Confirmed with Link: Ducks sign Nick Ritchie (3 years, $1.533M AAV)

[Opak]

Looks like Bob's infamous nickel & dime -routine worked yet again. Great team friendly deal.

I guess that third year is what the two sides were arguing about, ultimately leading to Ritchie caving?

 

[Masch78]

Wow that is low. Good now, I just hope that does not have a negative impact down the road when it comes down to extend it. Really surprised it's that low.

 

[Seedling]

Seems so silly for Ritchie to do this. It's not like he's solidified anything consistently and this was the year to do it. Missing this much time for a big guy that usually needs a while to get rolling isn't good IMO. I hate when players hold out. They almost always struggle. At least it's only five games but still. I hope he does well because I've always been excited to see his top end of development. He has the skills and game to be similar to Lucic in his prime but I remember thinking the same of DSP. Fingers crossed.

 

[Paul4587]

Good deal from Bob. So he’s 2/3 on getting steaks for RFAs this offseason after all.

 

[duckpuck]

Omg Bob that's disgusting... What a bad contract for Ritchie... Feel for the guy a bit lol

How is this a bad contract for Ritchie given his performance to this point? I'm sure he's disappointed, but this is a reasonable contract based on league standard (Josh Anderson at $1.85M AAV being a good comparable for a player with better numbers)

People suggesting that BM is unreasonable about these things are ignoring the contracts he's given to Kase ($2.6M AAV), Gibson ($2.3M AAV for his current "first" contract, not extension), Fowler, Rakell and Lindholm. Players who produce get paid. In Kase's case, he wasn't a high pick but got a better contract than Ritchie - as he should have.

Ritchie's only arguable complaint is that he was forced to take a longer term contract (3 years) at the price set by his current production. But he made his bed on that one and the ducks were right to insist on some term, both because of the structure of the CBA and the fact that Ritchie under performed his current contract.

 

[Kalv]

Good to have Ritchie back

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Awesome. Love seeing the reaction from people via twitter and Facebook thinking this is some sort of sign and trade deal

 

[ohcomeonref]

Go light it up for the next 3 years and quadruple that deal Ritchie.

 

[Trojans86]

How is this a bad contract for Ritchie given his performance to this point? I'm sure he's disappointed, but this is a reasonable contract based on league standard (Josh Anderson at $1.85M AAV being a good comparable for a player with better numbers)

People suggesting that BM is unreasonable about these things are ignoring the contracts he's given to Kase ($2.6M AAV), Gibson ($2.3M AAV for his current "first" contract, not extension), Fowler, Rakell and Lindholm. Players who produce get paid. In Kase's case, he wasn't a high pick but got a better contract than Ritchie - as he should have.

Ritchie's only arguable complaint is that he was forced to take a longer term contract (3 years) at the price set by his current production. But he made his bed on that one and the ducks were right to insist on some term, both because of the structure of the CBA and the fact that Ritchie under performed his current contract.

I agree entirely. If Ritchie doesnt get better he wont be in the NHL by the end of that contract. Teams would rather give young guys a chance. Ritchie played with two of our best forwards last year and was totally invisible. Kid has a long way to go and I am tired of the power forwards take longer to develop argument. Look at Comtois. Already way more dangerous. The truth is Ritchie hasnt progressed at all the last two years. Hopefully last year and these contract negotiations have given him time to reflect and make some changes to his training regimen. I really hope he hasnt already topped out on his potential.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I think the emergence of Comtois and the team not being winless had made it easier on Bob to just sit and wait for Ritchie to cave. Well, not just the emergence of Comtois, but all of our rookie forwards. You figure with each win, the salary goes down a little. ha ha ha ha Ritchie played poker with the wrong person. BTW, kudos to Bob and his scouting staff. All the rookie forwards are staying afloat at the NHL level (Lundestrom is 18 years old and Comtois is 19 years old). This only bodes well for the future of the franchise.

 

[Fighter]

Holding out for this, hah! Barstool strikes again!

 

[Arthuros]

Someone needs to do a gif of BM as Thanos, saying “all that, for .033M”, and then punching the crap out of Ritchie.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I agree entirely. If Ritchie doesnt get better he wont be in the NHL by the end of that contract. Teams would rather give young guys a chance. Ritchie played with two of our best forwards last year and was totally invisible. Kid has a long way to go and I am tired of the power forwards take longer to develop argument. Look at Comtois. Already way more dangerous. The truth is Ritchie hasnt progressed at all the last two years. Hopefully last year and these contract negotiations have given him time to reflect and make some changes to his training regimen. I really hope he hasnt already topped out on his potential.

Teams are absolutely going to give someone who scores like he does at LW a position, even if he doesn’t progress. Physicality and 15G/30P with essentially no PP time is always going to be of value. He was 233rd in the league for forward scoring (3rd line forwards would be expected to be in the 181-270 range) and 63rd for LW (61-90). He’s comfortably scoring as a 3rd liner, and again, gets no PP time, where he should be parked in front of the net with his hands and size on our 2nd unit.

 

[mightyquack]

Solid contract, and could become even better if Ritchie's skating has (hopefully) developed. He'll be a solid addition to the middle 6 and a physical element the team is really lacking currently.

Hopefully means Terry is going back to the AHL soon too (assuming Silf doesn't miss much time).

 

[Ducks DVM]

Solid contract, and could become even better if Ritchie's skating has (hopefully) developed. He'll be a solid addition to the middle 6 and a physical element the team is really lacking currently.

Hopefully means Terry is going back to the AHL soon too (assuming Silf doesn't miss much time).

They were saying on the radio after the game that Silfverberg is going to try to play through the injury.

 

[Masch78]

It is insane how much hate Ritchie faces on the main board.

 

[Paul4587]

Yeah anyone who doesn’t think Ritchie is an NHLer is out to lunch. He’s at worst a low end third liner with the potential to be a good second liner if he can find more consistency and gain a step skating wise.

 

[AngelDuck]

Kyle Clifford - 1.6 million
Nick Ritchie - 1.533 million

Kyle Clifford career PPG: 0.17
Nick Ritchie career PPG: 0.32

Bob Murray is fantastic with RFAs, there is no denying it

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

It is insane how much hate Ritchie faces on the main board.

People on main board give a crap about ritchie?

 

[Trojans86]

Yeah anyone who doesn’t think Ritchie is an NHLer is out to lunch. He’s at worst a low end third liner with the potential to be a good second liner if he can find more consistency and gain a step skating wise.

Yes he is a low end third liner, but if he doesnt progress just like he hasnt progressed the last couple of years then teams are going to give up on him. Slow, low-end third liners are not in high demand. Especially because he is a bad fit as a 4th liner because he is so slow. He scored last year like a low end third liner on a line of high quality second liners with Henrique and Kase.

If he improves a bit then sure, he will definitely be a 3rd liner at worst. Trust me, I am rooting for him. With a little extra speed he could be a solid player for us.

 

[91Fedorov]

Any word yet on how soon he might play? I'm really curious to see how the training with Gary Roberts things shakes out.

Who did Beleskey train with before his last year with us?

 

[terranraida]

It is insane how much hate Ritchie faces on the main board.

They're just jealous of Anaheim's ability to store massive amounts of acorns for winter in his lil chipmunk cheeks

 

[Duck Off]

Teams are absolutely going to give someone who scores like he does at LW a position, even if he doesn’t progress. Physicality and 15G/30P with essentially no PP time is always going to be of value. He was 233rd in the league for forward scoring (3rd line forwards would be expected to be in the 181-270 range) and 63rd for LW (61-90). He’s comfortably scoring as a 3rd liner, and again, gets no PP time, where he should be parked in front of the net with his hands and size on our 2nd unit.

yeah, this. Even if Ritchie didn't progress, he'd still be picked up rather quickly should we trade him. At worst, he's a very good 4th liner who can chip in occasionally offensively and is a physical presence. There's a lot of value in guys like that. Just look at some of the contracts. Martin, Maroon, Shawn Thorton, etc.

I think this is a make or break year for Ritchie though. I imagine he'll be traded in offseason if he doesn't improve. I'm actually shocked he wasn't traded this offseason, though I'm definitely happy about it.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Kyle Clifford - 1.6 million
Nick Ritchie - 1.533 million

Kyle Clifford career PPG: 0.17
Nick Ritchie career PPG: 0.32

Bob Murray is fantastic with RFAs, there is no denying it

There’s also no denying that despite their fans’ hollow screaming into the void, the Kings rank up there with the other big boy markets in the NHL when it comes to financial malpractice

 

[Paul4587]

Any word yet on how soon he might play? I'm really curious to see how the training with Gary Roberts things shakes out.

Who did Beleskey train with before his last year with us?

Some random skills coach, I don’t think it was anyone particularly notable. His hands were crazy good (in comparison to what they were) that year it made a huge difference. Too bad he completely broke down in Boston.