ANAHEIM — For the Ducks, it was a newsworthy day for a team sitting in 29th place overall in the NHL.
Shortly before Wednesday night’s game against the New York Islanders, they announced that goaltender Anthony Stolarz underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday, describing it as a successful procedure. Stolarz had been discussing with doctors how to proceed after suffering the injury in a 3-2 overtime victory in Chicago on Feb. 7.
The expected recovery timetable for Stolarz is six to eight weeks.
Stolarz, 29, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and with youngster Lukas Dostal making a largely favorable impression in his rookie campaign, it is unclear what the Ducks will do with their goaltenders going forward.
Stolarz has been with the Ducks for parts of four seasons – 56 games played, in all. His final numbers for the 2022-23 season: 5-6-0, 3.73 (goals-against average) and an .899 save percentage.
He is the third Ducks player to have required a season-ending surgery, joining defensemen Jamie Drysdale and Urho Vaakanainen. The Ducks announced on March 3 that Vaakanainen had undergone hip surgery – the same procedure that forward Sam Carrick had in May. Previously, Drysdale had shoulder surgery in November to repair a torn labrum, an injury suffered on Oct. 28 in Las Vegas.
DUCKS SIGN NESTERENKO
Forward Nikita Nesterenko signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks, having wrapped up his season with Boston College over the weekend. The Eagles’ season ended Saturday night with a 1-0 loss in double overtime to Merrimack.
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The Ducks said he will report to Anaheim – and will wear No. 62 – and the expectation is that his first practice will be on Thursday. Nesterenko had been a Minnesota Wild prospect – having been drafted by the team in the sixth round in 2019 (No. 172) – but he was traded to the Ducks as part of the John Klingberg deal on March 3.
Nesterenko, 21, played three years at Boston College and he went from 24 points in his sophomore year to 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) as a junior. This past season, he was the Eagles’ second-leading scorer behind Cutter Gauthier, the Philadelphia Flyers’ first-round draft pick (No. 5 overall) in 2022.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said he has kept a close eye on Nesterenko at Boston College, noting significant progress in terms of his overall game this past season.