More players have accepted their qualifying offers on Friday, as Sam Steel and Isac Lundestrom will stay with the Anaheim Ducks organization for at least one more season. CapFriendly reports the one-year, two-way deals are both worth $874,125 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the minor league level.
Steel’s had trouble converting on his potential at the NHL level so far in his young career. Still 23 years old, Steel’s scored exactly six goals in each of his three NHL seasons. His 45 points in 129 career games aren’t exactly concerning, but Steel’s really struggled defensively at times, especially this past season. Those defensive struggles led to the lowest usage of his career this season, as he was playing just 14:32 per game. There’s still plenty of track left for the 2016 30th overall pick, though, and he’ll attempt to push for an elevated role with the Ducks next season.
Lundestrom is in a similar situation, except he’s younger and has less NHL experience. The lack of a true breakout from either player is likely a contributing factor to the matching deals. Lundestrom’s tallied just 15 points in 71 career games, though, including his first career NHL goal this season. Drafted 23rd overall in 2018, Lundestrom’s still shown flashes of potential and reliability at the NHL level. He’ll likely push for a spot in Anaheim’s top-six forward group next season and develop further into the two-way forward the team expects him to be.
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