Anaheim is excited to have Cam Fowler back on the ice. The Ducks announced that Fowler has been activated from injured reserve, while Urho Vaakanainen has been placed on it instead. Earlier, Derek Lee from The Hockey News shared that Pavel Mintyukov would sit out Wednesday’s game for Fowler, and Leo Carlsson would miss the match due to an upper-body injury.
Fowler’s return brings relief to Anaheim for a couple of reasons. First, his experience strengthens a defense line that’s had its struggles this season. The team ranks 26th in the league for shots against them, but Lukáš Dostál’s amazing goaltending has helped cover up some of those issues. While Fowler may not contribute much offensively, he consistently plays over 20 minutes each game and boasts a career save percentage of 90.3% in all situations.
Another reason Anaheim is glad to see Fowler back is because they want other teams to notice him. Both the Ducks and Fowler are open about wanting a trade, so it’s important for interested teams to see how well he handles playing top-four minutes.
Roster Changes: A Curious Move
Vaakanainen being put on injured reserve raises eyebrows. Hailing from Joensuu, Finland, he’s barely played this season with his last appearance on November 13th. This suggests he might have been hurt longer than anyone realized before being removed from the active roster now. Fans might wonder if there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
For Anaheim though, getting Fowler back as a top-four defenseman is definitely a win!
What do you think about these changes?
