Green, Macenauer to AHL; opening-day roster takes shape.

Josh Green and Maxime Macenauer were assigned to AHL affiliate Syracuse on Monday, making them the final cuts of training camp. The Ducks have 26 players on their roster, but three (Toni Lydman, Joffrey Lupul, Jason Jaffray) are expected to start the season on injured reserve. That ought to bring Anaheim down to the league-maximum 23 active players two days ahead of the deadline.

It also clinches the team’s final forward positions for Dan Sexton and Troy Bodie, and eliminates the possibility of a third line centered by the 21-year-old Macenauer. Barring any moves between now and Friday’s season opener against Detroit, this is the team Randy Carlyle will ice against the Red Wings.

Going down the list of pre-camp questions, then:

Final roster cuts? Check.
Team captain? Ryan Getzlaf.
Team identity? Not yet.
Cam Fowler? In the NHL.
Bobby Ryan? Probably a left wing again.

There are still plenty of challenges in store – namely solidifying the defense pairings and finding three scoring lines – that Carlyle probably would like to have nailed down by now.

The Ducks’ final practice in Anaheim is tomorrow, and the team leaves Wednesday for Detroit.

Lydman skates, Carlyle cautious.

Defenseman Toni Lydman got back on the ice for the first time since suffering an acute episode of double vision 16 days ago.

While that’s huge news for the Ducks — whose eight goals allowed Tuesday in Los Angeles intensified the team’s urgent need for defense — it’s just one small step for Lydman.

“It’s the first step to the process of him getting back on the ice to join our group,” head coach Randy Carlyle said, “but it’s still a long ways away. I don’t think there’s a lot of things we can take out of one skate, but it goes by on a day to day basis with him. If he has no problems, ro recurring headaches, or whatever you want to describe what he’s had, then it would be a positive step, but today’s just the first one on a long road back.

“We all want him to get back as quickly as possible but he has to be the indicator,” Carlyle continued. “When he tells us he feeels back to normal and he’s had an extended period of practicing with us, thoese are all the factors that have to go back into place before we put a player in a position where we can provide him with the work, the space, the environment, the medical coverage, the help — but when he tells us he’s ready to play, he’ll play.”

“From a hockey standpoint, it’s tough to sign with a new team, then this thing happens and you can’t get to know the guys,” said Saku Koivu, a fellow Finn. “He was really happy about it. He felt great, looked good, and hopefully from here on it’s all positive.”

 

News and notes from practice.

Without Sunday’s cuts (Trevor Smith, MacGregor Sharp, Timo Pielmeier, Jake Newton, Stephane Veilleux), the light at the end of the tunnel that is opening night was visible at today’s practice (a long one, following a day off Sunday). The forward combos were significantly pared down:

Beleskey-Getzlaf-Perry
Green-Ryan-Selanne
Blake-Macenauer-Sexton
Voros-Koivu-Bodie
Carter-Chipchura-Parros-Marchant

A couple more notes:

Continue reading “News and notes from practice.” »

Injury updates. Update.

The biggest news from the Ducks trainer’s room pertains to a player who has been M.I.A. since camp started: Joffrey Lupul.

The forward wrote on his Twitter account earlier today that he has been cleared to skate. The exact quote: “After 10 mons I
just got Medical clearance to start skating again. Gonna need a cpl
months to get back in shape but I am ready for it!!”

*Update: False alarm. A team spokesperson confirmed that Lupul has not been cleared to skate yet. He’s only been cleared to resume working out – good news considering the extent of Lupul’s exercise regimen lately has been walking.

Lupul has been progressing from a recurrence of the blood infection he contracted last December, which ultimately ended his 2009-10 season.

Meanwhile, back at the rink …

Joe DiPenta took part in drills and the scrimmage at Anaheim ICE, having lost a couple teeth Sunday. Toni Lydman was back in the gym, but not back on the ice, as he progresses from a bout of double vision.

Injury update.

Day of 2 training camp was not kind to Jason Jaffray and Joe DiPenta.

DiPenta started the morning on the ice but finished with a visit to the dentist. A deflected puck struck the defenseman in the mouth and knocked out at least one tooth. He did not take part in the team’s scrimmage.

The news was worse for Jaffray, whom the Ducks acquired in a June trade from Calgary for Logan MacMillan. The forward was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, which he suffered in an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday.
Continue reading “Injury update.” »

Camp: Lydman out (for now); Veilleux and 18 others in. Update.

Defenseman Toni Lydman will miss the start of training camp with an acute episode of double vision. According to the team, he experienced the symptoms last week and has since undergone a battery of tests which have ruled out most major medical concerns but have not identified the problem.

Continue reading “Camp: Lydman out (for now); Veilleux and 18 others in. Update.” »

Sutton steps in.

Another quick, slightly late dispatch from the vacation trail: Free agent defenseman Andy Sutton has been added on a two-year, $4.25 million contract.

Sutton immediately addresses the Ducks’ need for a veteran top-four defenseman, although he isn’t the point producer many anticipated – namely, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tomas Kaberle. Sutton is another shot-blocker, to the tune of 204 last season — second-most in the NHL. While averaging 20:24 of ice time, the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder was also eighth among all defenseman with 197 hits. Sutton chipped in with five goals and eight assists in a regular season split between the Islanders and Senators.

Said Anaheim GM Bob Murray (via the team’s official website): “We inquired about him at the deadline last year. I just couldn’t make
things work in time to get him. … I talked to Pat Morris (his agent) very early about Andy. We waited a
little while and talked again. I had to see where the whole (James) Wisniewski
thing went and we had to let that play out a little bit. I think Andy is
very excited about playing with our group and we’re very excited to
have him. We were all patient and let things unfold.”

While regarded as one of the top defensive-minded defensemen still on the market, there are concerns about Sutton’s giveaways (he had 64 in 72 games last season) and durability. The 35-year-old missed eight games last season with a groin injury, and has broken the 70-game plateau only twice in his career.

The Ducks’ other main blue-line acquisition, Toni Lydman, is also a giveaway liability — he had 49 in 67 games last season. But he’s also a good shot-blocker who piles up hits. If nothing else the Ducks will enter the season with two proven defensemen (Sutton and Lydman) who are tough to play against in the defensive zone. Brett Festerling and Sheldon Brookbank are close to being mentioned in that group, as well.

The question now is, who will move the puck and take the shot from the blue line? If they don’t make a play for Kaberle, the Ducks may turn to rookies Luca Sbisa, Cam Fowler or even Danny Syvret to help replace the offensive contributions of retired captain Scott Niedermayer. Aside from workhorse Lubomir Visnovsky, who averaged 5:09 power-play time per game last season, no current Ducks defenseman averaged more than 0:55 per game on the power play last season (that was Lydman).

There is also the question of how quickly the defense will come together as a unit. That was among the Ducks’ main issues early last season, when they were trying to integrate three new defensemen (Nick Boynton, Sbisa and Steve Eminger). This year, only Brookbank will come into training camp having had a full NHL season under head coach Randy Carlyle’s system; Sutton, Lydman, Fowler and Syvret will have had no in-game experience at all.

This has not dampened Sutton’s optimism.

“It’s a great fit,” he said. “It’s
a team that can go all the way, which was important to me. It’s a
mature team, a veteran team and the sky is the limit with this club.”

On the Wisniewski trade.

Checking in from the vacation trail to report, as I’m sure you already know, that James Wisniewski has been traded to the New York Islanders for a third-round draft pick in 2011.

At a glance, it’s not obvious how this fits into Bob Murray’s plans to rebuild a young, thin defense. Expect some more moves in the coming days or weeks. Among their current blueline corps, only Lubomir Visnovsky, Toni Lydman and Sheldon Brookbank have spent a full season in the NHL.

Fowler inks three-year, entry level deal. Update.

The Ducks have signed first-round draft pick Cam Fowler to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The 18-year-old will make $810,000 in base salary each year, plus a $270,000 signing bonus spread out over the three years. He joins No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall (Edmonton) as the only players to sign with the clubs who drafted them in June.

By signing Fowler so soon, the Ducks appear eager to give the defenseman a shot at making the NHL club in his first professional season. Fowler had an impressive rookie conditioning camp, albeit against NHL rookies, prospects and minor-leaguers. Now he’ll have a chance to see if his skills translate to the Ducks’ main training camp in September.

On paper, there is room for Fowler on the blue line. Lubomir Visnovsky, Toni Lydman and Sheldon Brookbank are all signed to one-way contracts. Luca Sbisa and unsigned RFA James Wisniewski are expected to join them in Anaheim, leaving two roster spots open if Randy Carlyle decides to keep seven defensemen. The Ducks would like to add another top-four blueliner via trade, but it’s not certain they’ll be able to do so.

To make the NHL roster out of training camp, Fowler would have to buck history. The list of Anaheim draft picks who went straight to the NHL in their draft year is a short one: Steve Rucchin and Oleg Tverdovsky in 1994-95, Chad Kilger in 1995-96, and (then-26-year-old) Niclas Havelid in 1999-2000.

Add to the fact that Carlyle, a former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, has a notoriously short leash on young defensemen, and the chips are stacked against Fowler.

At least today he is one step closer.

Confirmed: Defenseman Syvret signs with Ducks.

Danny Syvret, a defenseman who captained Corey Perry’s London Knights squad to the 2005 Memorial Cup championship, has signed with the Ducks. Sportsnet.ca. First reported the signing Tuesday; the team confirmed the announcement Wednesday. Syvret will make $600,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the minors.

A 5-foot-11, 203-pound blueliner with a knack for offense, Syvret’s pro career has not picked up where his junior career left off. In his final season with the Knights (2004-05), he had 23 goals and 69 points in 62 games. Syvret has been a productive point producer in the American Hockey League since he was drafted in the third round (81st overall) by the Edmonton Oilers in 2005, and his point-per-game totals have increased each season at the AHL level. In 76 games for the Philadelphia Phantoms’, then the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, Syvret had 12 goals and 57 points in 2008-09. In 15 games with AHL Adirondack last year, he had five goals and 13 points.

But Syvret has had trouble sticking at the NHL level, with just two goals and five points in 49 games spread over parts of four seasons. If he joins the Ducks, Syvret would figure to be in competition with Brendan Mikkelson, Brett Festerling, Luca Sbisa — and possibly Cam Fowler — for one of the final NHL roster spots. The Ducks only have three defensemen (Lubomir Visnovsky, Toni Lydman, Sheldon Brookbank) signed to one-way NHL contracts, with another (James Wisniewski) scheduled for an arbitration hearing August 3.

Anaheim is still seeking a top-four defenseman with some experience. Syvret is not that defenseman, though the Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks’ new AHL affiliate, would certainly benefit from his addition. Judging by his participation in the recent Special Olympics ceremonies in London, he seems to be a good guy, too.