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Rickard Rakell

Ryan Garbutt Clears Waivers

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December 9: Garbutt has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

December 8: According to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, the Anaheim Ducks have decided to put forward Ryan Garbutt on waivers Thursday morning. This likely means the return of Rickard Rakell to the Ducks lineup is imminent, after missing the last few games with an upper-body injury. The team had brought up Stefan Noesen recently to fill in, but since the 23-year old is also waivers-eligible, the team doesn’t want to expose him by sending him back down.

Garbutt, signed to a three-year, $5.4MM deal in 2014 and is owed $2MM of actual salary this season (though, as Ducks8 points out down below, the Dallas Stars retained half of that hit) due to the back-loaded nature of the deal. Though the price tag is reduced, it still seems unlikely that he’ll be claimed as the 31-year old has not been able to repeat the 32 point season that earned him the deal. With just three points in 27 games this season, he is ticketed for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls for at least the immediate future.

Roster Moves: Noesen, Barberio, Mueller

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The Anaheim Ducks have decided to bring up Stefan Noesen from the San Diego Gulls today as Rickard Rakell missed the morning skate with an upper-body injury. Noesen is a big, angry winger who can contribute at both ends of the ice but has faced injury throughout his young professional career. Selected in the first round in 2011, Noesen has only played in 116 games over the past three and a half seasons but is fully healthy and ready to make an impact at the NHL level. He’s played two games on emergency call-ups in the past, but was held scoreless in each. This year he’s collected 11 points and 28 penalty minutes in 18 AHL contests.

  • Mark Barberio has been sent back to the AHL by the Montreal Canadiens after six games with the big club. The 26-year old defenseman recorded a single assist and four penalty minutes in his time up with the club and will now wait for his next chance. A veteran of 139 NHL games, Barberio hasn’t been able to carve out a spot for himself with the Canadiens since signing as a free agent in 2015. The move likely means that Nathan Beaulieu is ready to come back after taking a puck to the throat two weeks ago.
  • The Canadiens have also sent Charles Hudon down to the AHL. Hudon had been called up earlier this season but suffered a broken sternum in practice on November 25th and was placed on injured reserve. The young forward played in just three games and recorded two assists prior to the injury.
  • While the Canadiens send down a defender, the San Jose Sharks have brought one up. The team recalled Mirco Mueller today though it’s not clear what the corresponding move will be.  The 21-year old Mueller was the Sharks first-round pick in 2013 (#18th overall) and broke in as a youngster in 2014-15 before spending most of last year in the AHL for more seasoning. In 16 AHL contests this year, Mueller has six assists and six penalty minutes. The Swiss-born defender has drawn rave reviews for his calm, safe play in his own end and is expected to develop an offensive game as he matures.
  • In Pittsburgh, the Penguins have sent both Jake Guentzel and Derrick Pouliot to Wilker-Barre/Scranton ahead of their matchup Thursday against the Florida Panthers. As Bill West of TribLive reports, the Penguins didn’t want their young players just sitting on the sideline. While Guentzel and Pouliot have been held out of the lineup for different reasons, they’ve played just six games combined in the NHL this season and at 22-years old can still benefit from the added ice time in the minors. Pouliot, coming back from a lower-body injury had recently completed a conditioning stint with the WBS Penguins and will now likely skate on their top pairing.

Pacific Notes: Rakell, Hertl, Burrows

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After spending a big portion of last season as Anaheim’s second line center, Rickard Rakell has turned into somewhat of a utility player for the Ducks so far this season, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.  At times early on this season, Rakell has been deployed on a two-way third line alongside Antoine Vermette while at others, he has been moved up with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf on the top trio.  Head coach Randy Carlyle hasn’t hesitated to move Rakell in and out of each situation midway through games either, depending on the situation.

It’s safe to say that shifting back and forth hasn’t negatively affected the 23 year old who signed a six year, $22.8MM deal last month.  Through ten games so far this season, he has six goals and four assists while averaging over 17 minutes of playing time per night.  It’s safe to suggest that the Ducks won’t be back in his old second line center role anytime soon.

[Related: Ducks Depth Chart]

More from the Pacific Division:

  • San Jose center Tomas Hertl will be out indefinitely with a right knee sprain, reports CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. Hertl is set to undergo a minor procedure later today and no timetable has been set for his return.  This is already the third time in his career that he has had to deal with a right knee problem, including back in the Stanley Cup Final, an issue that also kept him out of the World Cup of Hockey.  As we noted yesterday, center Danny O’Regan was recalled to take Hertl’s spot on the roster.
  • Although Vancouver left winger Alex Burrows is a prime candidate to be a rental player for another team between now and the trade deadline, he hasn’t given much thought to the possibility of being moved yet, writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. He has a cap hit of $4.5MM which would suggest that any possible move will be later rather than sooner.  However, with a full no-trade clause, Burrows can control his own destiny when it comes to the trade market.  Kuzma suggests that the Canadiens and Rangers would be two teams that would have an interest in the 35 year old, who has five points in 15 games so far this season.

Snapshots: Corrado, Tortorella, Rakell, Weise

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Toronto blueliner Frank Corrado finds himself in a familiar situation this season and as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes, it’s not a good one to be in.  Last year, the Leafs claimed Corrado off of waivers just prior to the start of the season and then proceeded to keep him in the press box for the better part of two months, save for a brief conditioning stint in the AHL.  The justification was that the team thought high enough of him to keep him on the roster and not risk losing him for nothing but that he wasn’t quite good enough to be in the lineup.

Fast forward to this year and history seems to be repeating itself for Corrado, who has been a healthy scratch in four straight games to start the year.  Toronto is carrying eight defensemen to start the season and their other scratch – Roman Polak – made his season debut on Thursday, suggesting that Corrado once again sits eighth on the depth chart without much hope of getting into the lineup.  The belief remains that if Toronto tried to assign him to the minors, he’d be claimed off of waivers, creating an identical situation to last season.

For the time being, it appears that like last season, it’s going to take an injury or two for Corrado to get into the lineup.  Until then, he’ll have to bide his time and wait for a chance which is far from an ideal situation for a 23 year old who has yet to play 50 games in each of the last two years.

More from around the league:

  • Today marks the one year anniversary of the Blue Jackets hiring John Tortorella as their new head coach. In that time, the team has played to a 34-35-8 record, notes Puck Rakers’ Tom Reed.  Clearly, Columbus was looking for more of an immediate impact from Tortorella behind the bench and as a result, he is one of the coaches who came into the season firmly on the hot seat.  The Jackets made a quick coaching change last season and if the team continues to struggle, GM Jarmo Kekalainen may be quick to pull the trigger again this year.
  • The agent for Ducks center Rickard Rakell told Eric Stephens of the OC Register that the expectation is that Rakell will be able to report to the team sometime next week. Rakell is in the process of securing a P-1 visa which is required before he can resume skating with Anaheim.  In the meantime, Rakell will continue to work out on his own in Sweden while waiting for the visa process to be completed which is expected to be shortly after the weekend.
  • Philadelphia right winger Dale Weise has been suspended for three games as a result of an illegal check to the head on Anaheim defenseman Korbinian Holzer on Thursday night, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced.  No penalty had been assessed on the hit during the game.  Weise becomes the third Flyer to miss time due to suspension already this season, joining Brayden Schenn and Radko Gudas.

Rangers Reportedly Scouting The Ducks

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According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, New York Rangers assistant general manager Chris Drury and Gordie Clark, the team’s director of player personnel, were both on hand for Anaheim’s tilt in New Jersey Sunday. This of course led to speculation that a deal could be in the works between the two trades.

That speculation was further fueled by the appearance of four Rangers “scouts” at Tuesday night’s game between the Ducks and the Devils, as noted by Andrew Gross of The Record. Gross reported seeing Clark and Drury specifically in attendance.

The Ducks are off to a slow start (0 – 3 – 1) and have scored just seven goals in four games. They are also still working on re-signing RFA defenseman Hampus Lindholm and it has been rumored previously that the club would have to shed salary in order to make that happen. Recent reports have indicated the two sides are making progress on a deal, though some work remains. As of today, the Ducks are virtually capped out after agreeing to terms with Rickard Rakell on a new contract.

With top prospects Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore starting the season with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego, the team has the necessary depth to deal from their blue line once Lindholm is under contract. In addition to salary cap relief, the Ducks likely would want a young scoring-line winger to boost the team’s lackluster offense. This lines up with earlier reports this summer that the team was interested in adding a high-impact LW.

The Rangers have a plethora of NHL-quality forwards in the organization and could be willing to cash in on that depth in order to upgrade the team’s blue line. Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi have both missed time at the start of the season due to injury though it appears as if both blue liners will be back in the lineup relatively soon.

Hypothetically, a deal of Cam Fowler-for-J.T. Miller could work for both teams, though this is just my speculation. Miller and Fowler each have two seasons remaining on their current contracts, though the Ducks defenseman will be an unrestricted free agent upon the expiration of his deal while Miller will remain under team control. In this scenario the Ducks would save $1.25MM on their salary cap, not an unsubstantial amount but likely not enough on its own to re-sign Lindholm without additional moves.

It should also be noted that Miller has played mostly RW and C for the Rangers and wouldn’t address the Ducks previously stated desire for an impact LW. But at 23-years-old and coming off a 22-goal season in 201-16, Miller could certainly add some punch to Anaheim’s offense.

Of course just because the Rangers had several of their top evaluators on hand at a couple of games may simply be a coincidence. It’s possible they took advantage of the fact they were already in the New York area at the same time the Ducks just happened to be in town to play the Islanders and Devils, though the presence of such a heavy contingent would seem to indicate otherwise.

Snapshots: Russell, Lucic, Ducks, Pardy, Rangers

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Following yet another disappointing campaign for Edmonton in 2015-16, GM Peter Chiarelli orchestrated several changes to his team’s roster this offseason in an effort to build a playoff contender. Chiarelli dealt away two former first overall draft picks, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov (receiving Adam Larsson, a marginal prospect and a conditional draft choice in return), while signing free agents Milan Lucic and Kris Russell in free agency. Many in the hockey community at large weren’t particularly fond of Chiarelli’s moves and while it’s far too early to make any definitive judgement, through two games Lucic and Russell have done exactly what the Oilers and Chiarelli hoped for, as David Staples of the Edmonton Journal writes.

Staples has been tracking scoring chances for and against for every Oilers skater through two games. His research shows that Connor McDavid, who has simply been phenomenal already with six points on the young season, has been Edmonton’s best player by far, helping to generate better than six more scoring chances for than against, per 15 minutes of ice time. Lucic is second in that category with a differential of 4.82. Russell leads the defense corps with a 2.34 differential per 15 minutes of ice time. Incredibly, Russell has yet to make a single error leading to an opposition scoring chance through two games, based on Staples’ tracking.

Again, it’s too early to conclude anything for certain but the early returns on Lucic and Russell have to be encouraging for Chiarelli and Co. Obviously this team will only go as far as their superstar captain McDavid will lead, but should his two prized free agent acquisitions continue to perform at this level, Edmonton might yet prove the pundits wrong and compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • Could the Anaheim Ducks soon find themselves at a crossroads with a roster core too old to compete for a Stanley Cup? Eric Stepens, who covers the team, asks that question in a post that appears in the Los Angeles Daily News. Stephens notes that the team’s three best forwards, Ryan Getzlaf (31), Corey Perry (31) and Ryan Kesler (32) are all on the wrong side of 30. At the same time, many of the league’s top stars – Johnny Gaudreau (23), McDavid (19), Auston Matthews (19) – are in their early-20’s or even younger. Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler also account for $23.75MM, or nearly one-third of this year’s salary cap, now that Kesler’s massive extension kicked in. These commitments leaves less space for the Ducks to flesh out the rest of their roster with quality talent as evidenced by their struggles to reach agreements with restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm.
  • After being released from his PTO with Florida, Adam Pardy has agreed to sign an AHL deal with the Panthers organization, tweets Harvey Fialkov. Pardy will report to Springfield and provide an experienced blue line depth option for Florida. He has appeared in 338 NHL games over parts of eight seasons. Pardy previously has seen action in the league with Calgary, Buffalo, Edmonton, Dallas and Winnipeg.
  • New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault was quite specific in how he put his forward lines together to start the 2016-17 campaign. By design, the team would ice three lines capable of scoring while the fourth line was to be comprised of “penalty killers and defensive specialists.” But after introducing rookies Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey to the lineup, a couple of skilled veterans slid down the depth chart and onto the team’s fourth line. As Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes, the presence of Brandon Pirri and Michael Grabner at the bottom of the Rangers lineup has already paid dividends for the Blue Shirts. Grabner, a once tallied 34 goals as a member of the Islanders, netted the first marker of the season for the Rangers. Pirri, meanwhile, assisted on Grabner’s goal and potted his first as a New York Ranger on the power play. As long as the duo remain defensively-responsible, their ability to put the puck in the net will be welcome on the teams fourth line.

Ducks Sign Rickard Rakell To A Six Year Deal

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The Ducks have come to terms with one of their two remaining restricted free agents, announcing that they have re-signed center Rickard Rakell to a six year deal.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds that the deal will carry a cap hit of $3.8MM (Twitter link).

Rakell had been named to Sweden’s roster for the World Cup of Hockey but had to withdraw due to complications arising from an appendectomy he had back in March. While he was able to play in pre-tournament action last month, he was hospitalized shortly thereafter. He has since received the green light to resume training.

Last season was Rakell’s second full NHL campaign and he improved on his freshman numbers.  In 72 games last year, he potted 20 goals and added 23 assists while averaging 16:04 in ice time.  He also played in all seven postseason games, picking up another goal and an assist.

Once Rakell is able to return to the lineup (which will be at least a couple of weeks away, Eric Stephens of the OC Register reports via Twitter), it’s likely that he will play as the Ducks’ second line center behind Ryan Getzlaf.

[Related: Ducks Depth Chart]

Anaheim still has one remaining RFA to deal with in defenseman Hampus Lindholm.  Cap space is at a premium for the team, as they have less than $400K in room to work with per Cap Friendly (though that amount will increase slightly when they remove someone from the roster to open up a spot for Rakell).  Still, it seems likely that they will need to make a trade when they do come to terms with their young blueliner.

Sabres Agree To Terms With Ristolainen

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Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray has confirmed earlier reports that the team has signed Rasmus Ristolainen to a new contract, as John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweets. Terms of the new arrangement are unknown at this point.

Ristolainen developed into the team’s top blue liner in 2015-16, scoring nine goals with 32 helpers. The three-year veteran has tallied 19 goals and 65 points in 194 games during his career.

Bob McKenzie adds that the deal is for six years and worth an average of $5.4MM annually. He notes the contract is identical to the one recently agreed to between fellow right-handed defenseman Seth Jones and Columbus.

The signing leaves the Sabres with just a shade less than $2MM of cap space with 23 players under contract – 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies – as Cap Friendly notes.

With Ristolainen under contract, only three prominent RFAs remain unsigned: Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Jacob Trouba. Mckenzie speculates that the Ristolainen contract represents the absolute floor for Lindholm. It will be interesting to see whether this agreement helps push the negotiations between Lindholm and the Ducks any closer to a resolution.

 

Ducks Expected To Make Trade Once Rakell, Lindholm Sign

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According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Anaheim Ducks are going to have to make a deal after completing contracts with their currently pending restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm.  As discussed on this site yesterday, Rakell isn’t any closer to a deal with the Ducks, however McKenzie does hear that the two sides are close on money and term and that it’s something else holding up the deal.

Either way, when Rakell and Lindholm come in for something around $9MM combined, the Ducks will be way over the cap and need to shed some salary. McKenzie says as much in a tweet today, in which he suggests that Cam Fowler will be the odd man out in Anaheim and be on the move while the ink is still drying.

If it is Fowler, one would imagine many teams would be after the 24-year old. The former first-round pick will have over 450 games in the NHL before his 25th birthday, bringing a mixture of youth and experience to whichever team lands him. Fowler is owed $8MM over the next two seasons, a fine number for a player who many would consider a top-4 defenseman. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent following the 2017-18 season, and be looking for a long-term deal.

The Ducks seemingly have painted themselves into a corner this summer, with the addition of Jonathan Bernier’s deal. If Frederik Andersen being shipped to Toronto was a cost-saving measure, it has been completely undone by taking the former Leafs goaltender back. The Ducks are expected to start John Gibson for the majority of their games this season, despite making almost $2MM less than Bernier.

There is also the impending expansion draft, in which one of the Ducks young defenders is sure to be at risk, as the picture stands currently. If the team was to start moving pieces like Fowler out however, perhaps they’ll be able to keep their whole pipeline intact.

Clayton Stoner Clears Waivers; Stays With Ducks

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After placing Clayton Stoner on waivers this week, the Anaheim Ducks were hoping a team would take a shot at the veteran defender and take the entirety of his cap hit off their hands.  Instead, the 31-year old has cleared and will remain in camp according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.

Stoner has become the odd man out in Anaheim after the development of their young defense corps, and is dead cap space for a team trying desperately to re-sign Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell. The two young stars are still both without contracts as opening day approaches, with some believing that the team doesn’t have enough room to sign both to long-term deals.

The Anaheim blueline is very crowded even without Lindholm in camp however, as the team sent down two blue-chip prospects in Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore today. As discussed previously, the team will have to sort out the situation before next year’s expansion draft, or risk losing one of them for nothing.

Stoner for now will continue to skate in camp, and may perhaps find a spot on the team if Lindholm is not signed in time. More likely however, the veteran of 346 career NHL games will be buried in the AHL to save as much money as possible.

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