Rickard Rakell Inks Six-Year Deal
- Updated: October 16, 2016
RFA Rickard Rakell has signed a deal with the Anaheim Ducks. The contract is said to be a six-year contract with the financials not released.
Rakell is coming off of abdominal surgery to remove scar tissue related to an appendectomy he had in April. General Manager Bob Murray didn’t seem too concerned with this.
“[The contract is] something we both agreed was common ground for the two of us,” Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. “The injury held this up a little bit. Everybody can understand we wanted to be totally comfortable that Ricky was going to be OK going forward.
With the injury and not getting any information on what it was, with two operations in a short period of time, I was more concerned on how Ricky was,” Murray said. “He’s a valuable part of our group and he’s a good hockey player. I’m feeling very confident about the discussions with the doctor and my talks with Ricky. We’re very comfortable we’re going to move forward quickly with getting him back on the ice.
We tried to get through that thing last year in the playoffs — and I give him credit for that — but it didn’t really work,” Murray said. “He wasn’t strong enough. For Ricky to play the way Ricky can play, we’re going to make sure he’s strong enough going forward.”
Rakell is only 23 years old and is currently resting in Sweden following the surgery and a subsequent stomach virus which held things up on the contract side.
The Anaheim Ducks have said that they will not rush Rickard Rakell’s return to the ice. They do, however, expect him to join the team in the States within the next two weeks – as long as his visa gets approved by all of the right people.
What do you think about this six-year deal? Is it worth it?
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