Photo courtesy: D Ramey Logan
Patrick Eaves helped move the Anaheim Ducks one step closer to the Stanley Cup playoffs, finishing off the Nashville Predators by scoring the only goal in a shootout that led the Ducks to a 4-3 win. Eaves, was traded to the Ducks on February 24 from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Eaves, who upon trade had 21 goals and 37 points, has more goals than any Duck player except Rickard Rakell. Eaves’ heavy hitting forward status has thus far turned out to be a very valuable asset for the Ducks. In just four games, he has managed to rack up two goals, two assists, and four points with an average on-ice time of just over 16 minutes.
Eaves’ presence on the ice comes at just the right time, as the Ducks have been hurting offensively over the last ten games with Corey Perry not having scored a single goal in his last 10 games and Ryan Kesler only managing a mere two goals in the last 23 games as pointed out by CSN Chicago. This scoring deficit is also punctuated by Duck’s veteran Antoine Vermette, who continues to serve a 10-game suspension for abuse of an official.
Eaves’ performance in the shootout in the March 8 Predators game, was made all the more extraordinary since he only participated in a single shootout while with the Dallas Stars. Given his quick and impactful assimilation into the Ducks it appears like he has found a good home, at least for now, as the Ducks move towards the playoffs.
Despite having an impressive 2016-2017 season thus far, Eaves has previously had quite an up and down career, having been on eight different teams since he first debuted with the Binghampton Senators in the 2005-2006 season. Scoring throughout his career has often been erratic with a height of 20 goals in the 2007-2008 season with the Ottawa Senators and then taking a nosedive down to an average of two goals a season under the Detroit Red Wings between 2012 and 2014. His scoring again picked up under the Dallas Stars, whom he was traded to after only five scoreless games with the Predators at the end of the 2013-2014 season.
Undoubtedly, Eaves has been an asset to the Dallas Stars and thus far to the Ducks, but his variable performance makes him an obvious risk that Randy Carlyle decided to take. On one hand, Eaves has now surpassed his previous best record for goals, yet on the other hand, that best season was over a decade ago according to statistics found on Hockey Database. The big question is whether this be another once in a decade performance by Eaves or will this be a new beginning for his career? Either way he has helped to push the Ducks to a second place tie with the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific Division of the NHL and it will be exciting to see how he continues to perform for the rest of the season with the Ducks.