Anaheim Ducks

Player Name/position: Sami Vatanen, D Overall Grade: B+ Did what he needed to do during his brief appearances with the Ducks. Apparently didn't do enough to earn postseason playing time. Contract Status: Signed through 2013-2014 (will become RFA), $900,000 salary, $1,325,000 cap hit (per Capgeek) 2012-2013 Stats: GP G A P +/- PIM Anaheim (NHL) 8 2 0 2 3 0 Norfolk (AHL) 62 9 36 45 0 44 Playoff Stats: Did not appear. Offense: The guy can shoot. He notched a modest two goals in eight games with the big club, but finished as the Admirals' second leading scorer after Patrick Maroon. At the very least, his output at the NHL level definitely met expectations, and the potential he showed for the future exceeded them. Defense: He met defensive expectations by being neither tremendous nor terrible. While he was never a shut-down guy by any means, he was also never the guy that could be counted on to turn the puck over or miss an assignment every other shift (and the Ducks did have a couple of those). Highlight of the Season: Snapping it past Vezina Trophy candidate (and likely winner) Sergei Bobrovsky on the power play for his first NHL goal, and doubling his career totals with a beauty of a slapshot in Edmonton. Oh, and that huge goal he would have scored against Detroit if Boudreau had played him. That one was awesome. Expectations for Next Year: The big question for Vatanen is where he will play for most of the season. Two of the Ducks' regulars on the blue line — Toni Lydman and Ben Lovejoy — will become UFAs in July, and one or more of the others may be traded. Regardless of what Bob Murray does in the offseason, Vatanen will need a strong showing in training camp if he wants to make the opening night roster for the big club (and his right handedness won't hurt him). But even if he does not make the first cut, there is a very good chance that a spot will open up at some point during the regular season, either due to injury or very poor play on the part of one of the top six. Given what we've seen in just eight games, it's not ridiculous to think Vatanen might be a full time NHL defenseman as early as next season. But in order for that to happen, the 5'10'' 180 lb. Finn will not only have to continue to produce on the offensive side, but also step up his game in his own zone against much larger NHL forwards. He could be a great asset on the Ducks' power play, but he won't stay in the lineup if the power play is all he's good for.

Player Name/position: Rickard Rakell (Right Wing) Overall Grade: B+ Contract Status: Entry Level, 3 years remaining ($894k cap hit) 2013 Stats: 4GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, minus-2; sent back to Plymouth(OHL) on February 14. 2013 OHL (Plymouth Whalers) Stats: 40GP, 21G, 23A, 44P, +19. Named OHL Player of the Week for the week ending February 24. OHL Playoff Stats: 15GP, 6G, 9A, 15P, +8. Offense: Absolutely exceeded my personal expectations. I was a little worried when I heard he made the opening night roster, but never once did he look uncomfortable or overmatched on the puck, making smart decisions and causing problems for veteran defenses. I was actually sad to see him go. Defense: I'm not too fond of becoming a minus-2 in only four games, but still for a high-skill offenseman and a rookie such as himself, I'm not too worried. Highlight of the Season: Won a silver medal, led the team in assists, and tied for the team lead in scoring while representing Sweden at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championships. Expectations for Next Year: Rakell likely won't make the team out of training camp again but will definitely push himself up the depth chart and likely give guys like Devante Smith-Pelly a run for their money as to who will be one of the first Right Wingers called up will be. This is doubly true if Teemu Selanne stays around and the Ducks re-up with Radek Dvorak. But that's not a bad thing for a guy who just turned 20 years old. With the talent the Ducks are currently stacking at Right Wing I see no reason to rush his development and put him in the big leagues. I expect him to head to Norfolk and help what should be a much-improved Admirals squad next year by adding some second-line scoring depth. It might take him a little bit to get used to the AHL game coming out of juniors, but will likely finish next season with 20+ AHL goals.

DUCKS NEWS Former Ducks defenseman Andy Sutton has retired after playing 15 seasons in the NHL. [USA Today] Andrew Cogliano is making an impact with the Ducks. [The Hockey Writers] As a finalist for the Jack Adams, Bruce Boudreau has something to quack about. [Phil Hulett] Andy Sutton was also known for his outspokenness during his time in the NHL, and was one of the first people to speak about the toll that the league takes on enforcers and grinders. [Puck Daddy] A letter from our own kid ish has made the front page of Battle of California. This is why I tell you to go there at your own risk...[Battle of California] The Ducks have signed defenseman Stefan Warg to a two-year, entry-level contract. [Anaheim Ducks] AROUND THE NHL The Vancouver Canucks have fired coach Alain Vigneault, and some say it was related to the Canucks' inability to score. [The Province] Danny Briere will most likely be bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers during the offseason, but he allegedly wants to stay. Do we want him? Does anyone else on this list appeal to you? (Note: this article is in French, but the names of the players are very clear). [Le Journal de Montréal] It's official! The Colorado Avalanche have hired Patrick Roy as coach. [NHL.com]

For the next few weeks, we'll be doing a player by player analysis of regular and post season play. Find out who has been grounded for the summer, should be sent to military school or made prom king. Player Name/position: Jordan Hendry, Defenseman Overall Grade: B+, No complaints but nothing stands out; just how it should be for a defensive defenseman with a caveat that we didn't get to see him tested at the NHL level. Contract Status: UFA, $600,000 Salary/Cap Hit in 2013 (per Capgeek, of course) 2013 Stats: 2 Games Played, 0 goals, 0 assists 0 points 17:35 average TOI per game 2013 AHL Stats: 62 GP, 2-9-11, 63 PIM, minus-9 with Norfolk. Playoff Stats: N/A Offense: Well, he sure as Hell wasn't expected to provide any offense with the big club, so I guess he met expectations there. His best offensive season in the NHL was with the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, where he put up eight points (2-6-8) in 43 games and he clearly didn't have that kind of opportunity this season. However, his .17 points per game is right on track with his previous three prolonged stints in the AHL (.16 in '09, .15 in '08 and .20 in '07). Most impressively he got 101 shots on goal (1.6 per game) as an Admiral this season, eclipsing his previous best of 97 (1.2 per game) in 2007. Defense: His minus-9 rating (for what it's worth) was the worst and only the second negative rating of his AHL career (minus-3 in '08). I'd love to see his average time on ice to get an idea of how Norfolk coach Trent Yawney was using him, but even the AHL's game sheets don't keep track of that. Honestly, it's very difficult to tell how he lived up to expectations, having only seen him play in two games this season. Trust me, the analysis will get much better as we work our way up the depth chart in this series. Highlight of the Season: Two multi-point games (2/17 vs. Bridgeport, and 3/9 vs. Hershey) and a stretch of four points in five games from Dec. 1-14. During that hot streak the Ads went 3-1-1 and Hendry scored both of his goals for the season, including the game winner over the Binghamton Sens. Expectations for Next Year: None. He's a 29-year-old free agent who spent most of 2011-12 with Lugano of the Swiss league. I'd say this year he was eighth on the defensive depth chart, behind Sami Vatanen and slightly ahead of a concussed 18-year-old first round draft pick in Hampus Lindholm. So, if he is re-signed he's not likely to crack the Ducks' lineup barring several simultaneous injuries to blueliners. Having said that I would have no problem signing him up for another year of stay-at-home defending in Norfolk, unless our resident Admirals fans have something else to say about it.

Player Name/position: Matthew Lombardi, C Overall Grade: C, Oh yeah! We traded for this guy at the deadline. Contract Status: UFA, $2 Million Cap Hit, $3.5M Salary in 2013 (per Capgeek, of course) 2013 Stats: 7 Games Played, 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 0 Points, 4 PIM, 13:25 TOI/G; With Phoenix: 21 GP, 4-4-8 Offense: When I think of Lombardi (rarely) the first thing that comes to mind is that he is one of the nameless faceless masses that makes up the scoring committee of a team lacking offensive fire power like Phoenix, Nashville or Calgary (excluding Jerome Iginla). Throughout his career the only other team he's played for was Toronto (2011-12). To me he is one of those guys who puts up 20-30 points a season on a team where every forward has around 15-40 points. His career high was 53 in 2010 with Phoenix. So, I guess he didn't quite meet those expectations having put up no numbers in only seven games. Although I was shocked to find out he had made that many appearances in a Ducks sweater (I would have guessed three). Had he been brought in to start the season i probably would have had higher hopes for him, but by the time he became a Duck the middle of the ice had been shored up significantly by the improvements of Ryan Getzlaf and Saku Koivu from last season, the emergence of Nick Bonino and the acquisition of David Steckel. In addition, he ended up being the opposite side of Radek Dvorak's coin; the less productive of the two older forwards Bob Murray took a flyer on for depth down the stretch. Still, I'd still say the chance that he could provide some offense in limited minutes was worth jettisoning Brandon McMilan, who had fallen off the radar and also had an expiring contract (RFA). Defense: The Hockey News claims that Lombardi has "excellent penalty killing skills" and has the career potential (he's 31) to be a "speedy two-way forward, when healthy." He logged a grand total of 19 seconds shorthanded as a Duck, and while I was vaguely aware of his speed I saw no evidence of it in black, gold and orange. In yesterday's report card I gave Jordan Hendry credit for being neither seen nor heard but for me, the definition of a two-way forward means more than not being a liability. Of course, as with most of the players we've covered so far on our report cards he wasn't offered much of an opportunity to prove himself one way or the other. Highlight of the Season: There were about 48 hours between the Ducks trading for him and his first game with the club when I wondered what he could bring. Then he did nothing and I pretty much forgot about him until today. Expectations for Next Year: I highly doubt he'll be retained in free agency. Other teams who don't have two players taking up 26% of the salary cap are much more likely to sign him for something approximating the $3.5M (prorated) that he made this year.

Player Name/position: Radek Dvorak, RW Overall Grade: A, how can you hate on a low-cost guy that averaged a goal every other game? Contract Status: Will be a UFA as of July 5 (stupid lockout) $675,000 Salary/Cap Hit in 2013 (per Capgeek, of course) 2013 Stats: 9 games played; 4 goals, 0 assists, 4 points; plus-2, 13:08 TOI/G Playoff Stats: Sadly, no. But not in a Corey Perry kind of way. Offense: The guy scored 4 goals in 9 games after he was picked up on a lark. That pretty much classifies as offensive juggernaut status in my book. To be fair, though, he did shoot an astronomical 23.5%, given his 4 goals on just 17 total shots. Defense: I don’t remember Dvorak getting torched on any plays and I don’t recall him ever being considered to be in any kind of shutdown role. So I think he performed adequately here. Highlight of the Season: His two-goal game against Edmonton on April 8 was pretty fun. Dvorak accounted for all of the Ducks’ scoring in that game, and his second goal at 7:48 of the third proved to be enough for Anaheim to hold on against the Oil. Expectations for Next Year: Given that Dvorak was mired in the KHL before the Ducks signed him on March 24, it’s unlikely that Dvorak cracks an NHL lineup next season. This isn’t to say that he doesn’t deserve it; Dvorak played extremely well in his limited duty this season. In fact, his uncanny ability to find the back of the net mystified many of us at AC that he couldn’t find more ice time or even get a look in the playoffs. Personally speaking, I think a lot of teams could do a lot worse than Dvorak, but it seems that his time has probably passed.

via ducks.nhl.com The Anaheim Ducks announced the signing of the 2008 fifth round draft pick Stefan Warg to a two-year entry-level contract today. If you don’t recognize that name, you’re not the only one. No offense Stefan. When the Ducks drafted him back in ’08, Warg was playing in Sweden but opted for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) after the Ducks selected him. After one full season with the Thunderbirds and a season split between Seattle and the Prince Albert Raiders, also of the WHL. The 23-year-old went back to his native Sweden after those two seasons in the WHL. There, he spent two seasons with Orebro of the Swedish league Allsvenskan and one season with Vasteras, also of Allsvenskan. He has been under the radar in the Ducks system until he posted decent numbers with Vasteras this past year, 4 goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 52 games played. He also posted 40 PIM and a plus/minus of +21. Don’t read too much into this signing, he isn’t expected to be a significant prospect. However, he will be coming back to North America this upcoming season, to play with either Norfolk (AHL) or Fort Wayne (ECHL) Stefan Warg (via ducks.nhl.com) Age: 23 Position: Defenseman Shoots: Right Height: 6’3″ Weight: 220 lbs. Scouting Reports: A big and right-shooting defenseman. Warg is a skilled passer, physically strong and pretty tough. Plays solid in his own end, but could be more explosive. Is a defensive player that makes very little errors and always does his best for the team. via EliteProspects.com Warg is a smart player who makes good passes and skates well.  He will need to fill out and learn the North American style of play.  With the right development, he has the size and skills required to become a solid NHL defenseman. While it is always a risky move for players to go back to Europe for development, Warg has rounded out well and turned into an everyday defenseman in the league. While he has been almost completely under the radar among Ducks prospects thus far, Warg has maintained a solid level of play, development, and a desire to play in the NHL and North America. His wish may become reality soon as rumors have been swirling since mid-April of 2013 that the big Swede and only European drafted by the team in 2008 is going to commit to North America for next fall. However, nothing at this point has officially been released. via HockeysFuture.com Well, it’s been officially released that he signed with the Ducks and with his desire to play in North America, it’s safe to say he’ll be with Norfolk or Fort Wayne. Thanks for reading! Any questions? Contact us! Or follow us on twitter @PucksofaFeather! We’re back on Facebook, so like us! Follow me on twitter @ducks_sean! Follow our Lead Editor on twitter @thekrishill! Follow my fellow Staff Writers on twitter @bauerhockeydude and @CamLanier!

The Ducks have signed defenseman Stefan Warg to a two-year entry-level contract. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed. Warg, 23 (2/6/90), appeared in 52 games with Vasteras of Sweden’s Allsvenskan league (second division) in 2012...

Player Name/position: Devante Smith-Pelly, RW Overall Grade: D, for a guy who played more than half the season with the big club last year, you have to expect more than just a cup of coffee. Contract Status: signed through 2013-14 $870,000 Cap Hit; $690,000 Salary (per Capgeek, of course) 2013 Stats: 7 Games Played; 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, minus-4, 8:59 TOI/G 2013 AHL: 65 GP, 14-18-32, minus-20, Playoff Stats: N/A Offense: Despite the lockout, the simple fact that he played 42 fewer games this season in the NHL than last would seem to indicate that he did not meet expectations. However, as one might expect his numbers in the AHL this season on a per game basis (.49 P/G, .21 G/G) were significantly better than his NHL numbers last year (.27 P/G, .14 G/G). Of course that is comparing apples and oranges when quality of competition is taken into account, so it's hard to tell what he would have been able to do with more consistent opportunities at the top level. Defense: As dicey as it may be to look solely at plus/minus, there is no disputing that minus-20 is not a good sign, particularly for a player like Smith-Pelly who has the size and skill to be a force on both sides of the puck. If you're interested, his Corsi On 5-on-5 was -26.31 (per behindthenet.ca) ahead of only Brad Staubitz and Rikard Rakell for the Ducks this season, but a sample size of seven games isn't going to tell you much statistically or anecdotally. Highlight of the Season: DSP broke out with 12 points in the month of March (5-7-12) nearly doubling his numbers for the rest of the season combined, to that point (6-10-16). In fairness, he only played four games in January, thanks to being called up for training camp and the start of the NHL season. Expectations for Next Year: I, personally, still have high hopes for DSP. Based on what I read coming out of our Norfolk correspondents, Shawn and Scott, this season he seemed to have a very strong end of the year after struggling early on. Of course, that still raises concerns about how he adjusted to the heightened level of play in the AHL while the lockout was in effect. I'd still love to see him with a chance to get those child bearing hips in front of NHL goalies and evolve into our version of a Tomas Holmstrom or Johan Franzen, which has been sorely missed since the departure of Dustin Penner.

DUCKS NEWS Francois Beauchemin has had ACL surgery, the Ducks reported on Monday. [Yahoo! Sports] You've already seen this on our banner, but the Ducks have signed William Karlsson, who is currently a top rookie in his native Sweden. [NHL.com] The Hockey Writers analyze Corey Perry's invisible performance against Detroit. [The Hockey Writers] Fort Wayne Komets goalie Nick Boucher had decided to end his career. [Indiana's NewsCenter] Paul Kariya is Throwback Attack's Random Pro of the Week. [Throwback Attack] The Ducks are still crushed by their early playoff elimination. [wavy.com] The Fort Wayne Komets shocked everyone with their 1993 Turner Cup title. [News-Sentinel.com] A throwback George Parros jersey foul. [Puck Daddy] Former Ducks "Great" Andy Sutton's 15 year career has officially come to an end [Puck Daddy] AROUND THE NHL Justin Bourne discusses the Patrick Roy to the Avalanche rumors, and discusses the positive and negative aspects of big name players coaching teams. [Backhand Shelf] Elliotte Friedman from CBC weighs in on the Roy situation as well. [CBC] Should the Capitals re-sign Mike Ribeiro? [Washington Post] New York Rangers defenseman was hurt in the team's Game 3 loss to the Boston Bruins. [NHL.com]