar. For a rookie, he has shown poise in his own end and adjusted well to the tempo of the playoffs. Although pointless, his possession metrics have been strong and he has skated well in his very sheltered ice time. It will be interesting to see if he will slot back in or if coach Randy Carlyle will opt for a more veteran presence.

Defenseman Kevin Bieksa is also an option on the backend, but with the emergence of Shea Theodore, it is difficult to justify his re-entry into the lineup. Although Bieksa boasts a wealth of playoff experience, his team is 3-0 in his absence this series. His skating has slowed to a crawl and he has been exploited repeatedly by the Oilers forward corps. Carlyle is known to like his veterans however, and it is possible he finds the ice tonight.  Sami Vatanen could find himself in the pressbox if that were the case.

  • TSN’s Frank Seravelli is predicting a huge discussion this offseason among general managers regarding the league’s goalie interference and coach’s challenge rules. Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was obviously irritated in his post-game interview following yet another controversy in Game 5, as were numerous Edmonton players. Late in the third against Anaheim, Ryan Kesler appeared to hold goaltender Cam Talbot’s right pad as the tying goal was shot through his five hole. Although a review was instituted, it quickly upheld the call of a “good goal”, to much befuddlement among experts and players. Anaheim went on to win the game. This issue has come up consistently throughout the season and its application does seem very obscure. Some slight bumps have overturned goals and completely hindering a goaltender from making a save has been allowed. Clarity on the league’s part as to what constitutes goalie interference would go a long way in alleviating these sorts of issues going forward, but some GMs may opt to abandon the challenge altogether and revert to the former system. For all its faults, the challenge has been particularly useful in attempting to relieve pressure from on-ice officials during fast-paced gameplay. In the case of offsides, for instance, there has been little disagreement on the positive impact reviews have had. Some argue that the interruptions to play are too extensive, but it seems unlikely the challenge will be entirely scrapped, but rather, modified.
  • Folowing the St. Louis Blues’ playoff exit, attention will turn to off-season business. The team only has one UFA in forward Scottie Upshall, and three RFAs in forwards Nail Yakupov, Magnus Paajarvi, and defenseman Colton Parayko. Upshall is a good bet to head elsewhere, as his solid (if unremarkable) season will likely get him a spot on a team in more desperate need of role players. Yakupov could easily turn his sights to Russia if a larger contract offer comes his way and negotiations stall. There is no transfer agreement with the KHL however, so this will be an interesting case to watch. Parayko is absolutely deserving of a raise, as he has consistently contributed on the backend. In only his second NHL season, the 6’6″ tower has averaged over 23 minutes of ice per night and blocked shots with the best of them. He definitely has a bright future and it would be wise for St. Louis to lock him up long-term. It might be difficult to squeeze him under the cap at a higher, extended rate, however. Paajarvi will likely get a very marginal raise on a short-term contract extension. He only participated in 32 contests this season after being plagued by injury and splitting time with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

Playoff Preview: Ducks-Oilers

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It didn’t take long for the yapping to begin between teams as Yahoo’s Josh Cooper reports that Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle believes the Oilers will “whine” about faceoffs as their second round matchup gets underway tonight. Cooper calls it mind games, saying that Carlyle notes that the Ducks had the best faceoff percentage in the league while the Oilers had the worst. Oilers bench boss Todd McLellan “chuckled” at the comment and responded with this:

“Already? Already? I’ve been whining about or faceoffs all year because we’re in 30th place. I don’t think that’s a brilliant comment by any means. When you’re in 30th you’re not happy where your team’s at,” McLellan said. “Sometimes these games are played and sometimes some of those comments are almost an admission of guilt at times because they’re very effective in the faceoff circle and they do do some things, so that’s always nice to distract.”

Cooper points out that the lack of winning faceoffs didn’t stop the Oilers from beating San Jose in the first round while five others teams that advanced to the second round had faceoff percentages lower than 50 percent.

  • The Oilers took the season series 3-2 but three of the five games were one goal affairs. Both teams are pretty even when you stack them up, and a number of sources have a long fought out series. The OC Register’s Eric Stephens takes the Ducks in seven, and goes as far to write that the winner of the series will most likely take the Conference crown as well.  The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy crunches the numbers and believes that the Ducks win in six. The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples takes the Ducks in a very close seven games while his  “Cult of Hockey” podcast partner Bruce McCurdy has the Oilers winning in seven games, thinking that the Oilers will “get into the heads of the Ducks” should a series reach a seventh and final game.

Injury Notes: Marincin, Krug, Vatanen

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Toronto’s defenseman Martin Marincin appears to be injured following a hit from Tom Wilson in the second period of Game 3. He took shifts after the hit but didn’t look particularly well, leaving the game in the third period. Marincin had stepped up in a big way since Roman Polak had gone down with  injury. Luckily for Leafs fans, Nikita Zaitsev is back. But the injury parade of the playoffs continues, with Toronto seemingly unable to ice their full squad. Further updates on Marincin are not available at this time.

  • Anaheim’s Sami Vatanen did not take the ice in Game 3, per Ducks’ beat writer Eric Stephens. Vatanen logs over 21 minutes a night, only trailing behind Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm. Vatanen has been depended upon by coach Randy Carlyle taking 55% of his starts in the offensive zone while registering 128 blocks on the season. Since Fowler has been sidelined with a knee injury, Vatanen’s role has only been increased. The injury is apparently upper-body related, though specifics are hard to come by. Anaheim will hope to depend upon 23 year-old Brandon Mantour, 21 year-old Shea Theodore, and the 25 year-old Josh Manson to pick up the slack against a desperate Calgary team.
  • Torey Krug has been seen walking on his own in TD Garden, which is good news for Boston fans. Regaining the services of the defenseman would be a huge boon to a team that is held together by duct tape on the backend. Brandon Carlo is also injuried, although he is progressing. Zdeno Chara is pushing the wrong side of 40 and cannot be expected to carry the load for the team, especially with the other injuries. The 19 year-old Charlie McAvoy is being tasked with top-pairing duties, and despite his talent, is being challenged by quite a difficult first outing into NHL playoff hockey. Krug has no official time-table to return.

Ducks’ Defensive Depth Holding Their Own Despite Injuries

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Defensive injuries seem to be mounting throughout many NHL playoff teams, but the defensive depth of the Anaheim Ducks as well as their 2-0 lead over the Calgary Flames is why there is little mention of Anaheim’s struggles. Injuries to Cam Fowler (knee) and Sami Vatanen (upper body) as well as season ending losses of Clayton Stoner (abdominal surgery) and Simon Despres (concussion) have forced a lot of the Ducks’ young blueliners to take a greater role.

NHL’s Adam Brady writes that Korbinian Holzer, Josh Manson, Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore have all had to step up and play big minutes, despite only having 10 games of playoff experience combined, coming into Saturday’s game. Despite the lack of experience, they have shined, with the exception of a shaky 10-minute period between the first and second frames when the Flames scored twice to tie the game. Montour and Theodore even assisted on offense on Jakob Silfverberg’s first-period goal.

“We stated before the playoffs started, that we thought we were going to have to use nine defenseman through the course of the playoffs season,” coach Randy Carlyle said this morning just before his Ducks got on a plane to Calgary for Games 3 and 4. “We’ve at eight right now, and that’s great for our younger kids, getting the exposure and experience of playoff hockey and should only bode well for their future. I don’t see them intimidated by it, not in the first two games anyway.”

Holzer, at 29 years of age and hardly a youngster, played in his first-ever playoff game after Vatanen was forced to miss Game 2 yesterday. He was actually sent out as a starter with Manson to start the game. “For me, it was a great feeling and I was excited,” Holzer said. “There were a little more butterflies than normal. It was kind of like your first NHL game. But it was good that I started the game, to get those nerves out of the way early, and after that I thought it was a good experience.”

With Fowler out indefinitely, Vatanen will be reassessed tomorrow morning before Game 3. If he is forced to miss Game 3, the young defenders will be ready. “Obviously those guys are elite players, but for us as a whole core, anybody can play any role with the depth that we have,” Montour said. “So we were very calm out there. All of us can skate and play hard in our own end. I think that showed last night, and we’ve just got to keep it going.”

Injury Notes: Ferland, Stone, Leivo, Rust

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Calgary Flames winger Micheal Ferland has rejoined his teammates in Nashville today after being quarantined for almost a week. The 24-year old had showed signs of the mumps outbreak that had swept through the NHL briefly, but is now symptom free. He’ll be back in on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan tonight, according to Kristen Odland of Postmedia.

Here are some other injury notes from around the league:

  • Josh Leivo will take the spot of the injured Eric Fehr in tonight’s Maple Leafs lineup according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. With Nikita Soshnikov still on the mend following a big hit from Zdeno Chara, Leivo will look to get back to his scoring ways tonight. The young winger had nine points in a ten game stretch last month when Mitch Marner was dealing with an injury, and has considerable offensive upside. He’ll slot in on the fourth line tonight beside Brian Boyle and Matt Martin.
  • Despite skating with the team in a regular jersey this morning, Cedric Paquette will not return to the lineup for Tampa Bay according to Caley Chelios of FOX Sports. The Lightning center will remain out alongside Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson for the time being.
  • On Stamkos, he was seen skating again before practice, but admitted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that “time is running out” for him to return this season. Stamkos has been skating for weeks as he tries to come back from a meniscus tear in his right knee. The Lightning are currently sitting five points back with ten games to play.
  • Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone was back skating this morning, though he won’t play tonight. Stone was out early and stayed late at practice as he works hard to get back into the Senators lineup. The team can smell first place in the Atlantic Division, and getting Stone—arguably their best forward—back before the end of the season could help them wrestle the crown away from the Montreal Canadiens. With a matchup against the fourth Metropolitan team looming in the first round, whether they should really want it is a different story.
  • Penguins’ forward Bryan Rust is almost back in the lineup reports Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after taking part in just about everything at today’s Pittsburgh practice. Though he won’t play tonight, the 24-year old forward will likely be back in a game before the end of the week; the Penguins take on Ottawa tonight, New York (Islanders) tomorrow and Philadelphia on Sunday.
  • Three goaltenders were at practice today for the Anaheim Ducks, including John Gibson as he continues to rehab his latest injury. Head coach Randy Carlyle said today that Gibson will definitely play before the end of the regular season, though that still leaves the question of whether he’ll be tested enough to start game one of the playoffs. We’ll see how many games the young netminder gets in before Anaheim has to take on a team like the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames in the first round.

Jonathan Bernier’s Success Could End Up Costing The Anaheim Ducks

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The Anaheim Ducks made a decision in the off-season to trade Frederik Andersen to the Maple Leafs and install John Gibson as the full-time starter. The young netminder had shown an extremely high ceiling in 2015-16, when he finished the year with a .920 save percentage and split the William Jennings trophy with Andersen. The Ducks were hitching their wagons to Gibson, but wanted someone a little more established behind him just in case. They decided to take back Jonathan Bernier from the Leafs, even at a substantial cap-hit so that they would have a backup capable of playing 25-30 games and helping them into the playoffs. Jonathan Bernier

Bernier was never expected to wrestle the starting job away, but when the young Gibson went down with an injury in late February he was forced into the number 1 role and has flourished ever since. With Gibson returning for one game this month only to re-aggravate his injury, the Ducks will use Bernier down the stretch to get them into the playoffs. Since Gibson went down on February 20th, Bernier has posted a .943 save percentage and is looking like a realistic choice to start the playoffs if his partner isn’t fully healed. Gibson for his part hasn’t returned to practice, though Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports that he has skated on his own.

With ten games left in the Ducks’ season before another playoff appearance, some doubt may now be entering the mind of head coach Randy Carlyle on who will be his starting goaltender in the postseason. Should Gibson miss most of the remaining few weeks, it would be hard to reinsert him into the net for the first round. That is where we (finally) get to the headline and the potential for a lost asset for the Ducks.

When they took Bernier from the Maple Leafs, it was for a draft pick with conditions that seemed so unlikely to trigger that they didn’t look like they would have to send anything to Toronto at all. Those conditions are based on Bernier playing in at least 50% of the Ducks playoff games, and the team getting to the Stanley Cup Final; they’ll give up a second-round pick should they win it all, while surrendering a third-rounder if they fall in the final series. With Gibson ready to take over that seemed like a far fetched condition and one that Bernier showed little capability of fulfilling during his final season in Toronto. But now, as he looks like the goaltender everyone thought he would become in Los Angeles, it doesn’t seem as insane as it once did.

After all, he doesn’t necessarily need to get them the entire way. He could play just the first two rounds before Gibson returns, and still qualify for the condition. Sure, some may say it’s worth it if the Ducks are going to go to the Finals anyway, but that shouldn’t reduce the value of the pick being lost. Ducks fans should be hoping even more that Gibson is ready to go next month, while Maple Leafs fans are praying that their old teammate can give them one last gift before hitting free agency this summer.

Deadline Primer: Anaheim Ducks

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With the trade deadline now less than two weeks away, we continue to take a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

After four years of taking the division crown with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench, the Anaheim Ducks have a familiar face in Randy Carlyle taking them to the promised land this season. The team is firmly in a playoff spot, though could easily finish third in the division behind San Jose and Edmonton, and will have to take on Hart candidates Connor McDavid or Brent Burns in the first round.

It will be tough sledding down the stretch for the Ducks, who recently lost Antoine Vermette for 10 games (unless reduced by the appeal). They appear to be buyers at the deadline, though with the amount of highly sought after assets in their system, it may not be draft picks that they’re using as currency.

Record

31-19-10, 3rd in Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$2.86MM – full-season cap hit due to LTIR space, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly.

Draft Picks

2017: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, ANA 4th, ANA 5th
2018: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, ANA 4th, ANA 5th, ANA 6th

Trade Chips

The Anaheim Ducks have an oft-mentioned group of defensemen that almost the whole league is interested in. While Hampus Lindholm seems untouchable, the other six—Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Josh Manson, Brandon Montour, Shea Theodore and Jacob Larsson—have all been rumored to be available at (vastly) different prices. The Ducks will face an expansion draft problem if they don’t move a defenseman (or two), but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen at the deadline. Josh Manson

If they choose to move any of them, they could potentially make the biggest splash on March 1st. Young defense is one of the most sought after commodities in the NHL, and with both rebuilding and contending teams looking for help on the back-end they would have no shortage of suitors.

Other than their blueline depth, the team does have some excellent prospects that they could use in the pursuit of a big fish (if one surfaces). Sam Steel and Max Jones were both picked in the late stages of the first round last summer, and though they’re having very different seasons—Steel is dominating once again with 103 points in 51 games, while Jones has battled injury and suspension, only playing in 29 games thus far—they both still hold excellent value.

There is also the case of Jonathan Bernier, who the Ducks would love to move now that they have Jhonas Enroth playing so well in San Diego. Bernier comes with a hefty cap hit, and moving him would help them make any additional moves. Since he is an unrestricted free agent this summer, perhaps a rebuilding team would be willing to take him on for the rest of the season in a salary-heavy swap.

Five Players To Watch: D Josh Manson, D Cam Fowler, G Jonathan Bernier, LW Ryan Garbutt, D Shea Theodore

Team Needs

1) Top Six Winger – The Ducks are committed long-term to their big three up front of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler, and Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg have fit in well on the wings this season. But as they head into the playoffs, they could use another legitimate scoring winger to help take the load off those five players. Nick Ritchie and Andrew Cogliano are fine players, but would look better slotted in a little lower in the lineup.

2) Depth Center – Anaheim is going to feel the loss of Vermette most in the faceoff circle, where he has won more than 60% of his almost 1000 draws this season. He is a huge part of their defensive zone coverage, getting the majority of the draws in his own end and on the penalty kill. They’ve moved Rakell back to his natural center ice position for the time being, but that has only created another problem in the top six. Depth centers don’t cost a ton, but Anaheim would be smart to go out and get one that could move up to the third line in the case of an injury in the playoffs—and no, Nate Thompson isn’t that guy.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vermette To Be Suspended Ten Games

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Anaheim Ducks veteran center Antoine Vermette slashed an official in last night’s game, a 1-0 win over the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild, and was swiftly ejected. Vermette’s chop to the back of the leg of linesman Shandor Alphonso was nothing more than a love tap, but any and all abuse of referees is not tolerated in the NHL. Now, the league is set to show Vermette just how serious they are.

As reported by Sportsnet’s John Shannon this morning, Vermette’s action is categorized as a Category II violation under NHL Rule 40 , which states:

“Any player who deliberately applies physical force to an official in any manner (excluding actions as set out in Category I), which physical force is applied without intent to injure, or who spits on an official, shall be automatically suspended for not less than ten (10) games.”

Shannon does note that Vermette has a right to an appeal, which would be heard by commissioner Gary Bettman. However, it is possible that Bettman could actually increase the suspension if it is appealed, though it is more likely that he will simply uphold it and is very unlikely that he will spurn his officials by cutting it short. However, if Ducks coach Randy Carlyle had any say, it would surely be reduced. Carlyle told the Orange County Register that Vermette was simply reacting to not being ready for the drop of the puck and that there was no malicious intent or actual harm. It certainly seems that way, but the NHL is still not wrong for taking a hard stance on protecting its refs.

The suspension comes at a tough time for Anaheim, as they jockey for position in the Western Conference playoff picture. Trailing the slumping San Jose Sharks by three point for the top position in the Pacific Division, yet up just two points on the Edmonton Oilers as well, the Ducks can ill-afford to lose a key piece of their forward corps. Vermette has eight goals and 14 assists through 58 games in his first season in Anaheim, and while his signature two-way play has slipped somewhat in 2016-17, he is still a wizard at the face-off dot and leaves a gaping hole at third line center without an easy fix. Over their next ten games, the Ducks play the division rival Los Angeles Kings twice, as well as Western contenders like the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues, and additionally host Eastern playoff hopefuls in the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. It is not a good time to lose a major piece and if Vermette’s ten-game suspension is upheld, Anaheim may have to shift its focus at the Trade Deadline to adding some depth down the middle.

The NHL is expected to handle any appeal promptly. Stay tuned for the final word on Vermette’s fate.

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