ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf will retire at the conclusion of the regular season, ending his 17-year NHL career spent entirely with one club.
The 36-year-old Getzlaf made his announcement Tuesday. The Ducks (28-31-12) have 11 games left in what’s almost certain to be their fourth consecutive non-playoff season.
Getzlaf has been one of the top playmaking centers in hockey for most of his career, scoring 1,013 points in 1,150 games since his NHL debut in October 2005 with the then-Mighty Ducks. A sublime passer with remarkable vision on the ice, he became Anaheim’s career franchise scoring leader last Oct. 31, and he became the 92nd player in league history to score 1,000 points on Nov. 16.
Getzlaf also leads the Ducks in career games played and assists (731). He has been Anaheim’s captain for the past 12 seasons, presiding over a lengthy period of sustained team success before their current struggles.
He is a Stanley Cup champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada, a three-time NHL All-Star and the runner-up for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP in 2014.
Despite missing 22 games with various injuries this season, Getzlaf is tied for fourth on the Ducks’ roster in scoring with three goals and 28 assists. He has at least 25 assists for the 16th time in his 17 seasons even though he sat out most of the past month with a lower-body injury.
Getzlaf’s decision is the second landmark of a new era for the Ducks, one of the Western Conference’s most consistently successful teams of the 21st century before the past four seasons. Bob Murray, Anaheim’s general manager since 2008, resigned last November after being accused of repeated verbal abuse of team employees.
Getzlaf has remained a beloved figure among Orange County fans who adore his playmaking abilities and revere his loyalty to their often-overlooked club. He expressed that loyalty again last season when he declined to be traded to a contender to chase a late-career championship ring.
Getzlaf is the 45th player in NHL history to score 1,000 points with a single team, and the 39th to do it with his first club. He spent his first 14 seasons playing alongside fellow 2003 draftee Corey Perry, forming one of the most dynamic scoring partnerships in recent NHL history.
Only 14 players in NHL history retired after playing more seasons than Getzlaf while spending their entire career with one club. He is the first one-team player in Anaheim history to play at least 10 seasons.
Along with his rare status as a one-team player in the modern game, Getzlaf also dazzled fans as a throwback player who complemented his high-level skill with a pugnacious attitude. He racked up 954 career penalty minutes, and he regularly dropped the gloves in his early days before evolving into a more mature team leader. He is also one of the dwindling number of NHL players permitted to play without a protective visor on his helmet.
Getzlaf, a Saskatchewan native, also won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014 alongside Perry. Getzlaf scored the game-winning goal in a victory over Slovakia in the Vancouver semifinals, and he played superbly during the Canadians’ repeat title run in Sochi.
Getzlaf was the 19th overall pick in the 2003 draft. The Ducks chose Perry nine picks later, and they quickly became one of the top offensive duos in hockey with Getzlaf’s passing and Perry’s goal-scoring acumen.
Getzlaf and Perry won the Stanley Cup together during their second NHL season in 2007, teaming up with Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Jean-Sébastien Giguère as the Ducks became the first California club to claim hockey’s ultimate prize.
Getzlaf became Anaheim’s captain in 2010 following Niedermayer’s retirement, and his tenure with the “C” is easily the longest in franchise history. The Ducks remained a regular playoff contender for the following decade, winning five consecutive Pacific Division titles and reaching two conference finals from 2013-17.
Anaheim faded from contention in the past four years while Getzlaf’s injury problems increased, and Perry was released in 2019. The Ducks mounted a wholesale rebuild around young talent this season under new general manager Pat Verbeek, trading away key veterans Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson near the deadline.
Getzlaf will join Vancouver’s Daniel and Henrik Sedin as the only players to have a one-team career at least 17 seasons long entirely in the 21st century. Los Angeles’ Dustin Brown, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin also qualify, but they’re still active.
Anaheim’s home finale is April 24 against St. Louis. The Ducks finish the regular season April 29 at Dallas.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
