Ducks adding depth to their blue line
Eric Stephens of The Athletic: The Anaheim Ducks have Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson as their top three defensemen, but after that, it’s a little wide open.
They’ve signed Christian Djoos, Brendan Guhle, Jani Hakanpaa and Sam Carrick to contract extensions already.
“We just felt we hadn’t been deep enough on defense in last couple of years, and the opportunity presented itself to somewhat shore up that problem a little bit,” Ducks general manager Bob Murray told The Athletic.”
Eric Gudbranson fared okay beside Fowler. He has one year left on his deal. Matt Irwin and Michael Del Zotto are pending UFAs and likely won’t be back.
The Ducks will have some salary cap space to add to their blue line this offseason if they choose. Wouldn’t expect them to be in the running for Alex Pietrangelo or Tyson Barrie.
Looking like another offseason of trade rumors for Gostisbehere
Jordan Hall of NBC Sports: Trade rumors surrounding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere date back to before the 2019 NHL trade deadline. The 27-year old has three years left on his deal at a $4.5 million per. At the deadline teams were calling the Flyers about Gostisbehere, but GM Chuck Fletcher said they weren’t looking to trade him.
“Nothing really makes sense right now to me to move one of our seven D unless we’re getting a really great impact player back in some area,” Fletcher said. “Those types of trades usually don’t happen right now.”
It’s possible that they look to move him this offseason, but it may depend on a few things:
- Is their 20-year old prospect Egor Zamula ready?
- Will the Flyers re-sign defenseman Justin Braun? Chances of re-signing the 33-year old defenseman are 50-50. If they re-sign him to a short-term deal, that could open up the option to dangle someone else to see what they could acquire.
- Is 2019 first-round pick Cam York ready to go pro? His climb to the NHL could be quick, and faster he rises, the increased likelihood that the Flyers listen to offers on Gostisbehere and others