Ducks Add Depth, But Miss Out On Marleau

By Michael Walters

Over the weekend the Ducks added more depth by signing defenseman Steve Oleksy and forward Scott Sabourin.

Oleksy is a 6’0 tall, 190-pound defenseman that spent last season in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Toronto Marlins. Olesky also appeared in 11 games with the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins recording one assist. Olesky also played in 62 games with the Washington Capitals recording 19 total points(3G + 16A). He is a journeyman defenseman, who plays physical and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves.

Sabourin played with the San Diego Gulls last season registering eight goals and nine assists. He had 147 penalty minutes in 54 games with San Diego. He has good size at 6’3″ and 203 pounds. He provides plenty of grit and will go to the opponent’s net to create scoring chances. He can also battle for loose pucks along the boards. He is inconsistent at scoring, which may prevent him from being a full-time NHL player.

Follow all the Ducks moves this summer by visiting our Anaheim Ducks Summer Transactions Tracker.

Patrick Marleau Signs With Toronto

Bob Murray was in on trying to acquire Patrick Marleau. It was unclear if Marleau would stay with San Jose and despite Joe Thornton signing a one-year deal with the Sharks, Marleau decided to go to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He signed a three-year deal worth $18.75 million. With an annual average value(AAV) of $6.25, the Ducks didn’t have enough cap space to provide that type of deal.

According to the Orange County Register, there is a Plan B. Other free agent forwards that could be part of that backup plan include Alexander Radulov, Jarome Iginla, Drew Stafford, Brian Gionta, Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Shane Doan, Jiri Hudler, Thomas Vanek, Pierre-Alexander Parenteau, and Alex Chiasson. If Murray is looking for a younger type of player, then he may try to pursue Radulov or Chiasson. It Murray is looking for a left winger, then Jokinen, Stafford, or Vanek could fit the bill.

Although it would be exciting to see Jagr come to Anaheim, I would rather see the Ducks get a left winger like Jokinen, Stafford, or Vanek for a few years as opposed to a likely one-year deal with Jagr. The Ducks do have about $5.7 million in cap space according to CapFriendly.com, so Murray does have some room to try to land a big name free agent forward. There is still also the possibility he trades for a forward, although trade rumors involving Sami Vatanen have died down.

For more on who the Ducks might pursue with Marleau off the table, listen to our latest podcast below!

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July 2nd, 2017

Filed under: Ducks News Tagged: Anaheim Ducks, ducksnpucks, patrick marleau