The Ducks signed forward Kyle Calder to a one-year, two-way contract and assigned him to ECHL Bakersfield. Calder will earn $500,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the minors.
Cut in training camp, where he joined the Ducks on a pro tryout contract, Calder heads back to the minor leagues for the first time since the 2000-01 season. He has never played in the ECHL before. Last season with the Kings, Calder scored eight goals and 27 points in 74 games.
“He’s a veteran guy that came in and didn’t do anything flashy, but he knows his way around the rink,” Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said of Calder. “He’s a guy with the shortage of forwards and some positions and whatnot, he’s on a reserve list that can be made available to us.”
Carlyle said that the players, via the NHLPA Web site, actually found out before he did that Calder had signed. More than sending a message to the team’s forwards in the midst of a four-game losing streak, the coach said that signing Calder gives him depth.
“You can read into it whatever you want,” Carlyle said. “The more players you have in those positions, the more options you have as management and a coaching staff.”