Matt Beleskey’s days with the Anaheim Ducks are numbered.
The big, hard nosed power forward is headed to the NHL most wanted list.
Ducks GM Bob Murray said Tuesday that contract talks have broken off between the Ducks and the pending UFA. Beleskey is heading to unrestricted free agency.
According to reports, multi-year contract offers on a contract extension have been exchanged between the Ducks and Beleskey’s agent, however, the two camps are far apart regarding Beleskey’s value to the Ducks. Beleskey, 27, will no doubt parlay his outstanding 2014-15 season into a fat new multi-year deal. Beleskey is looking for a contract in the $4.5 million to $5 million per season range. The Ducks have two RFAs waiting in the wings to take the ice time away from Beleskey in Emerson Etem and Jakub Silfverberg.
While riding shotgun for Ryan Kesler and Silfverberg, Beleskey cashed in for a career-high 22 goals and 10 assists in 65 games in 2014-15. He scored 8 goals for the Ducks during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored the OT GWG in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against Chicago.
Beleskey’s two-year, $2.7 million contract will expire on July 1. Beleskey earned $1.4 million in 2014-15.
Prior to last season Beleskey scored just 35 goals total in parts of six seasons with the Ducks. Beleskey and other potential UFAs can start speaking with other clubs on Thursday.
NHL teams can express their interest and discuss the framework of a contract but cannot complete a deal before July 1. Bob Murray cannot offer a $4.5 to $5 million annual contract to Beleskey. Murray told the Fan 590 in Toronto on Monday that it is incumbent upon him to protect the best inetersts of his entire team and not just one individual player. “You got to protect yourself,… Murray added. “It’s not just the contract this year. It’s what it does to your team in future years. You’ve got to be looking one, three, five, seven years out. You got to see what that contract does to you, the term of it.
“There’s lots of things that go into this that people don’t see right off the bat.…
There will be no shortage of teams that want to take a run at Beleskey in free agency.
Among them ate Buffalo, Toronto, Washington, NY Rangers, Arizona, and Florida to name a few.