Anaheim Ducks: Is Re-Signing Jakob Silfverberg the Right Move?

The Negatives to Re-signing Jakob Silfverberg

1. The Anaheim Ducks Already Have too Much Money Wrapped Up in Their Veterans

Bob Murray loves handing out big chunks of change to his veteran players. While they most certainly may deserve it, handing out extensions like that isn’t always the smartest move. With Silfverberg on the books next season with an AAV of $5.25M, he will be one of the five highest-paid veterans on the team.

The Anaheim Ducks will have well over $35M wrapped up in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler, Ryan Kesler, and Jakob Silfverberg. That’s just a little less than half of their entire cap space for only five players.

This is going to make it incredibly difficult for the Ducks to resign their free agents the next few seasons, especially if they perform well. It will also make it hard for the Anaheim Ducks to bring in new faces in the offseason that will actually add something to the team.

While it is still a possibility for Bob Murray to easily move Cam Fowler or Jakob Silfverberg, it is unlikely that any team will want to sign Ryan Kesler or Corey Perry. Ryan Getzlaf is a little bit of a different story, but he deserves to end his career in Anaheim.

Significant changes are going to have to happen to the Anaheim Ducks roster over the summer if they want to avoid being in cap purgatory. A recent quote from GMHCBM would lead us to believe changes are coming, but until they happen, this contact doesn’t look good for the Anaheim Ducks.

"“We’re moving forward, getting younger. It (the Montour trade) was just the first piece of what we’re trying to do here. The pieces might not make sense at the moment, but they’re going to fall inot place as time goes by. We’re going to change this team over a little bit.” -Bob Murray"

2. He’s Not Getting Any Younger

Jakob Silfverberg is 28-years old, and in hockey years, that means he’s on the verge of “ancient.” He’s starting to get up there and it’s just a matter of time before father time catches up with the swift Swede and knocks him down a peg. For a player who has never eclipsed 49 points in his entire career, is $5.25M worth it in the end?

If Silf was first-line material, that’s certainly plausible. However, he is, as some put it, “second and a half” line quality at best. He can score goals, yes. Nevertheless, if the Anaheim Ducks want to get back to their “winning ways” in the next few seasons, their top goal scorer cannot have only 16 goals this close to the end of the season.

The Ducks need to get faster and smarter, and right now their veteran core does not really fit that bill, Silfverberg included. As he progresses in age, his production is going to go down significantly. That’s just the way things go after subjecting your body to such a physical sport for so many years. It is honestly surprising that the shelf life of a hockey player is as long as it is.

Silfverberg may have avoided being seriously injured during his career, but just one wrong move and he could end up like Ryan Kesler. Then, the Ducks are stuck with yet another sub-par veteran who’s eating up their cap space. That is not an ideal situation to be in.

3. He’s Taking Someone Else’s Job

With Jakob Silfverberg on the roster for the next five seasons, this means that a promising, younger, prospect is losing out on his chance to make an impact on the roster. Wether that means he doesn’t reach his full potential because Silf is “in the way” or he doesn’t even make the team because there is no room for him, it’s unfortunate all around.