A nightmarish season for new Anaheim Ducks left winger Alex Killorn has gone from bad to worse.
On Saturday, the Ducks announced that Killorn, 34, will undergo arthroscopic left knee surgery later this week. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Killorn was Ducks GM Pat Verbeek’s big-ticket addition in the 2023 offseason, signing a four-year deal at a $6.25 million AAV. The Ducks, eager to start stringing together competitive seasons after five consecutive playoff misses, were adding a consummate winner in Killorn. Over his first 12 NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he amassed more than 200 goals and won two Stanley Cups. But Killorn’s Ducks debut has been a series of fits and starts. He has only played in 34 of Anaheim’s 44 games so far this season, picking up six goals and 19 points; he suffered a broken finger during pre-season action and missed the first 10 games of the regular season.
It appears the Ducks’ playoff drought will extend from five to six years. They sit seventh in the Pacific Division with a 15-28-1 record. They started strongly under new coach Greg Cronin, winning seven of their first 11 games, but an eight-game losing streak in November derailed their momentum. They have endured a litany of injuries to boot. On top of Killorn, star forward Trevor Zegras broke his ankle earlier this month and had a six-to-eight-week recovery timeline. Promising rookie blueliner Pavel Mintyukov remains sidelined with a shoulder injury too. Forward Max Jones has landed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Newly signed veteran blueliner Radko Gudas is banged up and hasn’t played since last week. And by recently trading defenseman Jamie Drysdale for prospect Cutter Gauthier, who is still playing in the NCAA, the Ducks removed another NHLer from their lineup.
They currently hold the third best odds to win the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery.
More must-reads: