Anaheim Ducks: 6-Pack of 2018 Summer Predictions

NHL Hockey is in a bit of a dead period right now, unless you’re Alex Ovechkin. The Stanley Cup Finals are over and the Draft is 10 days away. It’s a good time to make some predictions about what happens with the Anaheim Ducks this summer.

FanSided is a multi-pronged business. There are 300+ sites covering sports, lifestyle, tv, etc. Pucks of a Feather is part of the NHL Division. I consider it part of my job to read our other hockey sites. We are an Anaheim Ducks site, but I believe it’s important to get a handle on the other teams.

Yesterday, I was perusing through and I stopped at an article at editorinleaf.com, by their site expert James Tanner; Toronto Maple Leafs: 10 Summer Predictions. I read the piece and started to think about the Anaheim Ducks.

One of the hardest parts about covering a team like Anaheim is that General Manager Bob Murray and his staff are notoriously tight-lipped. Rumors don’t come out of the Ducks Katella Avenue offices. Most of the speculation about free agents or trades you read online comes from third parties. It’s the reason why I take them with a bit of salt.

There may not be any Anaheim Ducks information leaks, but that doesn’t stop us from making a few predictions of our own. The team still has transactions to make and holes to fill. Our Pucks of a Feather staff held a brainstorming session yesterday afternoon and we are ready to make some predictions of our own.

Prediction 1 – Bridge Contracts

The Ducks have several restricted free agents (RFA) in their organization. The three major major RFAs are Ondrej Kase, Nick Ritchie, and Brandon Montour. There is a second group of important (but not as necessary) players which have Andy Welinski and speedy Kevin Roy. After the previous five players, anyone else is in a take it or leave it situation.

None of the RFAs have much, if any, bargaining power with Ducks because they are all coming off their respective entry-level contracts. Nick Ritchie is the only RFA that’s played in more than one full NHL season. He has very little leverage after his poor 2017-18 season. Enter the bridge contact.

Rather than entering into a long-term big dollar contract with relatively unproven players, the Anaheim Ducks will sign shorter-term, feel-out deals that will expire before their control of the player expires and work on a more permanent extension at a later date. All RFA’s are getting a team friendly bridge contract.

Prediction 2 – Goodbye Nick

Former 10th overall draft pick in 2014, Nick Ritchie has not impressed people with the start to his NHL career. His low production so far is one reason why. 59 points in 180 games don’t scream budding star. What really, ticks off the Anaheim Ducks and their fans is Ritchie’s lack of composure.

He has a penchant for taking bad penalties at inopportune times. It’s about as bad of a combination that an NHL player can have. A change of scenery could do him some good, but rest assured Murray will get the best deal he can for him.

Prediction 3 – Corey Perry is Staying

I have no idea how Corey Perry made the TSN trade bait list even if he is 25th. What’s even more surprising is when NBC’s “Hockey Talk” picked up the story. The likelihood of him getting dealt this summer is astoundingly small.

For the same reasons fans have for wanting the alternate captain off the roster, opposing teams say to themselves “why would we want him?” Perry has three years at a cap hit of $8.625M per season remaining on his contract.

That means any team that acquires him is on the hook for a cap commitment of $25.875M ($18.5M cash). For a player that hasn’t broken 62 points in four years, that’s a hefty sum especially considering he’s on the back side of his career at 33 years old.

There are other reasons why he won’t get traded this summer. First of all, he has a no-movement clause, so he isn’t going anywhere without his permission. Next, the league is moving toward a faster game on the ice. Perry was never the swiftest, to begin with, and he’s slowing down. Finally, just to bring the point home, the Ducks have an internal cap. At this point, I can’t see the Ducks paying in excess of $12M for Perry to play somewhere else.

Prediction 4 – Patrick Eaves Comes Back

If you think the Ducks had a tough year, imagine how difficult it must have been for right wing Patrick Eaves. He spent multiple hours in the trainer’s room without much relief. Eaves was diagnosed with Guillain-Bure syndrome later in the season. It’s an autoimmune condition that causes pain and soreness in the muscles. Aside from two games early on, he missed the entire season while undergoing treatment and physical therapy.

It had to be difficult for him to watch his team struggle and know he couldn’t help. For someone with a big heart like Eaves, it becomes motivation. Toward the end of 2017-18, he was visible around the team at both Anaheim Ice and the Honda Center. Patrick Eaves is a warrior and we expect him back for training camp.