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Fowl Ball

June 24, 2016, 12:06 AM ET [48 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT




When Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray Ducks signed defenseman Sami Vatanen to a four-year contract extension through the 2019-20 NHL season last weekend, it pretty much set in motion the departure of Cam Fowler from SoCal.

Fowler, 24, has been a part of the Anaheim core along with Getzlaf and Perry for the past few seasons.

Fowler, Getzlaf, Perry and their Ducks teammates have lost four straight Game 7 contests and now something has to give. '

Bob Murray promised sweeping changes to his roster on locker cleanout day and it appears as though Fowler is the player leaving the Ducks.

I've been telling you for a year that Bob Murray and Buffalo GM Tim Murray have been in discussions regarding a Fowler trade to Buffalo. Their talks have intensified this week with the NHL: Draft being in Buffalo. Murray and Murray are cut from similar cloth. Both GMs are serious about making improvements to their respective rosters. If that means making trades, then so be it.

Tim Murray has been in the market for a left shot QB for well over a year. I'm told that the Murrays began talking about Cam Fowler last fall. It's common in the NHL to begin trade talks over the summer months then revisit them once the season begins. GMs typically stay in touch with one another up until the NHL trade deadline. The Ducks turned their season around last January after a pitiful start to their season. Trading Fowler during their dramatic transformational winning streak from January to April would have been foolhardy for Bob Murray. That was then, this is now. The Ducks were knocked out of their fourth consecutive Game 7 brawls for it all. Bob Murray promised more changes to his fired after he fired Bruce Boudreau as head coach and rehired Randy Carlyle two weeks ago. Bob Murray said at the time of the Boudreau firing that he would be holding his core players more responsible than ever before for the lack of urgency in critical Game 7s.

Enter Cam Fowler. A core player with a tradable contract at a position where Murray is over stocked.

Tim Murray knows Fowler's measurable and has been a supporter of his for some time since he played junior hockey for the Windsor Spitfires.

Earlier this week, Tim Murray said that his first priority at this weekend's NHL draft is securing a top pair, left shot D.

I've been reassured by a reliable source that Fowler is the man that Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma have locked their tractor beams on.

The Sabres are not the only NHL club that want to ad Fowler to their roster. There is competition for this player.

The Sabres have an itch at their LD spot beside Rasmus Ristolainen. Josh Gorges has played the left side for the young Finn for the past couple of seasons. Murray and Bylsma want to upgrade that position. They want to play the fast brand of hockey that won the Pittsburgh Penguins the Stanley Cup. It starts with breaking out of the zone clean with precision tape to tape passes. Fowler is the man who the Sabres have coveted for some time.

I have reported multiple times in this space this season that Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma want to make a trade for Fowler, who has one year remaining on his current Anaheim deal at $4 million.

The Ducks have a bulging blue line and have arrived at the conclusion that they cannot hold onto all of the young and old defensemen while remaining salary cap compliant.

Vatanen's recent extension seemingly has sealed the fate of Fowler in Anaheim. Vatanen's salary cap AAV will be $4.875 million according to General Fanager.


Vatanen, who just turned 25 three weeks ago, has produced 29 goals and 69 assists with a +25 rating and 78 penalty minutes (PIM) in 194 career NHL games with the Ducks.






Vatanen, who ranks tied for fifth among NHL defensemen in power play goals (11) since the 2014-15 season, set career highs in points (9-29=38), assists (29) and appearances (71) last season. As Anaheim’s highest scoring defenseman since Lubomir Visnovsky (18-50=68) and Cam Fowler (10-30=40) in 2010-11, Vatanen led team defensemen in scoring, game-winning goals (2), assists, points per game (0.54) and power play points (4-15=19).

Selected by Anaheim in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the 5-10, 183-pound blueliner has added 4-12=16 points with 14 PIM in 28 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.


Ducks GM Bob Murray now must focus on re-signing 22 year old RFA D Hampus Lindholm who will be commanding a more lucrative dollars as Vatanen.

I was told by a source on Thursday night that Lindholm is looking for a six year contract extension with a $5.5M AAV.

The challenge facing Bob Murray is that he will be getting wants to get Lindholm done at a team-friendly AAV. That is not going to happen. Lindholm is going to be a top pair D when it's all said and done and he would have tremendous value on the open market were he to be a UFA this summer. We haven't seen Lindholm's best work yet. He's only going to get better and Bob Murray knows it. Murray is going to have to open the wallet wide to re-sign Lindholm, who will be looking to use the recent signings of UFA D Keith Yandle and Alex Goligoski as comparables.


With Vatanen's deal done, the Ducks now have $20,600,000 of their 2016-17 salary cap committed to seven defensemen. That represents 29% in terms of their contracts.

Lindholm's new contract will push the D investment to over $30 million and north of 33% of their cap.

Bob Murray is in a serious pinch right now as he now has three D making north of $4 million. Simon Despres is at $3.7M. Clayton Stoner is at $3.25M.

Lindholm will be a 6 year, $30 million player when he signs his next contract. Lindholms's deal will force Murray to move Fowler to cerate needed cap space to sign his RFAs and UFAs.


The Ducks D Corps As Presently Constructed:


Vatanen $4,875,000
Bieksa $4,000,000
Fowler $4,000,000
Despres $3,700,000
Stoner $3,250,000
Lindholm RFA
Manson $825,000
Holzer (UFA)

How many $4+ million D can Bob Murray carry on the Ducks roster?

Murray has to sign his UFAs David Perron, Jamie McGinn, Chris Stewart, Shawn Horcoff, Corbinian Holzer, and Mike Santorelli.

Rickard Rackell is a key RFA who needs to be re-signed.


The Vatanen contract now levels Anaheim at $57 million of the 2015-16 cap already spent. That leaves $16 million to sign all UFA and Lindholm.


Say goodbye to Cam Fowler.


Bob Murray has been speaking with Tim Murray of the Buffalo Sabres for quite some time regarding a Fowler trade.



Last season, the Ducks sent their heavy hitters to Buffalo to scout the Sabres. Ducks GM, AGM, Director of Player Personnel, Director of Player Development, and Director of Scouting visted Buffalo on a frequent basis.


The Ducks traded a third rounder to Buffalo for Jamie McGinn at the NHL Trade Deadline.


I can assure you that Bob Murray wasn't sending his front office to Buffalo multiple times over many months to watch a pending UFA in McGinn. The Ducks were watching power forward Zemgus Girgensons in Buffalo and skilled forward Nick Baptiste in AHL Rochester. Girgensons is a restricted free agent. Baptiste is a prospect trying to earn the respect of Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma after starring at the Sudbury Wolvesand the Erie Otters in juniors.

Earlier this week, Tim Murray said at his pre-draft presser that he wasn't looking to trade his 8th overall pick in the draft. However, he could be talked into trading it if a deal for a Fowler-style LD presented itself.

Tim Murray and Bob Murray have spoken about Cam Fowler.

I'm told that they have also talked about the 8th overall pick. I've also been told that Murray would be more apt to trade players the ilk of Girgensons, Baptiste and Mark Pysyk rather than trading their 8th overall pick. Girgensons would add immediate grit, grind and offence to the Ducks lineup. Baptiste would add scoring and speed. Pysyk offers slick play making and defsneive zone smarts.

Fowler is one of the NHL's best PP QBs. He's also a tremendous puck distributor at 5v5. Imagine a world where Fowler and Rasmus Ristolainen are feeding tape to tape passes to Ryan O'Reilly, Jack Eichel, Evander Kaner, Samson Reinhart, and likely Jimmy Vesey next season. Oh yeah, what about Steven Stamkos in Buffalo, too?

Can you say freak show?
A Ducks-Sabres trade will be a win-win.


Bob Murray will get forward depth and a solid right D forward. Tim Murray would get Fowler, who will be UFA and will be commanding $6M per season next summer.

I've also been told that Tim Murray would be willing to trade his 8th overall pick to Anaheim in exchange for their 30th overall pick, and Cam Fowler. The Buffalo GM may have to trade #8 in the deal for Fowler because other suitors will be willing to include their first rounder.



Another school of thought is that Tim Murray wants to hold on to his eighth overall pick so that he can select Sarnia Sting LD Jakob Chychrun eighth overall.




I'm told that the Murrays continue to speak about a Fowler trade and that the smoke may become fire Friday afternoon ahead of the NHL draft.



Stay tuned...
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