Speculation: 2024-25 - Free Agency/Trade Thread

[All Mighty]

Take this with a grain of salt, but Jordan Schmaltz was on today’s episode of Missin Curfew, and he mentioned something he heard about Fowler. He said that someone in the Ducks organization told him a few weeks ago (before Friedman mentioned the rumor) that Fowler’s representatives told Ducks management that he may not report to camp. Schmaltz admitted that this very well could just be a tactic to get him moved quicker and that he may end up reporting anyway. And for those who don’t know, Schmaltz is a bit of a wildcard, but he absolutely does have sources around the league, and he sounded completely serious about this rumor.

If this is indeed true, I’m curious if it’s because Fowler just wants to move on, or if he feels slighted for (probably) not being named captain.

 

[Static]

What a shame, if true.

 

[All Mighty]

For those curious, Schmaltz talks about this at around 1:09:00.

 

[gilfaizon]

Goes against Friedman reporting that the relationship was amicable

 

[WhatTheDuck]

What a shame, if true.

Yeah I'd hate to see it come to that. If he's that adamant about being moved, hopefully they get something done ASAP.

 

[MMC]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833913618792153593

 

[saska sault]

If the rumors were true.. what's the cost of acquiring Fowler likely ?

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

If the rumors were true.. what's the cost of acquiring Fowler likely ?

Prob
Cap dump (roster player)
+ pick
+ prospect


Quality of pick and prospect depend on the other piece, potential retention, how bad the dumps are.

If it’s a 2nd pick I’d want a better quality prospect, if it’s a 1st pick I’d be okay with a lesser prospect

What a shame, if true.

1000 games prob matters more to the fans than him

 

[robbieboy3686]

Take this with a grain of salt, but Jordan Schmaltz was on today’s episode of Missin Curfew, and he mentioned something he heard about Fowler. He said that someone in the Ducks organization told him a few weeks ago (before Friedman mentioned the rumor) that Fowler’s representatives told Ducks management that he may not report to camp. Schmaltz admitted that this very well could just be a tactic to get him moved quicker and that he may end up reporting anyway. And for those who don’t know, Schmaltz is a bit of a wildcard, but he absolutely does have sources around the league, and he sounded completely serious about this rumor.

If this is indeed true, I’m curious if it’s because Fowler just wants to move on, or if he feels slighted for (probably) not being named captain.

lol at feeling slighted for not being named captain. He has 2 years left, he wants to be able to sign a decent next contract. And he knows he can’t have another season like last season for that to happen. Bye cam

 

[FlyingV09]

Take this with a grain of salt, but Jordan Schmaltz was on today’s episode of Missin Curfew, and he mentioned something he heard about Fowler. He said that someone in the Ducks organization told him a few weeks ago (before Friedman mentioned the rumor) that Fowler’s representatives told Ducks management that he may not report to camp. Schmaltz admitted that this very well could just be a tactic to get him moved quicker and that he may end up reporting anyway. And for those who don’t know, Schmaltz is a bit of a wildcard, but he absolutely does have sources around the league, and he sounded completely serious about this rumor.

If this is indeed true, I’m curious if it’s because Fowler just wants to move on, or if he feels slighted for (probably) not being named captain.

I also wonder if Fowler likes playing heavy minutes and doesn’t want to concede playing time to the young guys just yet. Some players want to be on the ice as much as possible and feel better doing so.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I also wonder if Fowler likes playing heavy minutes and doesn’t want to concede playing time to the young guys just yet. Some players want to be on the ice as much as possible and feel better doing so.

He doesn’t look like he enjoys it

 

[anezthes]

For those curious, Schmaltz talks about this at about 1:09:00.

Yet again, I find myself disagreeing with the media's assessment of Zegras.

Regarding Fowler... hE WaS iN tHe JeRsEy ReVeAl ViDeO. Can't trade him.
Shame if it comes to this, though. Further lessens my faith in management.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

If the rumors were true.. what's the cost of acquiring Fowler likely ?

Due to the fact that moving him likely requires taking back some sort of salary for the other side's cap purposes, it's hard to give an exact answer. The framework of the deal will likely depend on whether the Ducks try to get a veteran Dman in return. I'd be of the opinion that they should do so, as Dumoulin, Gudas and kids is not enough veteran presence on the back end.

If pressed to give an answer as to how I'd value Fowler outright - he's a legit top 4 who can be used in all situations, with two years remaining at a pretty fair number for what he can bring. I don't think a first rounder + good prospect would be out of line to ask under different circumstances, but have to reasonably trim that down a bit based on the situation (if he's demanding a trade but has NTC). The scenario being what it is, I'd say he's worth roughly a first rounder, then add or subtract based on the positive or negative value of the contract coming back the other way.

If the Ducks had to take something like Maata (seems to be the Wings steadiest vet D without a NTC) + B asset(s), I don't think that's a worst case scenario. Could likely flip Maata for some additional decent picks at the deadline.

 

[AngelDuck]

good. It’s time to move on from Fowler and Gibson and onto a new era we go

Gibson unfortunately will have to wait to be bought out next summer

As I said before, the writing has been on the wall for Fowler to be moved for 2 reasons:

1. Plethora of LhD in the system that are going to need NhL minutes (Dumolin, Mintyukov, LaCombe, Vaakaneine, Zellweger)
2. He’s gotten the shaft from the coaching staff the last 5 seasons-he’s likely not happy about the losing either

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

good. It’s time to move on from Fowler and Gibson and onto a new era we go

Gibson unfortunately will have to wait to be bought out next summer

As I said before, the writing has been on the wall for Fowler to be moved for 2 reasons:

1. Plethora of LhD in the system that are going to need NhL minutes (Dumolin, Mintyukov, LaCombe, Vaakaneine, Zellweger)
2. He’s gotten the shaft from the coaching staff the last 5 seasons-he’s likely not happy about the losing either

Hopefully he isn’t tanking value… I’d like to get a 1st + 2nd value out of him without including potential retention, cap dumps.

 

[Firequacker]

If Fowler is indeed forcing his way out, good for him. I am taking that with the entire salt shaker, though.

If it's true it just seems like that escalated awfully quickly. He's not likely to get more overall minutes anywhere else than he would get with the Ducks next season, even if the Ducks start scaling it back, so that doesn't seem likely? Could be he's only willing to keep getting thrown to the wolves if he at least gets PP time out of the deal—with the current roster construction, it would make more sense from the team's perspective to phase him out on the PP while still riding him unnecessarily hard 5v5 and on the PK, but from his perspective maybe that's a low blow after having his back broken over the last couple of seasons. Could for sure see it being the last straw.
Otherwise, wonder if he was promised (or perceived that he was promised) "yes, we're getting a top 4 D, it's our first priority, help is on the way" then had the same reaction as this board when the big offseason defense acquisition was Dumoulin.

It will be funny if Fowler goes nuclear trying to get out sooner than John "Very Definitely Known Irredeemable Locker Room Cancer" Gibson, anyway.

(Edit to clarify that I don't particularly think it's true, just thinking out loud on circumstances that could make it true. Because I'm with the camp that doesn't think it tracks.)

 

[FlyingV09]

I

He doesn’t look like he enjoys it

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that impression

 

[JAHV]

It would seem really odd to me after everything that Fowler has endured with this organization that he's suddenly become hostile and intransigent. He's been a good soldier, he's said all the right things, and, despite what some others here have said, I've never observed anything that makes me think he doesn't care about the franchise.

None of that is to say he hasn't asked for Verbeek to explore trade possibilities. I couldn't blame him for that. He's in the back half of his career, the playoffs are nowhere in sight for the Ducks, and his replacements are already on the roster. I just don't see any evidence in his past behavior that he would hold out to force a deal or that he has all these demands about how the Ducks should use him. I don't know the man personally, so I can't say that with insider knowledge. It just doesn't fit with what we've seen of him as a Duck.

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

He doesn’t look like he enjoys it

I get the vibe that he likes playing heavy minutes but would prefer those minutes to be on a team that isn't getting shelled.

That said, I feel like Cam is a consummate pro and I'd be shocked if he didn't report to camp, which makes me think that rumor is just a rumor.

 

[HanSolo]

I get the vibe that he likes playing heavy minutes but would prefer those minutes to be on a team that isn't getting shelled.

That said, I feel like Cam is a consummate pro and I'd be shocked if he didn't report to camp, which makes me think that rumor is just a rumor.

Yeah I can buy that he's ready to move on to a more competitive team and even being frustrated at not being named captain, but refusing to report to camp? I can't see it.

 

[AngelDuck]

It would seem really odd to me after everything that Fowler has endured with this organization that he's suddenly become hostile and intransigent. He's been a good soldier, he's said all the right things, and, despite what some others here have said, I've never observed anything that makes me think he doesn't care about the franchise.

None of that is to say he hasn't asked for Verbeek to explore trade possibilities. I couldn't blame him for that. He's in the back half of his career, the playoffs are nowhere in sight for the Ducks, and his replacements are already on the roster. I just don't see any evidence in his past behavior that he would hold out to force a deal or that he has all these demands about how the Ducks should use him. I don't know the man personally, so I can't say that with insider knowledge. It just doesn't fit with what we've seen of him as a Duck.

it could just be that he’s not hostile and simply would prefer to play elsewhere. You can’t blame him for that

I don’t believe that he’s refusing to report to camp but I absolutely believe that he wants a deal done

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

Yeah I can buy that he's ready to move on to a more competitive team and even being frustrated at not being named captain, but refusing to report to camp? I can't see it.

Yeah, to go from being the guy who routinely opens his home to rookies to refusing to show up to camp seems unrealistic to me.

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

Also interesting to consider the opposite of what people are suggesting - maybe Pat was going to make Cam captain but Cam wants to leave despite that, which is why we haven't announced a captain yet.

 

[ScarTroy]

it could just be that he’s not hostile and simply would prefer to play elsewhere. You can’t blame him for that

I don’t believe that he’s refusing to report to camp but I absolutely believe that he wants a deal done

This is where I’m at. 100% believe he’d like to be traded, but I don’t believe at all he’s planning to not report in order to force Verbeeks hand. That would be extremely disappointing from a guy who has been a leader here.

 

[Ducks DVM]

IF he wants out, it potentially could be because he doesn’t enjoy playing for a coach who puts him through a full practice in the morning then plays him 24-25 minutes the same day as an ongoing thing.

At a certain point, it can also be a “all my friends are gone, I have no loyalty to this GM, and I have no faith in the current management”.

He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to not report to camp, unless there’s been some significant behind the scenes bad blood.