Anaheim Ducks Season Grades – Defensemen Part One

Part Timers

Sami Vatanen: B

He should probably be in the “incompletes” because he only played in 15 games as an Anaheim Ducks player. It would have been more had he not missed the first month of the season recovering from shoulder surgery. Vatanen still managed to pick up four points with two coming on the power play. He also added 24 hits and 26 blocked shots.

Vatanen’s greatest contribution to the Ducks and the reason why he has a grade has nothing to do with any of the above. The “Finnish Flash, 2.0” was dealt on November 30, 2017, to New Jersey for center Adam Henrique. It was a trade that saved both franchises seasons.

Marcus Pettersson: C

His grade would have been higher if played a little longer for the Ducks. Pettersson was just starting to find himself when the regular season ended. Once Randy Carlyle and Bob Murray figured out that any combination of Francois Beauchemin, Kevin Bieksa, and/or Korbinian Holzer in the same game couldn’t work, Pettersson was brought up.

That happened February 15 and the former 38th overall draft selection (2014) never looked back. He played in 22 games and scored four points. More importantly, he finished at +5 and had 27 blocked shots.

Pettersson’s game is, for lack of a better term, “Lindholm Lite.” He is a well-rounded player who is responsible in his own end and has some offensive skill. If his brief stay this year was an appetizer, Ducks fans will be looking forward to the main course.

Kevin Bieksa: D+

Half the people reading this will think Bieksa should have received a higher grade. The other half would give him a big “F” for the year. D+, slightly above poor, seems about right. The feisty (nasty) player from his time in Vancouver and his first season with the Anaheim Ducks is gone.

Father time catches up with everyone, with the possible exception of Tom Brady, and Bieksa couldn’t fight him off. His 37-year-old wheels couldn’t keep up with younger, faster skaters. He was caught out of position more than ever before, which led to his career-worst -13, in only 59 games played.

To further illustrate his decline, Bieksa had his lowest point total (8), and average time on ice (18:01) since his rookie year in 2005-06. The fact he spent two stints on IR with a hand injury, didn’t help his cause. When a defenseman has trouble keeping up with opposing forwards and has issues grasping his stick, its a recipe for disaster.

Bieksa is an unrestricted free agent come June 1. It’s hard to imagine the Ducks would bring him back next season. Then again it was unfathomable Murray didn’t ask him to waive his no-movement clause before the expansion draft. The only way he is a member of the team next year is if he accepts both a minimum contract and a “Korbinian Holzer-esque” role among the defensemen.

Francois Beauchemin: C-

Many of the same things said about Bieksa can be said about Francois Beauchemin. Part of Beauchemin’s grade is based in reality and part is based on unreal expectations. In other words, his poor play this season was his fault, but Ducks fans probably shouldn’t have expected as much from him as they did.

Beauch came out of retirement to play one last season in 2017-18 because he is a team guy and the Ducks needed him. As mentioned earlier, Vatanen and Lindholm missed the start of the season because of injury and Bob Murray asked him to come back.

Beauchemin wasn’t the same player he was during his first two tours of duty with Anaheim. If he was, it might have been a different season for both him and the Ducks. He didn’t have it enough left in the tank to be that player again. The old man did score a respectable 17 points in 67 games. Beauchemin also had triple-digit totals in both hits and blocked shots.

The Quebec native has officially hung up his cleats, just short of his 38th birthday. Superlatives will continue for Beauch, who played 932 NHL games, 592 of them over parts of 10 seasons with Anaheim. Greg Johnson wrote an eloquent salute last week to Beauchemin. He may not have his jersey retired by the team, but he will go down as one of its better defensemen.