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Corey Perry, after suffering a seemingly insignificant injury during warmups on Monday, September 24th is said to have undergone surgery to repair his MCL and will be out for five months.
In an Anaheim Ducks world where Ryan Kesler is already a major question mark, and Patrick Eaves is struggling to get back into the rotation, the Ducks roster decisions - particularly on the forward side - over the next few days have gotten even more interesting.
Before we get to speculating line combinations, I want to note a few things that have come out of Ducks training camp over the past few weeks:
- Troy Terry and Sam Steel are suspected by many to be locks to make the opening night roster
- A breakup of Anaheim’s “shutdown line” with or without Ryan Kesler is likely:
- Eaves is much closer to being ready to play than Kesler
- Nick Ritchie remains unsigned
With all this in mind, I’m going to (once again) speculate the forward lines for Anaheim with Eaves in the lineup. Even if he’s not there opening night, my guess (based on all I’ve heard) is that he is close to being ready to go, while Kesler’s situation is very ambiguous and long-term.
Ugh, this is starting to feel a lot like the beginning of last season.
SC1: Rakell - Getzlaf - Eaves
SC2: Kase - Henrique - Terry
SC3: Gibbons/Ritchie - Steel - Silf
SC4: Cogs - Rowney - Rodin
That fourth line right wing spot is a major question mark. My best guess is that Antoine Rodin will make the team since Anaheim’s roster is (suddenly) loaded down with left wingers. You might also see someone like Joseph Blandisi take that spot, or you could see Brian Gibbons playing on his off-wing.
While it’s going to be interesting to see the young guys get a shot, the Ducks now really need to see Steel and Terry take big-time NHL steps.
So in some ways, I like this, because it’ll really force Randy Carlyle to shake up his roster and to give the young guys a shot. Though I think he was ready to do that anyway, and having Perry on the roster is still a crucial part of this organization’s success.
I guess none of this matters anyway because, well, San Jose is still a thing.
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