The Ducks have traded defenseman Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues, ending the second-longest tenure in franchise history.

In exchange for Fowler and a 2027 fourth-round draft pick, the Ducks received a 2027 second-rounder and prospect defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka.

Fowler, 33, played all his 991 career games with the Ducks, entering the league at age 18 after being the 12th overall selection in the 2010 draft. Fowler’s time with the Ducks over parts of 15 seasons included two trips to the conference finals (2015, 2017) and the only playoff meeting between the Kings and Ducks, a seesaw seven-game series won by the Kings (2014).

Fowler made his Blues debut in Dallas against the Stars on Saturday night. He’ll likely play again Sunday in St. Louis against the New York Rangers.

“I know it’s been a crazy day, but, at the end of the day, I’m most comfortable when I’m on the ice,” Fowler said. “It’s going to be a new challenge for me with a new team, but, at the end of the day, that’s my job.”

Not far down the line after his Blues debut and home debut, will be career game No. 1,000 for the Ducks’ all-time leader in points, goals and assists by a defenseman. As it stands, that projects to be this year’s Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.

Less enthusing was the prospect of being separated from his young family in Southern California.

“There’s a lot of adrenaline in me right now,” Fowler said. “I think that’s going to get me through these next couple days. Then, I’m sure when I’m in St. Louis on Monday and the dust kind of settles and I’m there without my family, that’s probably going to be a pretty hard moment.”

The Ducks had been machinating to find a new home for Fowler in recent months, and managed to upgrade a draft pick in the process. The deal cost them 38.5% retention of Fowler’s remaining salary. He will carry a cap hit of $6.5 million this season and next.

While they freed up ice time for their defensemen of the future – Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe and Olen Zellweger should all benefit, as Verbeek said – they also lost a fixture in Orange County and a player who grew the game with his C4Kids program.

“Today was a difficult day, it was a difficult trade to make, especially with a person of Cam’s stature and his tenure with our organization,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “It’s becoming increasingly rare that a player spends this long with an organization.”

“This whole process started in the summertime with Cam, his agent Pat Brisson and I. We had open discussions about Cam’s future with the hockey club,” Verbeek continued. “As opportunities arose, I would take that to Cam. It was a real open dialogue and a real open situation for us and Cam, and [it was] transparent.”

Fowler had considerable trade protection, submitting a four-team list of agreeable destinations before the season. Though the Blues were not on Fowler’s list, he ultimately agreed to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal.

“It became mutual for both the organization and Cam that it would be a great opportunity for Cam to accept this opportunity to play in St. Louis,” Verbeek said.

Born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, but raised in Michigan, Fowler represented the United States internationally at least six times, including at the 2014 Olympic Games. He has 96 goals, 361 assists and 457 points in his NHL career, ranking fifth in franchise history for both assists and points.

In St. Louis, he will alleviate the burden of some other veterans, including nearly 40-year-old Ryan Suter. The Blues have leaned heavily on their top four as a result of serious injuries to two other seasoned blue-liners, Torey Krug and Nick Leddy.

Krug’s career may be in jeopardy and Leddy’s nebulous situation led Blues general manager Doug Armstrong to search for a solution in recent weeks. Verbeek said the teams closed in on a deal in the past few days.

“He can kill penalties, he can defend and he’s an excellent skater. He’s just a good pro,” Armstrong said. “We’re not trying to make him better than he is. I just know he’s a good pro that can play top-four minutes, help our group and provide stability.”

Fowler will play for Jim Montgomery, who also switched teams this season having been hired by St. Louis after being sacked in Boston. Montgomery played for Ducks coach Greg Cronin for a year at the University of Maine, and the two have remained close in the decades since.

“(Fowler) adds another player that’s played in this league for a long time and has been really good at it. You can never have enough good defensemen,” Montgomery said.

Biakabutuka, 22, has bounced between levels of the minors as a 6-foot-4-inch defenseman who shoots right-handed and is best described as a mobile rearguard. He is the nephew of former University of Michigan and Carolina Panthers running back Tim Biakabutuka.

Originally Published: December 14, 2024 at 8:39 AM PST