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Anthony Duclair

West Notes: Seguin, Ferraro, Duclair, Afanasyev

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Stars center Tyler Seguin missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and he’ll be out for at least a little while longer as Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News relays that Seguin is listed as out week to week.  Head coach Peter DeBoer noted that he has been dealing with a lingering injury that hasn’t been getting better and actually got worse after his last game back on Thursday.  The 32-year-old is in the middle of his best offensive season in a little while with 45 points through 58 games; his 0.78 points-per-game average is his best since 2018-19.  If Dallas believes Seguin will miss at least 10 games and 24, he could be shifted to LTIR to give them some short-term salary cap flexibility.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro has been a speculative trade candidate. He’s not a typical rental player who moves at this time of year as he’s signed through 2025-26 at a reasonable $3.25MM price tag which would be appealing to several teams.  However, his agent Peter Wallen told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that GM Mike Grier informed him that Ferraro is not actively being shopped.  The 25-year-old is fifth in the NHL in blocked shots so far with 151 in 52 games.
  • Still with San Jose, winger Anthony Duclair told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link) that there have been no discussions about a possible extension with the Sharks. Duclair, who represents himself in negotiations, is a pending unrestricted free agent and it’s reasonable to infer that if a new contract isn’t in place by the March 8th trade deadline, he’d be a likely candidate to be traded.  Duclair is having a down year after putting up 31 goals with Florida last season as he has just 11 goals and eight assists in 59 games.
  • The Predators announced that they’ve returned winger Egor Afanasyev to AHL Milwaukee. The 23-year-old was recalled two weeks ago but didn’t see much game action with Nashville, suiting up just twice where he was held off the scoresheet.  Afanasyev has been quite productive with the Admirals, however, collecting 21 goals and 21 assists through 42 games so far this season.

Pacific Notes: Arvidsson, Fagemo, Duclair, Karlsson, Lyubushkin

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The Kings have been without a key winger all season as Viktor Arvidsson works his way back from a back injury sustained during training camp.  It appears they’ll be without the 30-year-old for a while yet as Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times notes that while Arvidsson has started skating on his own, he’s still two or three weeks away from rejoining the team for practice; it would obviously be longer than that before he’d be good to return.  Arvidsson, who had one of his best years last season with 26 goals and 59 points, is currently on LTIR, giving Los Angeles ample room to carry a full-sized roster.  They’ll have to get cap-compliant when the time comes to activate him which could come not long before the March 8th trade deadline.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Still with Los Angeles, they have returned winger Samuel Fagemo to AHL Ontario, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 23-year-old has been up and down a couple of times now this week, getting into one game with the Kings during that time.  Since being claimed back off waivers in November, Fagemo has been quite productive with the Reign, notching 20 goals in just 24 games.
  • Pending unrestricted free agent winger Anthony Duclair has not yet had any discussions about a contract extension with the Sharks, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 28-year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 41 games so far but has also been scratched as of late.  Duclair, who represents himself, said that he expects to sit down at some point with GM Mike Grier to discuss a new deal.  He’s currently making $3MM and with a 31-goal season under his belt on this contract back in 2021-22, he’s likely going to be looking for at least a small raise on that contract.
  • After being recalled late Friday, Canucks forward Linus Karlsson has been returned to AHL Abbotsford, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has played in four games with Vancouver over his four recalls and is still looking for his first NHL point.  Karlsson has been productive in the minors though, collecting 25 points in 27 games so far.
  • The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin was scratched for their game tonight against the Rangers due to an upper-body injury. The 29-year-old has been a regular on Anaheim’s third pairing all season long, logging over 17 minutes a night in 45 games.  While the pending UFA only has four assists, he also has contributed 117 blocked shots and 71 hits and is likely to attract some interest from playoff-bound squads looking to toughen up the back end of their defense corps in the coming weeks.

West Snapshots: Duclair, Tippett, Hintz

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Speaking with offseason acquisition, Anthony Duclair of the San Jose Sharks, Sharks beat writer, Curtis Pashelka, reports that the new forward may have some interest in signing an extension in San Jose. Duclair did indicate that there have been contract talks up to this point, as he looks to remain focused for the upcoming season.

Largely a salary dump addition by the Sharks this summer, Duclair is coming off a largely successful three-year run with the Florida Panthers. In 137 games in Sunrise since the start of the 2020-21 NHL season, Duclair has 43 goals and 56 assists, which amounts to the most points scored for any team he has played on throughout his career. Nevertheless, there is some injury concern along with him, as he was unable to play in the regular season last year until late February due to an Achilles injury.

Acquired at the start of free agency by the Sharks for forward Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick, Duclair should get plenty of opportunity in San Jose this year. Clearly in a rebuilding effort, Duclair is one of eight expiring contracts on the roster and should see an ample amount of time in the team’s top six. If Duclair remains healthy and continues to perform well, he is poised to be a probable mover at next year’s trade deadline if the two parties cannot come to a contract extension.

Other snapshots:

  • Before accepting the position as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers from 2019-22, Dave Tippett was working as a Senior Advisor for the upstart Seattle expansion franchise, before they had even been given a formal name. After taking a year away from the game, the Seattle Kraken announced that Tippett would rejoin the organization, this time as a Coaching Consultant. A head coach of nearly 1,300 games, Tippett will bring a wealth of experience to the coaching staff of the Kraken, who are hoping to return to the playoffs for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
  • Mike Heika, a Senior Staff Writer for the Dallas Stars, reports that forward Roope Hintz is to be considered day-to-day, with the Stars remaining cautious on his timeline. Dealing with an upper-body injury, Hintz was unable to practice with the team today. The organization has only played two preseason matchups up to this point, one against the Arizona Coyotes, and the other against the Minnesota Wild, with Hintz being scratched for both matchups.

Snapshots: Barabanov, Duclair, Ruff, Hornqvist

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Alexander Barabanov has been one of the most valuable and cost-efficient players on the San Jose Sharks over the past two seasons. He broke out to the tune of 39 points in 70 games in 2021-22, and then followed that up with 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games last season. Set to turn 30 in the summer, Barabanov is entering a platform year for a potential trip to unrestricted free agency. When asked about the possibility of extending Barabanov as well as summer trade addition Anthony Duclair, San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier told the media (including Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka) that “there’s definitely some merit to thinking about extending those guys and having them around here.”

One could question why the Sharks would be interested in extending Barabanov and Duclair, players who will be 30 and 29 in the summer, respectively, and those questions would be reasonable. Committing cap dollars to wingers at or near their 30’s is the kind of move contending teams make, not rebuilders. But despite trading away Norris Trophy Winner Erik Karlsson, the Sharks aren’t yet plunged into a full rebuilding process. The twin pillars of the franchise remain Logan Couture and Tomáš Hertl, and Grier may be interested in fielding as competitive a roster as possible  while those players are still in teal.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told the media today, including team reporter Amanda Stein, that the club is “working towards extending” head coach Lindy Ruff “beyond this year.” Ruff, 63, had a season for the ages in 2022-23, and very well could have taken home the second Jack Adams award of his career had Jim Montgomery not led the Boston Bruins to a historic 65 regular-season wins. Ruff’s Devils went 52-22-8 and defeated their arch-rival New York Rangers in the postseason, so it’s easy to see why Fitzgerald would want to keep the veteran coach moving forward.
  • The Florida Panthers announced changes to their hockey operations department, and the biggest-name addition to the team’s front office is that of Patric Hornqvist as a scouting and development consultant. Hornqvist recently officially retired, ending a playing career that saw him appear in 901 regular-season NHL games. The 36-year-old was a widely respected leader and locker room presence for the Panthers, and will now be able to contribute his services to the organization off the ice.

Sharks Best Positioned To Win First Overall Pick

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Harman Dayal of The Athletic writes that the San Jose Sharks are the team that is best positioned to win the draft lottery in 2024 and ultimately the first overall pick. Dayal ranked the top five teams with the best chance to do so, and in his estimation, he believes that the Chicago Blackhawks will have the second-best odds, the Philadelphia Flyers third, Anaheim Ducks fourth, and the Montreal Canadiens rounding out the top 5.

Given the offseason that the Sharks have had, the rankings are hardly a surprise. The Sharks dealt the reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a lot of bad roster players and several draft picks. The move to embrace a full rebuild was the correct one given where the Sharks are in their roster construction, but it is going to lead to a lot of lean years and in Dayal’s view this one could be the toughest.

After subtracting Karlsson, the Sharks added Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Jan Rutta, Filip Zadina, and Anthony Duclair. While several of those players still have something to offer a team, none of them appear likely to be with the Sharks long-term and most of the players will be asked to play this season in a roster spot that doesn’t match their current skillset. Take Rutta for example, he was a terrific sixth defenseman on the Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning squads but struggled last season in Pittsburgh when he was asked to play in the top-4 in the absence of Kris Letang and Jeff Petry. Rutta was exposed as a liability on most nights in that role, and this year will be asked to play on San Jose’s top defensive pairing. It’s going to be a tough year for the Sharks’ defense as they likely don’t have a single defenseman on their roster that could play in the top-4 of a playoff team.

Zadina is also going to be asked to play a role that doesn’t match his skillset as he is currently pencilled in to play in the Sharks top line. He had trouble finding minutes in Detroit and was a healthy scratch at times. Now he will be asked to dress against opponents’ top units, which might make for a tough year for the 23-year-old who is trying to rebuild his stock after struggling with the Red Wings.

Outside of Duclair, every player the Sharks acquired this offseason was a lightning rod for criticism with their former clubs. Granlund in Pittsburgh was the move that probably got Ron Hextall fired as he didn’t mix with the Penguins, Hoffman wore out his welcome in Montreal and didn’t provide much besides a shot. Dayal is predicting that all these ingredients will be a recipe for disaster in San Jose, but it could also be the shot in the arm that their rebuild needs if they are in fact able to win the draft lottery and secure the first overall pick in 2024.

San Jose Sharks Acquire Anthony Duclair

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6:32 pm: San Jose has made the trade official, sending Lorentz and their 2025 fifth-round pick to Florida for Duclair.

5:42 pm: The San Jose Sharks have traded for Florida Panthers winger Anthony Duclair, according to The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman. Goldman adds that forward Steven Lorentz is expected to be part of the trade heading back to the Panthers, though there could be more moving pieces involved.

Duclair brings a more dynamic asset to the Sharks after he landed on his feet in Florida as a top-line player. Last season, he recorded just two goals and nine points in 20 games with the Panthers, missing much of the season recovering an Achilles tear. Duclair’s skill set and ability to generate scoring chances make him a valuable asset for the Sharks, however, as they sorely need some high-end skill in their lineup (even though they’re rebuilding). He’ll never provide much value defensively, but it’s not much of a concern for a Sharks team that doesn’t anticipate being competitive next season.

In return, the Panthers acquire a fine bottom-of-the-lineup forward in Lorentz and nearly $2MM in cap space, helping them fortify their fourth line while opening up some more cap space to replace Duclair’s top-nine on the open market in the coming days. He could very well center their fourth line next season after recording 10 goals and 19 points in 80 games with the Sharks last season.

Florida Panthers Showing Interest In Noah Hanifin

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For the past few weeks, it’s seemed a matter of when, not if, the Calgary Flames would trade defenseman Noah Hanifin. The left-shot blueliner made it known earlier this month he wasn’t particularly interested in signing an extension, and he’ll likely join Tyler Toffoli as players slated for unrestricted free agency in 2024 finding their way out of the organization a year early.

It’s also been clear that the Florida Panthers are seeking another puck-moving defenseman for their top four, mainly to help buoy the group, while Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour are sidelined with injuries to start the season. They’ve inquired with Calgary about Hanifin to fill that gap, says Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, confirming some speculation earlier in the week about a potential fit.

Hanifin to Florida is far from a sure thing, though, as LeBrun notes trade interest is high in the 26-year-old, who has one season remaining at a $4.95MM cap hit. As LeBrun notes, a potential trade could see winger Anthony Duclair heading the other way, who the Panthers have been shopping to clear some additional cap space. It would still be a tight salary cap dance for the Panthers, depending on what other moves they make in free agency, and they don’t have many other assets on the block the Flames would be particularly interested in. The potential is high here for Florida to get outbid.

If he does end up in the Sunshine State, though, Hanifin would be an immeasurable upgrade in the team’s top four on pending UFA Marc Staal, who’s posted middling advanced numbers despite an increased role alongside Montour. The 26-year-old has averaged over 20 minutes per game in each of the past five seasons, and he’s totaled 86 points and a +29 rating in 162 games since 2021-22.

Duclair would also be a solid addition to a deep Flames top nine, although it’s poised to potentially lose some talent by way of Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund. For now, he’d replace the top-six spot vacated by Toffoli after dealing him to New Jersey yesterday. Duclair notched 20 points in 40 combined regular-season and playoff games in 2022-23 after recovering from a severe Achilles tear sustained during off-season training.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins Free Agents, Duclair, Keefe

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The Boston Bruins had a historic regular season in 2022-23, and now in the aftermath of their disappointingly early playoff exit GM Don Sweeney has some difficult problems to solve this summer. Perhaps the team’s most pressing problem is one team president Cam Neely spoke on today, stating that the Bruins are operating under the assumption that their top two centers from last season, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, will not be returning for next year.

Both Bergeron and Krejci took below-market-rate contacts to remain Bruins, and now as each of them are 37 years old it appears Boston is going to head into this offseason preparing for life without either of them occupying their top-two center spots. Another soon-to-be Bruins free agent is Dmitry Orlov, and Sweeney said that he was unlikely to be re-signed by Boston, via The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. Orlov was acquired in a mid-season deal with the Washington Capitals and with Hampus Lindholm already occupying a spot on the left side of Boston’s defense at a high price there simply may not be the cap space to afford an Orlov extension.

Some other notes from across the Atlantic Division:

  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Florida Panthers are “actively shopping” 28-year-old winger Anthony Duclair. The Panthers are widely rumored to be seeking defensive upgrades this summer and are likely dangling Duclair in large part due to his contract, which carries a $3MM AAV and is set to expire in one year. Duclair re-invented himself as a member of the Panthers and reached new heights of production, so despite an injury-plagued regular season he should have a wide range of interested teams on the trade market.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving confirmed to the media today, including The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, that Sheldon Keefe will remain behind the bench for next season, going so far as to say the team is “excited for him to do so.” Keefe has led Toronto since taking over for Mike Babcock in 2019-20 and won at an extremely high rate in the regular season. While he has just one playoff series victory to his name, Keefe has shown himself to be a capable bench boss. With his immediate future now clear, Keefe will look to build on the momentum started by their elimination of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Panthers Notes: Defense, Hanifin, Duclair

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On today’s episode of TSN’s Insider Trading Pierre LeBrun said that the Florida Panthers are looking to upgrade their defense as they head into the summer. It’s not a surprise to hear this as their defensive core was badly banged up after the playoffs and the left side of their group leaves a bit to be desired. They will also need to contend with free agent departures and Aaron Ekblad likely missing the start of the season with a shoulder injury.

All these issues have Florida reportedly shopping for defensemen via trade. Florida doesn’t have much in the way of cap space with just over $10MM available, so any trade might need to be dollar for dollar. The other issue they may come up against is their lack of trade capital, the Panthers don’t have a first-round pick until 2026 after dealing three first-rounders last year and this could lead Florida to make an old-fashioned player-for-player hockey trade with a team seeking forward help.

In other Panthers notes:

  • One name that LeBrun brought up when discussing the Panthers search for defense was Calgary Flames rearguard Noah Hanifin. The former fifth overall pick reportedly informed the Flames that he doesn’t plan to sign an extension, meaning that the one year remaining on his current contract is likely to be his last in Calgary. Hanifin had seven goals and 31 assists in 81 games for Calgary last season and has been mentioned in multiple outlets as a possible trade target for the Panthers. The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie wrote a column this week talking about a possible Hanifin to Florida connection, but did also bring up the Panthers lack of tradeable assets as a possible roadblock.
  • LeBrun goes on to talk about one move the Panthers could make to acquire some trade bait and that is moving forward Anthony Duclair. The 27-year-old has one year remaining on his contract at a very affordable $3MM cap hit and is just a year removed from scoring 31 goals. The Panthers may not be able to sign Duclair long-term and might be able to get some assets for him to flip for a defenseman. LeBrun goes on to say that he doesn’t think Florida wants to trade the former third overall pick, but they are fielding a lot of calls and could move him for the right offer. Duclair only dressed in 20 games in the regular season, but he was terrific in the playoffs where he put up four goals and seven assists in 20 games helping the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Matthew Tkachuk To Miss Game Five Of Stanley Cup Final

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06/13/23: Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Tkachuk is out for tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that Tkachuk is dealing with a “serious upper-body injury,” meaning if the Panthers manage to extend the Stanley Cup Final to a sixth game, it’s possible Tkachuk misses that contest as well.

06/11/23: After a Game 4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Florida Panthers are regrouping and looking for answers as they try to be the first team to win a Stanley Cup Final after being down 3-1 since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. It appears the injury bug is finally taking a toll, as both Matthew Tkachuk and Anthony Duclair were clearly playing banged up in last night’s contest.

Head coach Paul Maurice provided no official update on Tkachuk and Duclair during media availability this morning, The Athletic’s Michael Russo said. However, he mentioned that both players would undergo rehabilitation and evaluation today while the rest of the team will travel back to Vegas.

It’s not a great sign – especially for Tkachuk, who was kept off the ice for an extended period last night after taking an open-ice hit from Golden Knights winger Keegan Kolesar in Game 3. It limited his ice time to just 16:40 in Game 4 despite the Panthers not holding a lead the entire game, his lowest of the Final aside from Game 2 when he received a 10-minute misconduct penalty during play.

Both players have multiple points in the Final but were held off the scoresheet in Game 4. Duclair did not come out for the start of the third period in Game 4 with an undisclosed injury but would later return.

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