Ryan Getzlaf, the longest-serving captain in Ducks’ history, needs a new contract. If the numbers add up and he agrees to a lesser role, he’s expected to re-sign with the only NHL team he’s known and begin his 17th season with the Ducks on Oct. 14 against the Winnipeg Jets.
The NHL’s free-agent marketplace opens for business Wednesday, and Getzlaf isn’t likely to be going anywhere. Ducks general manager Bob Murray sounded a confident tone last week when asked about re-signing Getzlaf, the franchise’s leader in games played with 1,101, dating to 2005-06.
Murray told the Southern California News Group that talks with Gerry Johansson, Getzlaf’s agent, were underway and a contract could be finalized within “three or four days” of the completion of the NHL draft this past weekend.
Getzlaf has been the Ducks’ captain since 2010-11. Only Hall of Fame right wing Teemu Selanne has scored more points (988) than Getzlaf (982), and it’s a milestone everyone (with the likely exception of Selanne) would like to see Getzlaf surpass in the opening days and nights of the 2021-22 season.
Re-signing means concessions must be made, however.
Getzlaf’s eight-season, $66 million contract came to an end when the season ended for the Ducks with a third consecutive playoff miss. If he re-signs, he’ll have to take a considerable pay cut. Think in terms of a one-year, $1 million (or maybe $2 million) deal for the 36-year-old center.
What’s more, Getzlaf must agree to a new role with the rebuilding Ducks, one he began to fill near the end of the 2020-21 season, when he shifted from the top line to the fourth and from the first power-play unit to the second in order to make way for younger, ascending players.
Getzlaf isn’t the only player on the Ducks’ roster who needs a new contract. Right wing Carter Rowney and defenseman Andy Welinski are also eligible to become unrestricted free agents Wednesday, free to sign with any of the NHL’s 32 teams, including the Ducks.
Centers Max Comtois, Isac Lundestrom and Sam Steel, left wing Max Jones and defenseman Josh Mahura received qualifying offers before Monday’s deadline and will become restricted free agents Wednesday, with the Ducks holding the rights to match any offers they receive from other teams.
Danton Heinen, a left wing, didn’t receive a qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent.
Left wing Alexander Volkov signed a one-year, $925,000 contract extension on July 17, avoiding free agency. The Carrick brothers, Sam and Trevor, and Vinni Lettieri signed one-year extensions on July 12. Those three are expected to continue playing with San Diego of the AHL.
As for the Ducks’ pursuit of free agents from other teams, well, don’t expect anything resembling a blockbuster signing. Big-name (read: expensive) free agents such as Dougie Hamilton, David Krejci and Gabriel Landeskog are probably headed elsewhere in the coming days.
Last year’s biggest offseason signing didn’t work out as expected, with defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk signing a three-year, $11.7 million contract last Oct. 9, and failing to deliver the goods with only two goals and 13 assists in 55 games in the pandemic-shortened season.
Trades are more likely as Murray continues to re-work the roster, especially among the mid-career players on the roster. Protecting forwards Nicolas Deslauriers, Adam Henrique, Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg for the expansion draft last week meant protecting trade chips.
Deslauriers is believed to be one of the Ducks’ most sought-after assets because of his valued role as a heavyweight protector. He had five goals and five assists in 44 games last season and served as a deterrent to teams thinking of taking advantage of young players such as Trevor Zegras.
The Ducks are one of a number of teams linked to a potential trade for skillful center Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres. The rebuilding Sabres have already shipped Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers and Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers in significant deals.
Whether through signings or trades, the Ducks are expected to seek additions to their forward ranks, especially anyone capable of bolstering their league-worst offense, which averaged only 2.21 goals per game last season, and their historically inept power play, which clicked at a meager 8.9 percent.
The Ducks’ defense corps appears set for 2021-22, despite losing No. 5 defenseman Haydn Fleury to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. The Ducks could even re-sign Jani Hakanpaa, the defenseman they traded to the Carolina Hurricanes to get Fleury on April 12.
In the end, re-signing Getzlaf might prove to be the least complicated of any of Murray’s moves.