Boston — Standing in the visitors locker room at TD Garden on Saturday, Frank Vatrano was emitting a mixture of pride and excitement after the Ducks’ 3-2 win over the Bruins.
His gamble was starting to pay off.
With trade rumors hanging over them, the Islanders are battling for a postseason berth.
In January, Vatrano committed to remain in Anaheim for the foreseeable future. The former Bruins forward from East Longmeadow, who played at UMass, was depending on the promise he saw in his younger colleagues producing fruit not long down the line. He was determined to finish it.
So Vatrano got a 3-year, $18 million contract (deferred money, making it a $4.75 million yearly cap charge).
Before that, if the NHL trade rumor mill was a location, Frank Vatrano would have been entitled to vote there. The one thing he knew for sure during a career that took him from Boston to Florida to New York to Anaheim was the location.
As an experienced scorer with a modest deal on a rebuilding squad, Vatrano was an enticing target. Rangers supporters notably inundated social media with anticipation for a reunion.
But Vatrano didn’t want to go to a contender; he wanted to help Anaheim become one.
“Ever since day one, in my first year here and last year, I knew this is where I wanted to be long-term and saw the bigger picture. I see how we’re progressing as a team,” he said. “This is one of the best groups I’ve ever been a part of. fantastic youthful core, and we also have fantastic elder men in this room that we kind of balance off each other. So it was something I wanted to be a part of, and I don’t want to play somewhere else, and I am pleased it’s done and over with now.”
After opening the year 18-23-6, Saturday’s triumph over Boston—in front of quite a few Vatrano relatives and friends from Western Massachusetts—was Anaheim’s seventh win in the previous eight games, a hint that their momentum hadn’t been hampered by the two weeks off for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off.
According to Puckapedia, the Ducks have an 8.8 percent probability of making the playoffs. However, they at least have an outside chance for the first time in a long time. The experience of playing good games in March and April will be valuable later on, even if they don’t make it.
“We kind of learned that it’s hard to win this league with this young team at the beginning of the year, and I think we’re realizing and the points are valuable for both teams on both sides,” he added. “Space gets a bit narrower during this crucial moment, so you have to make wise choices everywhere on the ice, which is what we’ve been doing.
He went on to say, “We just believe in one another in this room; you know, we’re a really close group.” “We’re attempting to disprove everyone because nobody anticipated that we would even be in this situation at this time. We are aware of how strong our group is in this room. We simply need to continue being reliable, working hard, and attempting to improve so that we can win as many hockey games as we can.
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