Is Mikael Granlund as the Ducks’ captain the right move?
It’s been a hectic summer for the Anaheim Ducks, as general manager Pat Verbeek had his plans thrown by the wayside when the Philadelphia Flyers signed Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet with a salary cap hit of $18 million.
The cascading effect on the team’s cap sheet cost them veteran winger Chris Kreider and forced Verbeek to take months to iron out a deal with star winger Cutter Gauthier.
Just before a crucial season with major implications for the long-term outlook of the franchise, the Ducks named veteran center Mikael Granlund as the 10th captain in franchise history on Tuesday, opting with the experienced leader who just captained the Finnish Olympic team over an ascendant star like Carlsson.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed whether or not the call to go with Granlund as the young, up-and-coming squad’s new captain was the right one.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Anaheim Ducks naming 34-year-old Mikael Granlund their new captain; Granlund being the captain of the Ducks is [BLANK], Hutts?
Carter Hutton: Smart. I love this one. I think it’s smart. They’re in a weird transition period in contracts, right? They have a bunch of young guys that just got big deals. Leo Carlsson signing the offer sheet, I don’t think that screams something great from your leader initially into this. Give him some year, let the dust settle, let him play into that. Cutter Gauthier pretty much holding you hostage. He had the gun to the teller’s head… And then Jackson LaCombe is still a little bit young. I think Granlund, with two years left on his deal, this is okay. You can transition to somebody else if he doesn’t re-sign. It’s a smart play, in my opinion.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m with you. There were a lot of people who were like, ‘Why isn’t this Jackson LaCombe?’ I mean, Granlund has two years left on his contract. This can be a bridge thing. Jackson LaCombe, I mean he’s played three years in the NHL, but we’re not in that room. We don’t know if he is a vocal leader, if he would be a good captain. You wait two more years, you give it to Granlund in the mean time. Granlund’s been in that room for the last number of seasons. It’s not like he’s a new player that they just signed that they’re just slapping the ‘C’ right on.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…
