Injury Report: Patrick Eaves and Ryan Kesler out for the season

[MMC]

Click to read more...

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

So that’ll do it for the Bearded Chapter of this story. 29 total games in 3 years plus post-trade deadline from Eaves is a brutal return, even if it was hardly his fault

 

[Bald Like Getzy]

What?!? Was this in the news?!

 

[Dryish]

It's honestly a shame Eaves was as broken as he was. Whenever he played anywhere near healthy, he was actually a genuinely decent player with offensive instincts. Not first line offensive instincts, no, but solid second line ones for sure. Enjoyed his short stay here, even though it wasn't really worth it.

 

[Paul4587]

Color me shocked!

In all seriousness I hope Eaves gets well soon. He’s been through so much throughout his career.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

In other words Kesler is LTIRetired.

 

[jiggsawpuzzle35]

That’s over $10 million right there for us if we go over the cap this season.

 

[KelVarnsen]

So that’ll do it for the Bearded Chapter of this story. 29 total games in 3 years plus post-trade deadline from Eaves is a brutal return, even if it was hardly his fault

Did he play more games in 3 years than ol Souray? Curious as to which of the two was a worse signing/trade?

Hopefully Kesler doesn’t try to go all “warrior” and come back next year. That would ball up the cap big time.

 

[Paul4587]

Did he play more games in 3 years than ol Souray? Curious as to which of the two was a worse signing/trade?

Hopefully Kesler doesn’t try to go all “warrior” and come back next year. That would ball up the cap big time.

Souray was pretty healthy for us... for one season. He played 44/48 games in the lockout year before missing the entirety of the next two seasons.

So yeah Souray proved to be the more healthy investment. Both were pretty good players when healthy for us though.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Souray was pretty healthy for us... for one season. He played 44/48 games in the lockout year before missing the entirety of the next two seasons.

So yeah Souray proved to be the more healthy investment. Both were pretty good players when healthy for us though.

They were. Unfortunately neither were ever really healthy and hindsight being 20/20 were horrible investments for the team.

 

[DigiDuck]

The fact that Eaves got hurt in the game that turned the conditional pick into a 1st is definitely one of the Most Duck things to happen in the past 5 years or so. Hoping he can still have a good quality of life after these last couple years.

As for Kes, let's say he is done but they won't buy him out because of the cost. Wonder if Bob would take the trade the contract approach. Would he still have to waive the NMC clause despite being on LTIR?

 

[cheesymc]

Man, the luck we've had when Bargain Bob dished out long contracts to older/physical players... Souray, Fistric, Despres, Eaves, Kesler... Murray thinks he'll save in the long run with these earlier extensions or extra years but most have bitten us in the ass except for the Rakell contract.

If its not the GM, maybe we are cursed like the Angels having so many Tommy John surgery pitchers....

This all makes me want to go all-in for the youth route. Although not buy too many bad contracts like the Coyotes...

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Man, the luck we've had when Bargain Bob dished out long contracts to older/physical players... Souray, Fistric, Despres, Eaves, Kesler... Murray thinks he'll save in the long run with these earlier extensions or extra years but most have bitten us in the ass except for the Rakell contract.

If its not the GM, maybe we are cursed like the Angels having so many Tommy John surgery pitchers....

This all makes me want to go all-in for the youth route. Although not buy too many bad contracts like the Coyotes...

The Duck Angels night at Angel Stadium has probably cursed the Ducks with the Angels injury curse.

 

[AngelDuck]

They were. Unfortunately neither were ever really healthy and hindsight being 20/20 were horrible investments for the team.

It didn’t take hindsight to know it was going to be bad

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Man, the luck we've had when Bargain Bob dished out long contracts to older/physical players... Souray, Fistric, Despres, Eaves, Kesler... Murray thinks he'll save in the long run with these earlier extensions or extra years but most have bitten us in the ass except for the Rakell contract.

If its not the GM, maybe we are cursed like the Angels having so many Tommy John surgery pitchers....

This all makes me want to go all-in for the youth route. Although not buy too many bad contracts like the Coyotes...

I think I understood Bob's process. When Bob took over between 2008-2009, Burkie left the club without any talent in the pipeline and cap strapped the organization. The 2009 NHL draft is when Bob started re-tooling the Ducks, while keeping them afloat. First rounders Holland failed and Palms priced himself out of Bob's long term plan, but we did grab Vats in the fourth round. The next draft, Etem and DSP didn't amount to much in the NHL, but D Fowler was an instant starter at 18 years of age. Finally, the 2011 draft came. That's where the draft took off for Bob, but we wouldn't know it for a few more years (F Rakell, G Gibson, C Karlsson, F Crammarosa, D Welinski and F Friberg), . In 2012, D Lindholm was the jewel that would supplant Fowler in a real hurry, but forwards Kerdiles or Roy didn't pan out. The 2013 class brought D Theodore, but 2nd round pick Sorensen couldn't hack it in NA. Forwards Ritchie and Kase are mainstays in the NHL for us for the 2014 class that also brought us Monty and Pettersson. 2015 still has us waiting on 1st rounder D Larsson to become a mainstay at the NHL, fifth rounder Terry might become a regular this coming season. Between Larsson and Terry are a bunch of forwards that may only be AHL players. Since the 2016 draft is when the Ducks' scouting staff started hitting on 1st and 2nd round forwards. Steel and Jones are first rounders in 2016, Comtois in the 2nd round of 2017, Lundestrom is a first round pick in 2018, and finally we get Zegras as well as Tracey in the first round of 2019.

Most of Bob's successes in the draft were defensemen to begin with. Finding forwards that panned out consistently have eluded Bob and his scouting staff. But those defensemen, though very talented, were also very raw. Bob would insert youth, but surrounded by veterans. It worked. In the past seven years, the Ducks have been playoff bound six out of the seven years, which included five consecutive Pacific division titles. Last year was the first year the Ducks didn't make the playoffs. Bob has been buying time with veterans until his prospects were more mature and showed they were NHL competent. There's a long list of drafted forward failures and only recently did the Ducks start hitting on them like they do defensemen and goalies.

The forward youth contingent is here, with more coming. The defense netted a plethora of talent, but only three have remained. Bob is still waiting on Larsson and recently acquired Guhle, as his defensive prospects that should be vying for an NHL roster spot today. Nothing is standing out for defensemen in the pipeline aside from "hoping" a Mahura or Benoit can slowly be something in two to three years. LaCombe and Thrun are four years away. But Bob did secure his top-3 defensemen. As of right now, we don't have an outright 1C or 2C from our prospects. C Steel should make the NHL squad, but lots of fans are talking about "protecting him". Steel will be a 3C with optimism for more.

Bob has been buying time with veterans. Lindholm (25 years old), Manson (27 yrs), and Fowler (27 yrs) are our grizzled veterans on the blue line. Fowler is going into his 10th season with the Ducks. Lindholm is into his 7th season. Manson is going into his 6th season. So he's buying time with veterans vying for #4-6 with Larsson and Guhle potentially climbing the charts.

Eaves being out didn't change the roster, but both Kesler and Perry aren't playing for the Ducks this season. That's two additional spots for the youth. Bob sees the youth need spots today, which is why he bought out Perry.

GM Bob has a long game. If all his FA/trade/ re-signing acquisitions were all healthy, then we might have a different tune today. Injuries occur. Propsects don't pan out. Yet, we've been a staple in the playoff community six out of the seven years. Last year revealed that mass injuries exposed how our youth are still a season or two away. Remember, a majority of the Ducks' first round selections have been in the 20's and higher. We didn't own a first round pick in 2017, but Comtois is shining bright like one. I really don't think Bob gets enough credit b/c people only want to see big splashes. Bob's 2011 draft class all have a played a game in the NHL. His 2014 class looks good as four out of five are NHL's, with D Berkovitz in the NCAA for Army (which means he may not play for the Ducks b/c the military often makes you do your 4-year work commitment after graduating).

Bob won't go all in on the youth. He wants that mix of veterans and youth - always has. That's how the Ducks have remained competitive. Coming into this season, the Ducks do have high level talent in the AHL should injuries arise. There's a possibility that LW Comtois, LW Jones, C Lundestrom, and C/F Sherwood all start the year in San Diego. With three older defensemen (Holzer, MDZ, and Hakanpaa) at the NHL level already, Larsson and Guhle need to beat them to earn a spot.

The team has talent. Unfortunately, under RC, it was highly suppressed. Also unfortunately, under Bruce, we like losing the exact same way in the playoffs... up 3-2 with home ice advantage only to be booted out losing at home. Maybe this year will be different with Dallas as HC? It also helps that Bob signed Sutter to be an advisor to Dallas. Sutter won a couple of Cups coaching the Kings.

 

[Deuce22]

The Wisdom of Bob Murray is truly something to behold.

 

[DavidBL]

Its one thing to expect some injuries. Eaves averaged over 50 games a season in the 3 years before his exstension. That means we could have expected 150 games over the 3 years. We got 9. Thats not on BM.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Good luck to them both, Kesler in particular played his ass off here and I wish him the best.

 

[dracom]

Its one thing to expect some injuries. Eaves averaged over 50 games a season in the 3 years before his exstension. That means we could have expected 150 games over the 3 years. We got 9. Thats not on BM.

Extending a player his age who was having a career year with his injury history is on Bob though. There was no reason to give him a three extension. Was a bad contract that moment it was signed.

 

[DavidBL]

Extending a player his age who was having a career year with his injury history is on Bob though. There was no reason to give him a three extension. Was a bad contract that moment it was signed.

That depends. If you think those 50 games a season helps you more than not having him. Id be shocked if they didn't expect him to miss games. If Eaves had played those 50 games a year people wouldn't be complaining nearly as much. It would just be par.

 

[AngelDuck]

So let me get this straight. He averaged 50 games a season between ages 29-31.

You were totally cool giving a player who was going to be past his prime age wise that contract even though 50 games (60% of the season)was the absolute maximum out of him?

That seems very fishy to me and almost appears as people desperately looking to defend Bob

 

[DavidBL]

I never said it was a great deal. I do think its rediculous that people seem to think BM should have expected him to play 9 games in 3 years. You can expect missed time with his history but to suggest that he "should have know this would happen" is silly. If he had played 50 games a year people wouldn't be complaining nearly as much as he still would have provided some value.

 

[dracom]

That depends. If you think those 50 games a season helps you more than not having him. Id be shocked if they didn't expect him to miss games. If Eaves had played those 50 games a year people wouldn't be complaining nearly as much. It would just be par.

No I don’t think those 50 games would help. Count me as someone who expected him to be a replaceable 4th liner during that contract. The extension to me was Bob’s way to not lose a 1st round pick for a rental.

 

[DavidBL]

No I don’t think those 50 games would help. Count me as someone who expected him to be a replaceable 4th liner during that contract. The extension to me was Bob’s way to not lose a 1st round pick for a rental.

So 30+ points a season in limited time is 4th line replacement level players? Because thats how he was performing for us. Not to mention he provided a needed trait to the Getzlaf Rakell line and exhibited good chemistry with both. BM found a fit he liked and stuck with it.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

No I don’t think those 50 games would help. Count me as someone who expected him to be a replaceable 4th liner during that contract. The extension to me was Bob’s way to not lose a 1st round pick for a rental.

Your expectations were ridiculous.