Confirmed Signing with Link: [ANA] Kodie Curran signs with the Ducks (2 years, $1M AAV)

[Paul4587]

Since it is a one-way contract, does it matter if he's playing in NHL or AHL?

No, he gets paid the same no matter which of the leagues he plays in.

 

[tarheelhockey]

On one hand, he's an aging defensive liability who's never spent real time playing at anything near the NHL level.

On the other hand, his name is Kodie Curran.

Prediction: Hockey Hall of Famer

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Feel good story of the covid stoppage

 

[VanillaCoke]

Pumped for the guy to stick with it and earn himself a cool 2 million bucks and a chance to play in the NHL.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Since it is a one-way contract, does it matter if he's playing in NHL or AHL?

He gets paid the same regardless of where he is assigned, but if he is buried, he won't count against the cap because 1M is lower than the maximum cap relief a team recovers for burying a player.

 

[Leonardo87]

Low risk for the Ducks with a chance of good potential. Really hope he can make the big club. Need all the help out there on the PP. Anaheim stacking their D, creating some competition for those last spots. Ducks taking multiple small risks, instead of one big risk, which makes sense for a team still re-tooling.

 

[wej20]

Pumped for the guy to stick with it and earn himself a cool 2 million bucks and a chance to play in the NHL.

Any one know what he was making in the SHL? Pretty great deal for him, probably a lock to at least play a couple of NHL games now.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Curran has taken the scenic route. Good for him...nice to see another former CIS player crack it.

 

[MMC]

 

[frapp10]

Really rooting for him

 

[Spazkat]

Your valid point aside, there probably isn't a team that provides a better opportunity for this type of Dman to try prove himself, if he's capable of course. There's plenty of defensive insulation, but the group is crying out for offensive punch. As of now, the team's best option to QB a powerplay would arguably be Djoos (barring that Fowler who has never been more than average on the PP), compared to most teams that has to be about as clear of a path as this guy was likely to find anywhere.

I think the problem is less that ANA has never had good options for a PP QB so much as that they never give anyone much of a shot at it because they inexplicably love Fowler there

 

[WhatTheDuck]

I think the problem is less that ANA has never had good options for a PP QB so much as that they never give anyone much of a shot at it because they inexplicably love Fowler there

I don't think we've had anyone with the qualities of a true standout on the PP since Vatanen and Theodore were moved.

 

[Static]

I don't think we've had anyone with the qualities of a true standout on the PP since Vatanen and Theodore were moved.

Maybe since visnovsky.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Sort of puzzled why they would just give out $2M for a guy who in NA hasn't proved to be more than an ECHLer. Was the competition for his rights really that fierce? Great story though, hope he does well.

 

[Mick Jagr]

Just what Anaheim needs. Another LHD :/

Low risk with potential. Just kinda crazy how many 5-7 defensemen Anaheim has: Djoos, Larsson, Hakanpaa, Mahura, Guhle. I think only Mahura is waiver exempt. Might be wrong.

It's almost as if Anahiem might trade some of those guys

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Sort of puzzled why they would just give out $2M for a guy who in NA hasn't proved to be more than an ECHLer. Was the competition for his rights really that fierce? Great story though, hope he does well.

See post quoted below

BM's quote on signing Curran:

We felt another one of our issues was that our defense was too young. And with young forwards, it really hurt us. We've kind of shored up our depth on defense. It's going to take a lot of defensemen to get through next year. Curran is a late bloomer. We've known about him for years and his improvement over the last couple of years in the Swedish Hockey League. You saw the numbers and awards he won. We're quite excited about that. I expect some really good competition on defense [next] year. We should be deep enough. I think the schedule is going to be fairly tough next year.
[Head European Scout] Jan-Åke Danielson mentioned him last year. He thought he was coming on with Rogle at the end of last year. This year, the notes were regular once a month. [Laughs]. 'Bob, we've got to sign this guy. Bob, we've got to sign this guy.' When I was over there one time, I went and saw him with Jan-Åke. I said 'Wow.' He's a late bloomer who figured it out. I talked to him yesterday morning. He had some issues with a Russian team and a Swedish team with his rights. It took him a while to get this done. I give him credit because he bought himself out of a little bit of trouble with the Russian team. He wanted to be here. He's learned how to train. Some of us take longer than others. He's figured it out. He gives us more options on the backend. For a couple years, we haven't been as good as we usually are, but we're going to fix that.
Jan-Åke saw it the best with him playing in the other European leagues. Coming to the SHL and watching him the year before, the step-by-step improvement in his game. One game I was at last year he was dominant. I thought 'Oh wow, what the hell has he been doing his whole life?' It'll be interesting back here. He's a Calgary boy. He won't have a problem with the ice size. It took Jani Hakanpaa a little while to figure out our ice. Kodie shouldn't have that problem. I'm enthused about the depth on our defense. It's going to be good competition. The young guys aren't out of it. They're going to have to earn their stripes just like everybody else around here.
​

​

 

[MessierII]

In junior A I remember he had a hell of a slap shot. He was in the opposite conference so I didn’t play against him a ton but he was a good player back then. Skated well, big shot, smart defensively. One of my close friends played for U of A a lot of the years he was at U of C he’s actually coming over for dinner tonight I’ll ask him about how he looked at that level.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

In junior A I remember he had a hell of a slap shot. He was in the opposite conference so I didn’t play against him a ton but he was a good player back then. Skated well, big shot, smart defensively. One of my close friends played for U of A a lot of the years he was at U of C he’s actually coming over for dinner tonight I’ll ask him about how he looked at that level.

One of the things Murray mentioned as a possible reason for Curran's late ascension was that he has "learned to train". Without knowing exactly what he meant by that, it's not uncommon for young players to worry too much about bulking themselves up rather than focusing more on quickness, endurance and flexibility. I know this is not something one is necessarily going to notice in a junior opponent, but just curious if either of you recall any evidence of what Murray is referring to regarding Curran's training habits having him in less than ideal hockey shape.

 

[MessierII]

One of the things Murray mentioned as a possible reason for Curran's late ascension was that he has "learned to train". Without knowing exactly what he meant by that, it's not uncommon for young players to worry too much about bulking themselves up rather than focusing more on quickness, endurance and flexibility. I know this is not something one is necessarily going to notice in a junior opponent, but just curious if either of you recall any evidence of what Murray is referring to regarding Curran's training habits having him in less than ideal hockey shape.

I’d have to ask around. It’s been a while and like I said I played against him not with and he was from Calgary so he didn’t play any minor hockey with anyone I know. Some of guys I played with must have played with him at some point though I would have to dig into it.

In junior A though no one takes their fitness super serious. At least they didn’t back then. Especially the talented guys because they didn’t really need to. I mean you work out, some guys would even quit weed during the season but yeah a lot of guys could have gone a lot further had they taken their fitness seriously at a much younger age.

 

[Koffein]

Despite how dominant he was in Norway, word around the team was that he wasn't very committed to fitness. I believe he was customer of the month in a local pizzeria during his entire tenure here, at least most of it. People claimed to see him there on pretty much a daily basis, however when asked about that in an interview, Curran claimed that it wasn't true.
I believe sweden was a wake up call for him in that regard. Before that he could coast in lower leagues and still dominate on talent alone, but the past two years forced him to improve on his flaws.

 

[Dubcity]

Im excited to see how he does, he grew up playing hockey with my brother in Calgary

 

[MessierII]

One of the things Murray mentioned as a possible reason for Curran's late ascension was that he has "learned to train". Without knowing exactly what he meant by that, it's not uncommon for young players to worry too much about bulking themselves up rather than focusing more on quickness, endurance and flexibility. I know this is not something one is necessarily going to notice in a junior opponent, but just curious if either of you recall any evidence of what Murray is referring to regarding Curran's training habits having him in less than ideal hockey shape.

Hey so I had my buddy over last night. He was embarsssed to talk about it because when they were in CIS he won defensemen of the year twice with Curran as the runner up. He’s still grinding in lower level euro leagues while Curran just got an NHL deal. Anyways he said Curran was an absolute raging partier so that’s guaranteed what Murray was talking about.