Anaheim Ducks: Three moves to make to increase cap space

The Stanley Cup Finals are about to begin, so right now would be a good time to take a look at the Anaheim Ducks salary cap for the 2019-2020 season.

As of now, the Anaheim Ducks have 18 players under contract with a total of $73.875 million of money allocated to the $83 million salary cap (via CapFriendly). That gives the Ducks only $9.125 million to spend in free agency this summer.

To free up cap space, the Ducks can do a variety of moves to help themselves this summer, including:

1. Place Ryan Kesler on long-term injured reserve.

Ryan Kesler has been a warrior ever since he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in the summer of 2014. He has played through numerous injuries and has been both an agitator and offensive contributor for the Ducks.

However, the past couple of years have been tough to him due to his rugged style of play and lingering hip injury. Recently, he had hip surgery on his lingering right hip that had been bothering him for a long time. Anaheim GM Bob Murray recently stated, “While it’s unlikely he will play in the 2019-2020 season, we will support any decision he makes about his future playing career.”

The Ducks do not expect him to play this season or possibly again, so their best move would be to place him on long-term injured reserve for at least this season. This would give the Ducks $6.875 million of cap room this year to maneuver with this summer. That would give the Ducks an ample amount of money to get a good or great player in the off-season.

2. Trade Patrick Eaves

Patrick Eaves was an instant sensation with the Ducks when he was traded to them from the Dallas Stars in the 2017 season. He quickly became a fan favorite and a front net presence for the Ducks during the back half of their regular season and their playoff run that year before he got hurt.

At the end of the season, the Ducks liked his play so much they rewarded him with a three-year, $9.45 million dollar extension. However, the extension has not worked out well for the Ducks.

Eaves has played only a total of nine games since. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which is a weakness in the legs and can cause paralysis. Though he returned briefly during this season, he was put on waivers in an effort to get cap space for the Ducks.

The best scenario for the Ducks would be to trade the last year of his contract ($3.15 million) to another team. This would open up even more room for the Ducks to get a regular contributing player in the off-season.

3. Buyout Nick Ritchie

Nick Ritchie was selected with the 10th pick in the 2014 NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks. He flourished in his brief AHL career with Ducks affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, as he contributed 30 points in 38 games before being called up to the Ducks to finish the season.

Being labeled as a power forward, the Ducks hoped that Ritchie would contribute more offensively as the years went by and he grew as a player. Unfortunately, that has not happened for them as his point totals the last three years have ranged from 27 to 31.

He even had a contract dispute this season before eventually agreeing to a three-year deal worth $4.6 million (via cap Friendly). The Ducks should buy out Ritchie so they can save money in the short-term.

He may be only 23 years old still, but he has not developed into the offensive threat that the Ducks hoped. Throughout the first two years, the Ducks would save about $3 million in cap space.

The Anaheim Ducks go into the next season hoping to get back to the playoffs after missing them this year. In order to get there, they will need to make cap room in order to get better players and develop a scheme that will help them win.

With that, they need to use all the tools to maximize their cap space even if it means using the LTIR (Long Term Injured Reserve) on an aging player, trading old veterans, and buying out failed experiments.