Trade: Bieksa headed to California — but it’s Anaheim, not San Jose

By Mike HalfordJun 30, 2015, 6:07 PM EDT
26 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks have finally moved veteran d-man Kevin Bieksa — but not to the team many expected.

On Tuesday, Bieksa was sent to Anaheim in exchange for a second-round pick at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The deal comes just days after a widely-circulated report claimed the 34-year-old rearguard was on his way to San Jose, only for the deal to be scuttled during the draft weekend in Florida.

In Bieksa, the Ducks get an experienced rearguard is heading into the last of a five-year, $23 million deal with a $4.6M annual cap hit. In his prime, Bieksa was a key piece of Vancouver defense, cracking the 40-point plateau three times while developing a reputation as someone that played with an edge. He’s also known for his leadership qualities, having served as an alternate in Vancouver, and as a Canada’s captain at the 2015 Worlds.

That said, Bieksa has seen better days.

Last season was a struggle; a broken hand limited him to just 14 points in 60 games and his lack of foot speed and mobility were exposed in Vancouver’s opening-round playoff loss to Calgary.

In Anaheim, Bieksa will be reunited with former Vancouver teammate Ryan Kesler and will step onto a blueline that has some uncertainty; Ducks GM Bob Murray flipped little-used James Wisniewski to Carolina at the draft, and has yet to decide if he’ll return veteran Francois Beauchemin (this deal suggests Beauchemin is done in Orange County.)

The club also recently bought out Mark Fistric.

Notes…

— The pick heading to Vancouver is interesting. It’s believed the Canucks thought they were getting a ’15 second-rounder from the Sharks, only to learn a ’16 second-rounder was on the table… the same pick Anaheim gave.

— Per TSN, it sounds like Bieksa’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, is working on an extension with the Ducks.

— This is the second significant deal Canucks GM Jim Benning has done with Murray in as many years, having sent Kesler to Anaheim last summer.

Buyouts loom as Richards, Parenteau and Fistric clear unconditional waivers

By James O'BrienJun 29, 2015, 12:18 PM EDT
4 Comments

Significant buyouts appear to be mere formalities after Mike Richards (Los Angeles Kings), P.A. Parenteau (Montreal Canadiens) and Mark Fistric (Anaheim Ducks) cleared unconditional waivers on Monday. That word comes from a variety of sources, including TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

Using CapFriendly’s buyout calculator, here’s how each buyout is expected to impact their respective teams:

Richards for the Kings: $1.22 million cap hit for each season through 2024-25; his two-thirds buyout will total $14.667 million.

Parenteau for the Canadiens: The total buyout cost is $2.667 million, with a cap hit of $1.33 million for 2015-16 and 2016-17.

The Canadiens already made the Parenteau buyout official. Here is GM Marc Bergevin’s statement:

“I would like to thank Pierre-Alexandre for his time as a Montreal Canadien and wish him the best with his career,” Bergevin said. “It was a difficult decision to make, but we feel it gives us more flexibility as we continue to improve our club and provide our young prospects with an opportunity to earn a spot on our roster.”

Here is Parenteau’s statement:

Fistric for the Ducks: Total buyout cost: $1.8 million; cap hit of $516K for 2015-16, $217K for 2016-17, 450K for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Note: cap hits are rounded up when appropriate.

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Once we digest what this means for the three teams, the obvious follow-up question is quite enticing: what kind of interest will Richards, Parenteau and Fistric drum up on the free agent market?

Preds’ Clune clears waivers, buyout coming

By Dhiren MahibanJun 28, 2015, 1:25 PM EDT
4 Comments

Predators forward Rich Clune cleared unconditional waivers on Sunday and will likely be bought out by Nashville.

Clune has one year remaining on his two-year, $1.7 million deal with a cap hit of $850,000.

According to Capfriendly.com, the buyout will cost the Preds $283,333 in each of the next two seasons.

“I’m very grateful for my years playing for the Nashville Predators,” Clune said via Twitter. I want to thank David Poile and the rest of the staff for everything. Most important my teammates and the fans mean the world to me. Thank you.

“Nothing changes, I plan on playing in the NHL next season and will continue my rigorous training regimen out in Los Angeles this off season.”

Clune spent most of the 2014-15 season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals scoring six goals and 17 points to go along with 181 penalty minutes.

Parenteau, Fistric land on unconditional waivers

In addition to Mike Richards, Ducks’ defenseman Mark Fistric and Habs’ forward P.A. Parenteau have also been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout.

Fistric’s buyout will cost the Ducks $1.8 million over the next four years while Parenteau will cost the Habs $1.3 million each of the next two seasons.

More minutes? Timonen will ‘take whatever I get’ after Rozsival injury

By Mike HalfordMay 11, 2015, 2:02 PM EDT
17 Comments

Though he’s largely been a non-factor for Chicago this postseason — averaging just 9:25 TOI per night — Kimmo Timonen says he’s more than ready for an increased workload now that Michal Rozsival is done for the playoffs with a fractured ankle.

“If I get more, I get more. If I don’t, I don’t,” Timonen said, per the Sun-Times. “That’s my role and I’m happy to do it. If it’s seven, eight, 12 minutes — that’s more than I was supposed to play this year anyway.

“I’ll take whatever I get.”

Expect defense to be a major story in the Western Conference Final — specifically, the contrasts between Anaheim and Chicago. The Ducks are feeling great about the health and depth; they’re young, they’re fresh, Hampus Lindholm is emerging as a potential star and, should injury hit, the club is more than capable of dealing — trade deadline pickups James Wisniewski and Korbinian Holzer are sitting as healthy scratches, as are veteran Mark Fistric and youngster Josh Manson.

It’s a far different story in Chicago.

Head coach Joel Quenneville has relied heavily on his top four of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Rozsival was often scrutinized by fans and media, but played an integral role as the No. 5 guy and will now likely be replaced by David Rundblad. The 24-year-old Swede did play a fair bit during the regular season but, as Brough pointed out, received protected minutes and started just 20.6 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone.

Which brings the conversation back to Timonen.

There’s an obvious opportunity here for him to see more ice, given almost all of Rozsival’s minutes were at even strength. The 40-year-old insists he’s feeling great and fit enough to be a factor in the Anaheim series, which might be a necessity given how effectively the Ducks rolled their forwards through the first two playoff rounds.

“I’m probably in the past shape I’ve been in years. I feel great,” Timonen said. “Once I get out there I do my job as well as I can. But it hasn’t been easy. It’s a role I’ve never been through before. It takes a little time to get used to it. It’s a lot of mental thinking.

“Every player wants to play more. When you play more you usually play better.”

Related: Rozsival injury puts Chicago blue line that much more under the microscope

Trade: Ducks acquire Robak from Florida for Blacker

By Mike HalfordDec 4, 2014, 10:31 AM EDT
1 Comment

The Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks partnered for a flip of young defensemen on Thursday, with the Panthers sending Colby Robak out West in exchange for Jesse Blacker and a conditional draft pick.

Robak, 24, is the more vested of the two, having played in 42 career NHL contests (all coming with Florida). He’s appeared in seven games for the Cats this season, scoring no points while recording two PIM.

Blacker, 23, made his NHL debut with the Ducks this year and, to date, it remains his first and only big-league game. Like Robak, Blacker is a former second-round pick (Robak was taken 46th overall in ’08, Blacker 58th in ’09); he was originally selected by Toronto, but moved to Anaheim last year as part of the Peter Holland trade.

On the surface, the move seems to address Anaheim’s need for a NHL-ready defenseman. Francois Beauchemin, Mark Fistric, Ben Lovejoy and the recently-acquired Eric Brewer are all shelved with injuries and, as such, the Ducks were rolling with a thinned out defense against Philly last night, featuring Clayton Stoner, Cam Fowler, Mat Clark, Josh Manson, Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm.