ANAHEIM, Calif. — Cam Fowler returned to play in Anaheim for the first time since the Ducks traded the longest-serving and highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history to the St. Louis Blues less than three months ago.
He received a boisterous welcome when the Blues faced the Ducks on Friday night at Honda Center.
Fowler was in the Blues’ starting lineup, and the Ducks aired a tribute video to Fowler during a stoppage in the first period. He acknowledged the standing ovation with a wave, and he skated from the Blues’ bench to more cheers.
Fowler also exchanged hellos with several former teammates during the pregame skate. He insists he feels no bitterness or disappointment about the way his 14½ seasons in Orange County ended last December.
“With everything wrapped up in it for me, it’s going to be hard to treat it just as a normal game, but I’m going to do the best I can,” Fowler said Thursday after practice with the Blues.
During a brief pregame meeting with dozens of front office workers and Ducks personnel, owners Henry and Susan Samueli presented Fowler with a painting of the defenseman memorializing his lengthy career in Anaheim.
Fowler had been a mainstay on the Ducks’ blue line since 2010, when the team selected him with the 12th overall pick in a draft held in Southern California. Fowler immediately won an NHL job as an 18-year-old rookie, and he remained a dependable two-way contributor for the next decade and a half.
Though he made just one All-Star team for Anaheim and never became a leaguewide star, he steadily rose to become the most prolific defenseman in Ducks history. He also played a key role while Anaheim won five consecutive Pacific Division championships from 2013 to 2017 and reached two Western Conference finals.
Fowler is the Ducks’ franchise leader among defensemen in goals (96), assists (361) and games played (991).
Fowler had never been in the visitors’ dressing room at the arena still affectionately known as the Pond before Friday. He said finding the room from the familiar parking lot would be “super-weird.”
“Some nerves about the whole thing, but overall, I think it’s just going to be a fun experience for me,” Fowler said. “Get back to a place I spent a lot of years in, see all my friends. Being on the other side of it now and going back to Anaheim, I think there’s going to be a lot of emotions, so I think I’m just going to try and take it all in and handle it the best I can.”
The breakup happened after Fowler managed just four assists in Anaheim’s first 17 games this season. Fowler and Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek say they agreed that a fresh start would be best for Fowler, who still has another season left on the eight-year, $52 million deal he signed with Anaheim in 2017.
The Ducks traded Fowler and a fourth-round pick in 2027 for a second-round pick in 2027 and minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka.
Fowler’s production has increased for the Blues. He has seven goals and 19 assists in 33 games while playing more than 22 minutes per game.
Fowler rejects the idea he was motivated by the trade.
“I’ve had people ask me if it reinvigorated my career or my passion for the game,” Fowler said. “I’ve always been passionate about the game and I’ve always been energized to play the game, but sometimes you get to a certain point in your career as a player, and just for both sides it might make sense to find a situation that works better. So any time you come into a new environment, you want to make a great impression on the people that believed in you, so I was energized in that way.
“But it wasn’t like this whole eye-opening experience where I found my love for the game and everything again.”
Fowler’s departure opened playing time on the Ducks’ blue line, and the most prominent beneficiary of an increased role has been Jackson LaCombe. The former second-round pick is enjoying a breakout season, leading Anaheim’s defensemen with 11 goals and 22 assists.
Anaheim is stuck in a six-year playoff drought that won’t end this spring unless the Ducks amplify their recent surge. After winning nine of their past 14 games, the Ducks entered Friday night’s matchup with 61 points, seven shy of the second wild-card spot in the West.
The Blues are one of the teams in the Ducks’ way: With 66 points, St. Louis entered the day two points out of the second wild-card spot.
“I’m happy with the situation in St. Louis where we’re playing meaningful hockey and every game matters to us,” Fowler said. “Happy for those guys, too, that they’re having some success and playing good hockey as well. I think it’s going to be a great game. They’ve been playing really well, and so have we.”
