Blues acquire defenseman Fowler from Ducks

The St. Louis Blues have acquired defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks to bolster their playoff push.

The Blues traded a 2027 second-round pick and 22-year-old minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka to Anaheim for Fowler and a 2027 fourth-round pick.

Crucially, the Ducks are retaining 38.5% of Fowler’s $6.5 million cap hit. The 33-year-old defenseman is signed through the 2025-26 season. Fowler has a limited no-trade clause in which he submits a four-team trade list to the Ducks every offseason.

“After meeting with Cam several times over the last few months, it became clear to both of us it may be time for a change. As usual, Cam handled the process with professionalism and remained committed to the Ducks,” Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek said.

Fowler had spent the entirety of his 15-year NHL career with the Ducks, who selected him 12th overall in the 2010 draft. He is the highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history, with 457 points in 991 games.

He is also the franchise leader in goals (96), assists (361) and appearances among defensemen. Among all skaters, only center Ryan Getzlaf (1,157) appeared in more games with Anaheim.

Fowler is considered a good puck-moving defenseman with above-average passing skills, but he has been a defensive liability for the Ducks over the past few seasons while averaging 24 minutes per night for a rebuilding squad. His minus-66 since 2022-23 was fourth worst among all NHL players.

He has four assists in 17 games this season, skating to a minus-7. He missed time with an upper-body injury.

“This was a difficult trade to make, considering what Cam has meant to this organization,” Verbeek said. “He has been a valuable and respected member of our team for 15 seasons, representing the Ducks with ultimate class. His character and contributions on and off the ice have [left] and will continue to leave a positive impact on our fans and community.”

Biakabutuka has seen time in the AHL but has spent most of his pro career in the ECHL. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

This is the second significant move on the blue line for Anaheim, which acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers last week. In Fowler, the Blues add another veteran to an experienced group on their back end.

His addition could signal that defenseman Nick Leddy will be out of the lineup long term. Leddy hasn’t played since Oct. 15 and was recently receiving further testing on a lower-body injury. With the salary retention, Fowler’s cap hit is $4 million — which is what Leddy’s contract counts against the cap.

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong has been aggressive in trying to turn the Blues’ season around, firing first-year coach Drew Bannister after 22 games to hire former Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. St. Louis has gone 5-2-1 since the coaching change.