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

Jakob Silfverberg will reportedly be spending the next five season’s with the Anaheim Ducks, but is this the right move for the team?

Jakob Silfverberg was born to play hockey, it is in the very makeup of his DNA. Ever since he entered the Anaheim Ducks lineup in 2013, after the Ottawa Senators shipped him and Stefan Noesen to SoCal, he has been counted as a valuable asset.

While he may not have earned a reputation for himself like that of Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry, he has still been heavily relied upon as one of the members of the Anaheim Ducks shutdown line. That is, until recently, when Andrew Cogliano was traded to the Dallas Stars.

However, with the increased responsibility that has been put on his shoulders this season, he has passed with flying colors. Despite being out with several injuries, he still leads the team in goals, with 16. Transitioning to more of an offensive role in the recent months has been rewarding for both Silfverberg and the Ducks, and has been a small bright spot in the midst of a rather grim season.

With Silf in a contract year, both parties had to make some pretty big decisions. The Anaheim Ducks were at a crossroads and just when we thought they might go right and trade him, they went left and decided to re-sign Jakob Silfverberg to a 5-year contract extension reportedly worth an average annual value of $5.25M.

While the Anaheim Ducks organization has yet to release a statement with official details about the contract extension, most of Ducks Nation is up in arms about it. The other percentage of you is exceedingly glad to have Silf locked down for the next five years. Currently, we are a house divided on the topic at hand.

Nevertheless, there are both positives and negatives to this contract! Today we will explore both the good and bad of having Jakob Silfverberg locked down with the Anaheim Ducks for the next five seasons and whether it is the right move for the organization in the long run.

The Positives to Re-signing Jakob Silfverberg

1. Veteran Presence and Leadership Qualities

The 28-year-old Swedish forward is entering the latter years of his career and he will soon, if he isn’t already, be considered a veteran. While he may bear some resemblance to the deviant Harry Potter antagonist, Draco Malfoy, Silfverberg’s dignified character tells a completely different story.

While he may not have a letter stitched to his jersey, there is something about him that makes you take notice of his leadership qualities. Silf is the kind of player who serves well as a mentor to the younger, less experienced players, and encourages his fellow vets. It makes him more relatable; therefore, the team is better because of him. 

In the next few years, while the Anaheim Ducks make the transition to a younger team, they will have Silfverberg there to lift up and encourage players like Max Comtois, Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Jones, and Isac Lundestrom. His presence on the ice, as well as in the locker room, will encourage the Ducklings in their development as the future leaders of the Anaheim Ducks.

2. Versatility and Flexibility

One thing that has been admirable about Jakob Silfverberg, especially this season, is his versatility. He plays a solid two-way game, having keen hockey sense both offensively and defensively. He can be used in a shutdown role or, better yet, as a goal scorer. Currently, he leads the Anaheim Ducks in goals with 16.

In a pinch, he can easily transition to his off-wing and still be successful. He doesn’t allow the transition to confuse him or hinder his creativity while he is on the ice. Right wing or left wing, it doesn’t matter, Silfverberg is going to be a valuable asset to his linemates.

While he has played most of his career in Anaheim alongside Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Kesler, the forward has no issues when it comes to his coach juggling the lines. There are a lot of players who struggle to find chemistry when they aren’t paired with their normal linemates, and while it may happen sometimes, Silfverberg always has at least some chemistry with whomever he is paired with.

3. Always Reliable

The “injury bug” has run amuck through the Anaheim Ducks roster the past few seasons. Some players are not the same, for others, it took them a while to heal, and while Jakob Silfverberg has not been immune, he has managed to stray away from debilitating injuries.

Although he has suffered from quite a few injuries this season, a broken finger and lower body injury to name a few, he has only missed 9 games. Since he was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks, he has only missed more than 10 games once, and that was in his first season.

While the rest of his teammates have gone quite a few rounds with the injury bug the past few seasons, Silf has been a mainstay for the Anaheim Ducks. This brings us full circle back to our first points. When leaders like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler are out with injury, although he does not wear the “A” on his jersey, he is always willing and able to step up and take on extra responsibility.

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.