The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed restricted free agent forward Nick Ritchie to a three-year contract worth $4.6 million. Ritchie will see 1.2M this season, 1.4M next and 2M in the third year. This contract carries him through the 2020-21 season.
BREAKING: We’ve signed left wing Nick Ritchie (@ritchboiii) to a three-year contract.#LetsGoDucks pic.twitter.com/zX6VwuPqug
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 18, 2018
Nick Ritchie Re-Signs With The Anaheim Ducks
Ritchie has only played for the Ducks in his three-year NHL career. He has put up 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 career points in 186 career games. Ritchie has added four goals in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was originally drafted in the first round, 10th overall of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
Last season, he scored 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 76 games. He also added 72 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 49.4 percent Corsi-For and a relative Corsi of +1.5. He was held pointless in the Ducks four-game opening round loss to the San Jose Sharks.
What This Means For The Future
Ritchie is a big body at 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds. He loves to throw his weight around. The Orangeville, Ontario native has recorded over 200 hits in the last two seasons. He’s been a good bottom-six checking forward, but surely the Ducks would love more offence from the former tenth overall draft pick.
The 22-year-old went scoreless in four playoff games, so the calls for more offence are warranted. Some are calling Ritchie a bust, but others think it’s too early to tell. He still is a young player and has time to find his scoring touch. It can sometimes take bigger forwards a little more time to get comfortable playing a power game in the NHL.
Ritchie has shown flashes of finding his offensive game, but they’ve been few and far between. Finding consistency on the offence would give the Ducks another power-forward that can put pucks in the net.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
