Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Dealing with upper-body injury
Rotowire
Vaakanainen will miss Friday's game with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day beyond that.
Vaakanainen sustained the injury Wednesday versus Vegas. The 25-year-old defenseman could be in the mix to cover for the absence of Cam Fowler (upper body) once Vaakanainen is able to return.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Suffers undisclosed injury
Rotowire
Vaakanainen (undisclosed) missed Thursday's practice, per Derek Lee of The Hockey News, and consequently isn't expected to play Friday versus Detroit.
Vaakanainen suffered the injury during Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Vegas. He has an assist in five appearances with Anaheim in 2024-25. When healthy, Vaakanainen is an option for the third pairing, though he also spends time in the press box.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Draws assist Friday
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Vaakanainen logged an assist in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Wild.
Vaakanainen stayed in the lineup for the second game in a row since Cam Fowler (upper body) was unavailable. The 25-year-old Vaakanainen has played in three games this season, earning two shots on net, five blocked shots, two PIM and a plus-1 rating. He'll likely see a fairly limited role when he plays while also being a candidate to be scratched when the Ducks' defense is fully healthy.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Not getting much playing time
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Vaakanainen was scratched for the 10th time in 11 games when he sat out Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks.
Vaakanainen signed a one-year deal to remain with the Ducks in July after he was not given a qualifying offer in June. The 25-year-old defenseman has served as a healthy scratch most of the time, though he's now the only spare blueliner in Anaheim after Tristan Luneau was reassigned to AHL San Diego on Friday. Vaakanainen may rotate into the lineup for one of the Ducks' younger defensemen at times, but it would likely take another player's injury for him to have a chance at steady playing time.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Staying with Anaheim
Rotowire
Vaakanainen signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Ducks on Monday.
Vaakanainen scored 14 points in 68 games with the Ducks last season and did not receive a qualifying offer before hitting free agency. The 25-year-old should fill a bottom-four role during the 2024-25 campaign.
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Urho Vaakanainen: Does not receive QO
Rotowire
Vaakanainen will become an unrestricted free agent Monday after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Ducks, Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports.
Vaakanainen scored 14 points in 68 games last season and did not receive consistent playing time down the stretch. He was a first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft but has been held to 24 points in 136 career NHL contests.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Can't keep steady role
Rotowire
Vaakanainen was scratched for four of the Ducks' last 11 games.
Vaakanainen set a career high with 68 games played in 2023-24, picking up 14 points, 67 shots on net, 55 hits and 79 blocked shots. He was generally solid in a bottom-four role, but he couldn't maintain an everyday role in the second half of the season. Vaakanainen is a pending restricted free agent.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Picks up assist Thursday
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Vaakanainen registered a shorthanded assist in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Kraken.
Vaakanainen helped out on an Isac Lundestrom tally early in the third period. With four helpers over 12 appearances in March, Vaakanainen has put together a solid month for a depth defenseman. He's at 14 points, 63 shots on net, 74 blocked shots, 44 hits and 24 PIM through 62 appearances this season, though he isn't guaranteed to be in the lineup every game.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Bags apple in win
Rotowire
Vaakanainen recorded an assist in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Blackhawks.
Vaakanainen has two assists, five shots on net, eight hits and nine blocked shots over his last six outings. The 25-year-old defenseman continues to see steady bottom-four usage for the Ducks, but the team's scoring troubles will suppress his offense. For the season, the Finn is at 13 points, 63 shots on net, 71 blocked shots, 42 hits, 24 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 60 appearances.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Posts helper
Rotowire
Vaakanainen registered an assist in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Canucks.
Vaakanainen has two helpers over his last six games. The 25-year-old defenseman is still at risk of being an occasional scratch, but the Ducks' trades of Jamie Drysdale and Ilya Lyubushkin have opened up more consistent playing time for the remaining blueliners. Vaakanainen has a career-high 11 points with 54 shots on net, 60 blocked shots, 30 hits and a plus-1 rating over 52 appearances.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Supplies assist in loss
Rotowire
Vaakanainen recorded an assist and two hits in Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the Blue Jackets.
Vaakanainen snapped a five-game point drought Wednesday after being scratched Monday versus the Sabres. The 25-year-old defenseman has been a regular presence in the Ducks' lineup this season, though he still sits out every now and then. He's collected 10 points, 49 shots on net, 57 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over 47 appearances.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Finally gets first career goal
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Vaakanainen scored a goal and blocked three shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Stars.
It's been a long and twisting path for Vaakanainen to get his first goal -- he's had a couple of potential tallies taken away. The milestone moment came in his 108th career contest. The 25-year-old is now in a top-four role for the Ducks, though he'll likely continue to make limited scoring contributions. He's at eight points, 42 shots on net, 41 blocked shots, 14 PIM and a plus-6 rating through 40 appearances this season.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Gets on scoresheet with helper
Rotowire
Vaakanainen notched an assist and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Predators.
Vaakanainen snapped a seven-game point drought with the helper on Troy Terry's second-period marker. The 25-year-old Vaakanainen has been an occasional healthy scratch so far, but the Ducks' trade of Jamie Drysdale to Philadelphia should open up more regular playing time. For the season, Vaakanainen has seven assists, 31 shots on net, 31 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating through 32 appearances.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Offers assist
Rotowire
Vaakanainen logged an assist in Monday's 4-3 win over the Red Wings.
Vaakanainen has picked up two assists while playing in each of the last five games. With Tristan Luneau away at the World Junior Championship, Vaakanainen has a clear path to playing time into the new year. The 24-year-old Finn is up to six points (all assists) while adding 23 shots on net, 20 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating over 24 appearances this season. Now in his sixth campaign, he remains in search of his first NHL goal.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Manages helper Wednesday
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Vaakanainen recorded an assist and blocked two shots in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Islanders.
Vaakanainen set up an Adam Henrique tally in the second period. Playing time has once again become erratic for Vaakanainen, who has played in just three of the Ducks' last six games, and he's only seeing third-pairing usage when in the lineup. He's produced five assists, 22 shots on net, 19 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating through 21 appearances this season. The 24-year-old will compete with Robert Hagg for playing time in the short term and could be negatively impacted when Jamie Drysdale (lower body) returns.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Adds helper in loss
Rotowire
Vaakanainen notched an assist in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Oilers.
Vaakanainen snapped a five-game point drought with the assist. The 24-year-old defenseman has played in 17 straight contests after he was scratched for the first four games of the campaign. He's still not adding much offense with four helpers, 18 shots on net and a plus-3 rating this season. Vaakanainen has rounded out his stat line with eight hits, 15 blocked shots and two PIM while serving in a bottom-four role.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Registers pair of helpers Tuesday
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Vaakanainen posted two assists in Tuesday's 3-2 road win against the Predators.
Vaakanainen was originally credited with a goal on a blast from the left point late in the third period, which would have been the game-winning tally. The goal was changed to Adam Henrique's winner, as he got the deflection past Juuse Saros of the Predators. Vaakanainen also added a plus-2 rating, a blocked shot, a minor penalty and two hits in his 15:12 of ice time.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Puts up first assist
Rotowire
Vaakanainen notched an assist, two shots on goal and two hits in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins.
Vaakanainen was able to get on the scoresheet against his old team, setting up defense partner Radko Gudas on the opening goal. This was Vaakanainen's third straight game in the lineup, albeit in a third-pairing role. The 24-year-old has one assist, four shots on goal, three hits and a plus-2 rating over three contests. He'll be competing with Robert Hagg and Tristan Luneau for playing time until Jamie Drysdale (lower body) returns.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Back from IR
Rotowire
Vaakanainen (hip) was removed from injured reserve Friday, per CapFriendly.
Vaakanainen missed the final 32 games last season and eventually underwent hip surgery in March. He'll be healthy enough for a full training camp before the 2023-24 campaign begins. He tallied two assists in 23 games with Anaheim last season and should see bottom-four minutes again this year.
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Ducks' Urho Vaakanainen: Has hip surgery
Rotowire
Vaakanainen has undergone hip surgery, according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic.
Vaakanainen, who was injured during a game against Arizona on Jan. 28, is projected to need five-to-six months to recover, so he's not expected to play again this season. He has two assists in 23 games with Anaheim in 2022-23. Vaakanainen is in the first campaign of a two-year, $1.7 million contract.
