Anaheim Ducks: Is Jakob Silverberg staying or on his way out?
By Redan Lopez
After making numerous signings this offseason, the Anaheim Ducks must tackle one of the biggest items on left on their to-do-list: Deciding if longtime right winger Jakob Silfverberg has a future in Anaheim beyond this season.
The Anaheim Ducks are at a crossroads with Jakob Silfverberg. GM Bob Murray wants to have a team that plays faster, plays with speed, and infused with youth, epitomized by their young defense corps and skilled wingers like Rickard Rakell and Ondrej Kase.
Conversely, they have veteran players in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler (and old-school coach Randy Carlyle) that like to slow the game down and enjoy playing with grit and physicality.
Silfverberg fits in between these sets of players, not too physical, not as fast, and not as young for an NHLer (though 27 is still young for a human). Silfverberg is entering the final year of his four-year, $15 million contract signed back in 2015 that comes with an average annual value (AAV) of $3.75 million.
A model two-way player, Silfverberg plays in all scenarios – 4 on 4, penalty kill (down a man), power play (up a man) – and it is crazy to think that the Ducks would ever want to give up a guy that brings balance to a team that is inconsistent at times.
While GM Bob Murray has openly discussed an extension with Silfverberg this offseason, other in-house moves such as the five year extension for Adam Henrique with a near cap hit of $2 million more than his current salary ($4 million currently, $5.85 mil starting in 2019-2020) and a higher than expected cap hit of $3.38 million for defenseman Brandon Montour the next two seasons has cast doubt on Silfverberg actually getting one.
With Silfverberg remaining in Anaheim a real uncertainty, we closely zoom in on what the Ducks may elect to do with him (and why), ranking from least plausible to most plausible, that may ultimately determine his future in Anaheim.