Andrew Ebbett claimed off waivers by Chicago

No, I admit I was very intrigued by the possibility yesterday and did my research on him. Ebbett is a player that has always seemed to catch my attention when he’s been in the Ducks lineup and usually in a good way, however while he has offensive skill and a lot of speed he is very undersized and questionable defensively. Ebbett excels in a top-six role and gets lost when shuffled down the lineup.

Had this transaction occurred a few days earlier, I might have bitten, but with the recall of Cal O’Reilly putting him in the Nashville lineup and the demotion of Ben Guite to Milwaukee due to center depth, I really don’t think we could afford to take on Ebbett at this time.

Ebbett simply isn’t a guy jumping up and down yelling “instant offense” and with the current struggles and current depth at center I don’t think adding someone new from outside the organization would’ve necessarily been the right move unless that player would command instant respect in the locker room.

Cal O’Reilly has put up similar numbers, is of similar stature, and has similar strengths. He is homegrown and put up solid numbers in his 11 games late last year when paired with top-six talent. I’d rather give him a shot at being part of the solution, rather than sending him back to Milwaukee (wouldn’t have to clear waivers yet – 30 day window) to bring in someone off waivers.