Ducks Scouts Busy At Work; Garbutt Assigned To San Diego

 

By Michael Walters

Today the Anaheim Ducks assigned Ryan Garbutt to the San Diego Gulls. Garbutt is expected to play in the Gulls game today against the San Jose Barracuda. Garbutt had three points(2G + 1A) in 27 games in Anaheim this season. For more on the trade visit: Ducks Turn To Youth

Coincidentally, it was reported today that Anaheim’s scouts were present at the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars game in Philadelphia. Most of the league’s scouts were also seen at the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils game earlier in the week. It doesn’t appear like any trade with Anaheim is imminent at this time. However, the Ducks will still have to make a move eventually. Sending Garbutt to the AHL saved the Ducks $900,000 in cap space, but Anaheim will be over the budget by about $3.7 million according to capfriendly.com pending the return of Nate Thompson and hopefully Simon Despres. The NHL trade deadline is still a few months away, but most NHL teams scouts are actively doing their homework around the league.

In addition to the teams mentioned above, others to watch include Detroit, Toronto, and Colorado. A few reports had Toronto and Detroit as being interested in adding another defenseman which sparked rumors that Anaheim could have been a potential trade partner this past summer. Some players to watch are Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, and James van Riemsdyk. Some Colorado players to keep in mind that could be on the move are Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene.

With Rickard Rakell playing so well this season as the top line left wing, a trade for a forward to fill that spot might not be as much of a concern for Anaheim and Bob Murray. The Ducks have also pulled several players from San Diego to fill out the bottom six forwards. Joseph Cramarossa, Ondrej Kase, Stefan Noesen, Nick Ritchie, and Logan Shaw are currently filling the bottom half of the lineup. Chris Wagner has also been in the mix going back and forth between Anaheim and San Diego. With the roles of Jared Boll and Ryan Garbutt decreasing and the emergence of these San Diego forwards, Boll and Garbutt may find themselves on the trade block come this February.

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December 10, 2016

Filed under: Ducks News Tagged: Anaheim Ducks, ducksnpucks, ryan garbutt