The odds that veteran forward Ryan Getzlaf stays with the Anaheim Ducks are pretty good. That said, his future isn’t a guarantee in Anaheim and the team has already begun to have talks with the player about what his role might be moving forward, if he’ll be comfortable with that, and where the team is headed.
Getzlaf likely wants to win. That said, he’s won before. He’s also so ingrained into the Anaheim community that it’s not impossible to imagine he decides to finish out his career as part of the Ducks’ organization, even if they never get a sniff at the playoffs or the Stanley Cup during what’s left of Getzlaf’s on-ice career. But, if the Ducks come to him and say, “hey, we think you should take the opportunity to win somewhere’, is he likely to take it?
Ducks general manager Bob Murray says he’s spoken with Getzlaf already about his potential future with the organization and understands there are a lot of factors at play and some decisions to make He noted:
He’s obviously at the point in his career where he needs to take a little step back and see what’s best for his family and what he thinks his role can be. We discussed roles on the hockey team. Ryan and I discussed a whole bunch of things, and we will continue to have discussions.
Might Getzlaf Try to Win One More Time?
Again, the Ducks and Getzlaf will probably work things out. But, as a recent article on NHL.com points out , “it is unclear if captain Ryan Getzlaf will be back.” They write, “The 36-year-old has played his entire 16-season NHL career with Anaheim but can become an unrestricted free agent July 28. The forward scored 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 48 games this season.”
Murray added that he’s got a lot of work to do with this team and identified the power play and goal scoring as a huge problem. He seemed to hint that changes are possible, but they’ll be tricky. Is it really the best option for Getzlaf to stick around if the team has conceded to not being very good?
If the Ducks and Getzlaf agree to go their separate ways, there will be teams interested in adding a veteran with excellent leadership skills on a low-cost deal for a season.
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