Chris Stewart

[teenagemutantninjahertl]

The Ducks signed Chris Stewart to a one year deal, and now have $16M to sign Hagelin, Wagner, and Silfverberg. Once those players are signed, the team will have a full compliment of forwards, defensemen, and goalies.

 

What do you think this signing means for the Ducks?

 

Personally, I think the lines will look like this:

 

Maroon-Getzlaf-Perry

Hagelin-Kesler-Silfverberg

Cogliano-Thompson-Stewart

Sekac-Horof-Wagner/Rakell/Jackman

 

Fowler-Despres

Vatanen-Bieksa

Lindholm-Stoner/Holzer

 

Andersen

Khudobin

(Gibson)*

 

*AHL bound

 

If Hagelin can replicate his numbers from New York, he will replace Belesky. Stewart is an upgrade in the physical department. 

 

I don't know why they traded for Khudobin, other than to move a defenseman they didn't use. He might be trade bait?

 

[jammer2]

  It is possible that Gibson's agent has made overture's that he will not be happy in a back up role. In that case, the Ducks would be wise to fortify their tending situation. Hard to tell....but that would be my guess. Stewart has bounced around from team to team now, never really finding his niche. If he can't score with regularity on the Sabres getting all that ice time, he will be hard pressed to do it for the Ducks on the 3rd line and off the top pp. He will be gone by Christmas I predict.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Chris Stewart showed flashes of why everyone keeps taking chances on him with the Minnesota Wild.

The guy is big and strong as everyone knows, but he also, when he is playing right, has some underrated scoring ability.

 

It's just not a consistent thing....hence why he has bounced around so much in the NHL.

 

He actually was playing pretty darned well for the Wild down the stretch and into the playoffs until he got injured.

I even thought the Wild might take a chance and try re-signing him as he did bring the kind of physicality that not many Wild players at this point in time have.

 

Obviously, Minnesota has too many other areas of concern in trying to keep up with those damned Blackhawks to have pondered Stewart for too long, but if the Ducks can finally get this guy to be the consistent physical force he has shown he can be, while providing a bit of scoring, then I think Anaheim should be very happy with him.

 

The only other area of concern I would have with Stewart would be his skating.

While he isn't a bad skater, he certainly isn't one of the fastest. Graceful, yet in a sort of 'middling speed' type way.

 

I often saw him not be able to keep up with some of his Minnesota Wild linemates last season (even Minny's bottom six guys tend to be pretty fast North-South skaters), which often meant he had to anticipate where he thought his teammates would be so he could be in the proper position.....tough to do when you were traded at the deadline to the team and didn't have as much time to adjust to those guys as you would have liked, if you are Stewart.

 

Perhaps with the Ducks, in a bottom six role, his overall skate speed wouldn't be as big an issue, plus he will have the added benefit of having been with linemates from Day 1 of training camp to learn their tendencies.

 

I think reasonable expectations from Stewart should probably be in the 15 G, 30 point range from the 3rd line.

If he can also keep his PIM's down to a reasonable level (at least, avoid the stupid hooking, INT, and tripping varieties), that should be more than enough to satisfy a mostly otherwise loaded Ducks team.

[yave1964]

Stewart a few years ago with Colorado and for a year or two in St. Louis looked like a power forward superstar in the making. A kid scoring 28 goals a year and hitting everything that moved.

Then, I don't know, he got off track. He wound up in Coach Hitchock's doghouse, lost his way and the last two years has been God Awful.

In Anaheim I see him on the second line with Kesler as a perfect fit and it may get him back on track. Those two, if Stewart is inspired would terrify other teams on a second line. He is only 27 so he could have plenty of hockey left in him, but Anthony left the game early after he lost interest. His brother may do the same.