The Ducks filled a desperate need on defense in acquiring 16-year veteran Eric Brewer. And now he’s hurt. Can it get any worse for Anaheim?
The Anaheim Ducks on defense look nearly unrecognizable and majorly ruffled a quarter into the season.
The Ducks (15-6-5) lead the Western Conference and are tied for third in the league with 35 points.
But the success has come with a heavy price as various players have been hit with injuries and illnesses throughout the year.
With the Ducks currently holding their blue line together with paper clips and chewing gum, GM Bob Murray quickly reacted
and acquired 16-year veteran defenseman Eric Brewer from the Tampa Bay Lightning last week for a third-round selection in the 2015 NHL Draft.
And he’s hurt.
INJURY UPDATES: Goaltender Jason LaBarbera (broken bone in hand) out 2-3 weeks. Eric Brewer (broken bone in foot) out 4-6 weeks.
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 3, 2014
After just arriving in Southern California, Brewer (near right) suffered a broken bone in his foot on Monday against the Boston Bruins and is now out for the next 4-6 weeks.
While a potential high third-round draft pick in exchange for a 35-year-old with a cap hit of $3.785 million was criticized in Anaheim, Murray had to risk it to get someone to help fill the hole on defense.
But it seems that even a rather reasonable decision has backfired for Anaheim that has had zero luck and heavy overtime for their trainers. Since the first game at Pittsburgh, the Ducks have played 11 defensemen. That’s what happens when you lose Ben Lovejoy to a broken finger on Oct. 26 against the San Jose Sharks, Mark Fistric, sidelined with lower body on Oct. 30 at St. Louis, Clayton Stoner with mumps and Francois Beauchemin who is out 4-6 weeks with a broken finger.
Last Sunday, the Ducks played with three young defensemen from AHL Norfolk. Josh Manson, Jesse Blacker and Mat Clark were relied on to step in for veteran blue liners who are out with injuries and illnesses and none of those three had played an NHL game prior to this year.
With Brewer out, the other four on the backend (Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Manson and Clark), have combined for 208 games compared to Brewer’s 984 GP. 
In 17 games this season with Tampa Bay, Brewer tallied 4 assists with a +5 rating and 18 PIM. Among team defensemen, he ranked tied for third in assists and +/- and second in PIM and hits (35).
The Ducks defense as whole right now is clearly out of sync. This group struggles possessing the puck as of late and have turned it over in critical areas on the ice. The last three games against the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and on Monday against the Boston Bruins were examples of poor defensive efforts at keeping pucks away from the net.
The opposition in those three contests constantly peppered goaltender Frederik Andersen and swarmed the Ducks zone for large chunks of the game with multiple odd-man rushes. This trade could still help the Ducks when Brewer returns in mid January.
With Lovejoy and Fistric close to returning to the lineup, the Ducks will finally have their regulars return with Brewer adding much-needed experience. Better news is the fact that Fistric and Stoner were at the morning skate Wednesday with Stoner gunning to play tonight.
Clayton Stoner said his goal is to play tonight. “I feel good and I’m ready to go. Got plenty of rest, so hopefully the legs feel good.” — Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 3, 2014
Even with them returning, the Ducks still must address the need for a true shut-down defender if they wish to pose a real threat in the West.
Fowler, Vatanen, Lindholm, and Lovejoy are really good players, but are not the standout shut-down defenders like the Los Angeles Kings have in Drew Doughty or Nashville Predators dynamo Shea Weber.
NOTES: The Ducks have signed goaltender and former Duck Ilya Bryzgalov to a tryout contract with Jason LaBarbera now hurt.
Copyright 2015 SportSpeak LLC, all rights reserved. For more coverage, follow @SportSpeakLA and @SportSpeakOC on Twitter.