The Unofficial Anaheim Ducks Blog

2006-12-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

In this weeks episode we recap a wild week in hockey and discuss Scott Nichol's sucker punch of Jaroslav Spacek, we talk to our Penguins fan correspondent about Pittsburgh losing an owner, a potential arena and now threatening to move, Doug sounds off on Rory Fitzpatrick's chances of being an All-Star, we answer our question of the week and talk about the NHL's radical realignment plus a whole lot more.

2006-12-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

Puck Podcast - December 16, 2006

2006-12-17T10:08:00.001-08:00

In this week's episode we talk about the first meeting of the year between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, the Blues head coaching change, Jeremy Roenick walking out on his team, we check in with our Blues fan correspondent Darin Keener and Eddie tells some fans to have a seat plus a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - December 9, 2006

2006-12-10T01:38:00.000-08:00

In this week's episode we recap the entire week in the NHL plus we breakdown the rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals, Bobby Clarke's return to Philadelphia, we argue about Alexander Ovechkin's hit on Daniel Briere, discuss which NHL referee should not be allowed to work in the playoffs, we tell you what two rules should be taken out of the rule book immediately and a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - December 2, 2006

2006-12-03T02:39:00.000-08:00

In this weeks episode we talk about Chris Pronger's victorious return to Edmonton, the Blackhawks coaching change, we check in with our correspondent Ben Thompson on all the teams north of the border, we get you up to date on all the milestones, injuries and transactions of the past week and we talk about the shocking thing that Georges Laraque said just before a fight plus a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - November 25, 2006

2006-11-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

In this week's episode we talk about the past week in the NHL, Ken Hitchcock's new job and first game, the Islander surprising start, we talk with Tom Gulitti of the Bergen County Record about the New Jersey Devils and a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - November 18, 2006

2006-11-19T02:08:00.000-08:00

In this weeks episode we talk about the Blue Jackets firing Gerard Gallant and who we think should replace him, we name which GM we think should be fired, we talk to Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News about the Flyers season and we discuss what you can and cannot wear to an NHL game and what music should and should not be played while you are there, plus a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - November 11th, 2006

2006-11-12T02:05:00.000-08:00

In this week’s episode we talk about the Red Wings incredible week, the Penguins recent struggles, what trades we think should be made as soon as possible, what last place teams we think have the best chance of making the playoffs, the Flames wild adventure at the airport, the Flyers team unifying decision plus Doug has a suggestion for your All-Star ballot and a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - November 4th, 2006

2006-11-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

In this weeks episode we talk about Mick McGeough's horrible call that cost the Oilers at least one point, the Rangers successful road trip out west, Dave Nonis' complaints about free agency and the schedule, we talk with Penguins sideline reporter Dan Potash and Doug speaks Swedish - plus a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - October 28th, 2006

2006-10-29T01:29:00.000-08:00

In this weeks episode we talk about the Sabres record setting start to the season, the changes in Philadelphia, the Penguins decision of whether or not to send Jordan Staal back to juniors, we check in with our Sabres fan correspondent Justin Baumgardner and we discuss the beatdown that Darcy Tucker gave Patrick Eaves plus a whole lot more.

To e-mail us, write to: puckpodcast@aol.com

Puck Podcast - October 21st, 2006

2006-10-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

In this week's episode we talk about the hot starts for the Sabres, Sharks, Wild, Thrashers, Ducks and Stars and which team has impressed us the most so far. We also talk about the disaster that is the Philadelphia Flyers and why Derian Hatcher should be sent to the minors. We fess up to some things we got wrong in our preseason predictions, talk to Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Doug calls out Cuba Gooding, Jr. plus a whole lot more!

To e-mail us, write to: puckpodcast@aol.com

Puck Podcast - October 14th, 2006

2006-10-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

In this weeks episode we talk about the games of the week, Brendan Witt's run-in with Sean Avery - including some incredible quotes from Witt that you can only hear here - we discuss whether or not teams can win a Stanley Cup with two #1 goalies, we talk to Islanders beat writer Greg Logan about the wild offseason on the Island and we give our three stars of the week plus a whole lot more.

To e-mail us, write to: puckpodcast@aol.com

Puck Podcast - October 8th, 2006

2006-10-08T02:12:00.000-07:00

In this week's episode Eddie & Doug recap the first four days of the NHL season and discuss which players and teams surprised them, and disappointed them, as well as talk about Lou Lamiorello's amazing deals to get the Devils under the cap. They also name their three stars of the week and a whole lot more.

In this week's episode Eddie & Doug recap the first four days of the NHL season and discuss which players and teams surprised them, and disappointed them, as well as talk about Lou Lamiorello's amazing deals to get the Devils under the cap. They also name their three stars of the week and a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - October 1st, 2006

2006-10-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

In this week's episode we talk about the Hurricanes trading Jack Johnson to the Kings, the Blue Jackets shoddy treatment of Nikolai Zherdev, the Canadiens/Stars trade, Antero Niittymaki's amazing recovery plus we preview the Southeast Division and predict which teams will not only make the playoffs but reach the Stanley Cup Finals, plus a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - September 24th, 2006

2006-09-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

In this weeks episode we talk about the injuries to star players during the preseason, Ken Hitchcock's new contract, Tie Domi's retirement, the Penguins decision to go without a captain, we preview the Atlantic Division and much more.

Puck Podcast - September 17th, 2006

2006-09-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

In this week's episode we talk about Rick DiPietro's 15-year contract, Bobby Clarke's stunning offer to Ryan Kesler, the new rule changes in the NHL, we preview the Northeast Division, wrap up a busy week of signings throughout the league and a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - September 10th, 2006

2006-09-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

In this weeks episode we talk about Mike Keenan's departure from Florida, Peter Forsberg's return to the ice, Ryan Miller and Ilya Bryzgalov's new contracts, we preview the Central Division and much more.

Puck Podcast - September 2, 2006

2006-09-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

In this episode of the Puck Podcast we preview the Northwest Division, talk about JP Dumont signing with the Predators, discuss why the NHL's arbitration system needs to be fixed and which NHL players need to talk less and which need to talk more, plus a whole lot more.

If you have any questions or comments please send us an e-mail at puckpodcast@aol.com.

Puck Podcast - August 26th, 2006

2006-08-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

This week on the Puck Podcast we talk about the Bruins signing of Patrice Bergeron, Nikolai Zherdev's threat to play in Russia this season, whether or not Sidney Crosby should be the Penguins captain as well as preview the Pacific Division and a whole lot more.

Puck Podcast - August 19th, 2006

2006-08-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

In this episode we talk about the effect of Cory Stillman's injury on the Hurricanes, update Evgeni Malkin's status, Owen Nolan's comeback with the Coyotes and the positive and negative of the NHL's TV contracts - plus a whole lot more.

If you have any questions or comments, e-mail us at: puckpodcast@aol.com

There is NO adult language in this show!

Puck Podcast - August 12th, 2006

2006-08-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

This week we talk about Evgeni Malkin's stunning departure from his Russian team, the Sabres decision to release JP Dumont, Manny Legace signing with the Blues plus listener feedback and a whole lot more.

*NOTE - There is NO adult language in this episode.

If you have any questions or comments please send us an e-mail at puckpodcast@aol.com.

Puck Podcast - August 5th, 2006

2006-08-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

This week on the Puck Podcast we talk about Dominik Hasek signing with the Red Wings, Rick Tocchet's legal troubles, the Calder/Handzus trade, our top five free agent signings of the offseason and a whole lot more.

If you have any questions or comments for us, send us an e-mail at PuckPodcast@aol.com.

*Warning - Podcast contains adult language

PUCK PODCAST - 07/29/06

2006-07-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

This week on the Puck Podcast we talk about the arbitration awards given to Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez, Eddie Belfour signing with Florida, Sean Avery re-signing with the Kings, Sutter and Gainey stepping down as head coaches to be GM's and a whole lot more. It's the only podcast on the web that talks about the entire NHL, and only the NHL, every week.

*Warning - Podcast contains adult language

2006-07-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

The debut of my new Hockey Podcast - a venture I entered into with my good friend Eddie Garcia. We hope you enjoy it and come back often.

*Warning - podcast does have adult language.

Pronger trade a steal for Ducks - here's why

2006-07-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

First of all, I can't believe I have to write this column. The fact that knowledgeable hockey fans can look at the following trade:

Chris Pronger
for
Joffrey Lupul
Ladislav Smid
#1 pick in 2007
#2 pick in 2008
Conditional pick

...and come to the conclusion that the team getting a prospect, three picks and Lupul is the one that won the trade is beyond me.

There is an old saying that the team that gets the best player in a trade is the one that wins the trade. Well, the Ducks clearly got the best player in this trade. Granted, we have to see who the Oilers draft with those picks but the odds that any of those three players will be a Hall of Famer who wins a Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy and Olympic Gold Medal before the age of 30 are overwhelming small.

Consider, as well, the fact that the #1 pick in 2007 is almost certainly going to be pick #20 or later. Now, let's look back at the players taken at #20 or later in the first round of the draft between 2000 and 2004:

2000 NHL Entry Draft (picks 20-30)
Alexander Frolov
Anton Volchenkov
David Hale
Nathan Smith
Brad Boyes
Steve Ott
Brian Sutherby
Martin Samuelsson
Justin Williams
Niklas Kronwall
Jeff Taffe

2001 NHL Entry Draft (picks 20-30)
Marcel Goc
Colby Armstrong
Jiri Novotny
Tim Gleason
Lukas Krajicek
Alexander Perezhogin
Jason Bacashihua
Jeff Woywitka
Adrian Foster
Adam Munro
Dave Steckel

2002 NHL Entry Draft (picks 20-30)
Daniel Paille
Anton Babchuk
Sean Bergenheim
Ben Eager
Alexander Steen
Cam Ward
Martin Vagner
Mike Morris
Jonas Johansson
Hannu Toivenen
Jim Slater

2003 NHL Entry Draft (picks 20-30)
Brent Burns
Mark Stuart
Marc-Antoine Pouliot
Ryan Kesler
Mike Richards
Anthony Stewart
Brian Boyle
Jeff Tambellini
Corey Perry
Patrick Eaves
Shawn Belle

2004 NHL Entry Draft (picks 20-30)
Travis Zajac
Wojtek Wolski
Lukas Kaspar
Andrei Meszaros
Kris Chucko
Rob Schremp
Cory Schneider
Jeff Shultz
Mark Fistric
Mike Green
Andy Rogers

Why pick just 2000-2004? Well, I wanted to get a recent history but not too recent as it's not fair to expect guys drafted in 2005 to have already made a mark in the NHL. That being said, let's see what we have. Of these 55 players there are two that I would say are very good NHL players right now. Cam Ward and Justin Williams. That's it. Two players out of 55 are very good. Meanwhile, 29 of those 55 players have either not played in the NHL at all or have played fewer than 40 games in the NHL. That means that the Oilers, with one of those picks have just a 1.8% chance of drafting a very good player and a 52.7% chance of drafting a guy that will either not see the NHL at all or play fewer than 40 games 2-6 years after he was drafted.

Needless to say, the numbers do not favor Edmonton. The odds are even worse for that second round pick they received. As for Joffrey Lupul, he's a very good young player who is from Edmonton so he won't embarass the city by demanding a trade and pointing out the obvious - that it's a brutal place to live. Winters in Edmonton frequently see days that are below zero and cars have to be plugged in overnight to prevent the engine block from cracking due to the cold. Lupul is a good player, but he's not a future Hall of Famer most likely and I'd be stunned if he ever won a Hart Trophy.

Ladislav Smid is a tweener. He's not quite good enough offensively to be considered an offensive defenseman but he's not physical enough to be a physical defenseman. He's plays good defense and should be a solid #3 or #4 defenseman for years to come.

But that's it! Meanwhile the Ducks got a guy coming off an absolutely incredible playoff run. Chris Pronger was amazing in the playoffs this past year and he put up 21 points in 24 games for the Oilers. That's stunning from a defenseman. What's more, he shut down the opponents top line on a regular basis and he played enormous minutes. By playing nearly 30 minutes a night in the playoffs he made Edmonton's defense better. He was literally on the ice for half the game every night.

Now, with the Ducks, Pronger will most likely be on the second pairing of defensemen. Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin will be the top pairing, as they were last year, and Pronger can team up with either Sean O'Donnell or Vitali Vishnevski on the second pairing. That means that the Ducks will have a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman on the ice for 55 of the 60 minutes of every game. It also means that Pronger will be going against the opponents second line on a nightly basis. Think he might be able to shut down guys like Steven Reinprecht? Yeah, me too.

Last season the Ducks were the fifth best team in the NHL at even strength. With Pronger they are likely to be just as good if not better. And, the Ducks power play is flat-out frightening with Pronger and Niedermayer manning the points. Put Dustin Penner's big body in front of the net and watch the goals go in. The Ducks penalty kill should be outstanding as well. Even if one of them is in the box the Ducks will still have a Norris Trophy candidate manning the blueline.

There are folks that say Pronger has already complained about the trade - that he's not happy with being dealt to Anaheim and that he hates Teemu Selanne because of a cheap shot Selanne gave him in the 2002 Winter Olympics. To that I say - prove it. I haven't seen one quote from Pronger or his agent saying anything of that sort, but I have seen this from Chris Pronger:
"I'm excited to be a Duck. With (Coach) Randy Carlyle behind the bench and the players in the locker room, I'm definitely looking forward to an exciting four years." Pronger and Selanne have had their share of on-ice clashes over the years, but nothing that wasn't just part of the game. "That's what happens when you play against guys and battle in the trenches, you get those rivalries. Now you flip the switch and you're teammates." - OC Register, July 4, 2006
I've also seen this from Teemu Selanne:
"This is really special. I thought Adam Foote and Rob Blake (in Colorado) was incredible. Pronger and Niedermayer sounds unbelievable." - LA Times, July 3, 2006

If anyone can show me quotes from Pronger saying he's unhappy about the trade, please let me know by posting a comment below. Otherwise, cram it.

There are people (Al Stracharn) that think the Ducks would have been wiser to sign Zdeno Chara and keep their prospects/picks. Those people are wrong and here's why:

Chara is not anything close to Pronger. Chara has never won a Hart Trophy. Chara has never won a Norris Trophy. Chara has never dominated in the postseason. Chara has never been the captain of an NHL team and in fact has never even been an assistant captain of an NHL team. Chara has never won an Olympic Gold Medal. Chara, before he got to Ottawa, sucked ass. Chara was not the second overall selection in his draft year, and in fact was the 56th overall pick.

It is my opinion that Chara, if he were 6'3" and not 6'9", would be just another good defenseman. Yes, the Ducks could have signed him (though it would have been a slap in the face to give him over $1.5 million a year MORE than Niedermayer, who's won every trophy he's ever had a chance to win) but why? Chara thrived on an incredibly stacked Senators team - that doesn't mean he will thrive wherever he goes. In 45 career playoff games Chara has 14 points. Meanwhile, Pronger has 72 points in 109 career playoff games. In just this past postseason Pronger had 21 points in just 24 games.

So yes, the Ducks COULD have signed Chara, but so could the Oilers. They could have signed Chara and then dealt Pronger for beans and, according to some people, had just as good a defense - but now with beans! The fact is that Pronger is one of the three best defenseman in the league. Chara is not.

Again, I can't believe that I actually had to write this column and defend the Ducks acquisition of Chris Pronger - but, such is life when fans get jealous of a team that is actually doing all it can to win the Cup. Brian Burke has done nothing but weave gold since coming to Anaheim and now the team is a legitimate Cup contender entering the season for the first time ever. With Niedermayer and Pronger under contract for another three and four years respectively the Ducks have a three year window to win the Cup. Here's hoping they can do just that. As Brian Burke said: "I'd love to see Kevin (Lowe) collect on that (extra) pick." Amen.

Mighty Ducks 2005-2006 season review

2006-05-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, first off all my apologies for not updating this in over six months. Completely inexcusable and the only thing I can say is that I will do my best to never go more than a week between posts again.

Now, for my season review of the 2005-2006 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Going into the season we wondered if a top line of Sykora-Fedorov-Selanne would be able to provide enough offense to carry the team. Also, would Sandis Ozolinsh be the offensive force we all know he can be, or the defensive liability that we all know he can be? And how would Ruslan Salei and Keith Carney adjust to the new NHL?

As it turns out we couldn't care less what Fedorov, Sykora or Carney did. They were all traded during the season in separate moves and we would instead be wondering about players we had previously never heard much about. Was Francois Beauchemin ready for regular shifts in the NHL? Could Andy McDonald finally fulfill his offensive potential? Was Chris Kunitz for real and could he help ignite the offense? Did Todd Marchant have enough in the tank to help the Ducks depth? Is Joe DiPenta dependable enough for regular NHL shifts? How do you pronounce Zenon Konopka? Who is Dustin Penner and why was he not drafted by anyone?

Brian Burke has been the Mighty Ducks General Manager for less than a year but he's obviously done a lot in that time. Aside from trading the veteran players I mentioned earlier he's also traded Steve Rucchin & Mike Leclerc and waived Tyler Wright (who he got in the Fedorov trade). The team bares little resemblance to the team he had when he took over - and to me that's a good thing. The Ducks were a slow, unaggressive team with very little scoring ability. Now they are young, fast, aggressive, big and tons of scoring potential.

DEFENSEMAN

The biggest move was bringing in Scott Niedermayer as a free agent and clearly that was a home run. Scott is the best defenseman in the sport and brings a level of play to the Mighty Ducks blueline that its never had before. Having him for at least three more years is a blessing. In addition we have young defenseman in Beauchemin, DiPenta and Vitaly Vishnevski to go along with veterans Salei and Sean O'Donnell.

Beauchemin was a steal in the Fedorov trade. This is a guy that couldn't get on the ice in Columbus but who thrived in Anaheim on the top pairing with Niedermayer. He's big, skates well and has a cannon for a shot. DiPenta was a guy that played for new head coach Randy Carlyle in Manitoba last season and he was the epitomy of reliable. He very rarely made a mistake and seemed to always make the safe, smart play. His reliability allowed his partner, Vishnevski, to punish people with big hits in the neutral zone.

Salei took a long time to figure out the new rules in the NHL and I'm not sure he has them down even now. But, he's still making more good plays than bad and he can still hit. Sean O'Donnell, who came over at the trade deadline, is a cheaper and nastier version of Keith Carney. He hits well, plays smart and has a definite edge to his game.

FORWARDS

Once the top line of Kunitz-McDonald-Selanne was put together things started to click for Anaheim. Their speed and offensive creativity and ability put continuous pressure on the opposing defenses and led to career highs for McDonald and Kunitz as well as a rebirth for Selanne. Kunitz, who was waived after training camp by the Mighty Ducks and claimed by the Thrashers only to be waived again two weeks later and reclaimed by Anaheim, is a late blooming gem. I doubt we will see him placed on waivers again.

Scoring depth was a problem all year for the Ducks and so was finding consistent lines. When Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were in the NHL they were paired with tough guy Todd Fedoruk for a very solid line. Despite a line of two rookies and a goon the trio proved to not only provide offense but also played well on defense. They were the Ducks second best line most nights and the potential for Getzlaf and Perry is mouth-watering for Ducks fans.

The third line, most nights, was Marchant-Rob Niedermayer-Joffrey Lupul. These are three guys with speed, size and scoring touch. While they didn't contribute a lot of goals they did play the Ducks style to a tee. They forechecked aggresively, played well in the neutral zone and on defense and were great in the corners. Lupul has too much talent to stay on this line long but Niedermayer and Marchant are perfectly suited to continue doing what they are doing for years to come.

The fourth line was usually Jonathan Hedstrom-Samuel Pahlsson-???. This line got different partners throughout the year as Penner, Konopka, Travis Moen, Wright and others would take their turn on the shutdown line. Pahlsson was absolutely brilliant this season in face-offs and against the opposistions top player. Hedstrom had just enough of an offensive touch to keep teams honest but was also great on defense as well. Overall, this line was effective all year and did a great job on the penalty kill.

GOALTENDING

J.S. Giguere never looked brilliant but more often than not he looked good. He played well when the Ducks needed him to - after the Olympic break - and was vital to their success down the stretch. Rookie Ilya Bryzgalov played excellent hockey for a first-year goalie that couldn't even keep his starting job in Cincinnati last season. He also had a tremendous run in the playoffs that should prove to everyone he has what it takes to be a #1 goalie in the NHL.

COACHING

First year head coach Randy Carlyle, along with assistants Dave Farrish and Newell Brown, did a great job this season. With all the personnell changes they were able to integrate the new players seemlessly and instilled a strong work ethic throughout the team while also developing good camraderie. The players seemed to genuinely get along and were more than willing to stand up for one another on the ice. Captain Scott Niedermayer and assistant captains Teemu Selanne, Rob Niedermayer and Keith Carney deserve credit for this as well.

Overall this Mighty Ducks season has to be viewed as a huge success. Brian Burke was able to bring in his type of players as well as get valuable experience to young players while still winning a lot of games. The coaching staff was able to implement their style of play and the players all thrived. I can't think of a single player that played poorly this season - at least not for an extended period of time. Everyone had a bad game or two at some point, but not one player on the team at the end of the season was hurting the team. All of them were making positive contributions on a nightly basis and giving 100% effort.

The final season of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (the team is changing its name to the Anaheim Ducks on June 21st) was one to be proud of. While they ended up losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals they still made it farther than 99% of people thought they would and they have so many players that are either in their first or second seasons (Lupul, Getzlaf, Perry, Bryzgalov, Kunitz, DiPenta, Beauchemin, Konopka & Penner) that you can't help but be optimistic about the future. But, the future is for another post. Thanks for reading and I hope you visit my blog again soon. If you have a comment, or just want to say that you were here so that I know someone read this, please post it below.

SacredCow

Bryzgalov playing Giguere out of a job?

2005-11-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

I think that J.S. Giguere is feeling a lot better today than he did yesterday morning. I'm guessing that, come Wednesday, Giguere will tell the team that he's ready to play even if he's not 100%. Why do I think this? Two words: Ilya Bryzgalov.

Right now, Bryzgalov is taking Giguere's job away from him. Ilya has been fantastic in net for the Mighty Ducks in Giguere's absence, and with Brian Burke looking to shed payroll and increase flexibility/options under the cap I could easily see Giguere being traded to the first team that wants him. Take a look at the following stats and tell me which are Giguere's and which are Bryzgalov's:

Player #1) 15 games played - six wins, seven losses, 2.49 GAA & .915 sv %
Player #2) 14 games played - four wins, eight losses, 2.62 GAA & .913 sv %

If you said that Giguere is player #1 and Bryzgalov is player #2, you're correct! Now, while the numbers favor Giguere across the board, consider this. If Bryzgalov is to play on Wednesday, and he wins the game allowing two goals or less in the process, than he and Giguere will both have played 15 games and allowed 33 goals. Giguere will have played for about 30 minutes more than Brygalov on the season, but for the most part their ice time will be even.

Now consider these numbers:

Giguere - $3.990 million this season
Bryzgalov - $456,000 this season

Now, if you're Brian Burke and you have two goalies playing almost identically for you, but one makes $3.5 million LESS than the other one, which one would you keep?

This is not to say that I WANT Giguere to be traded, not at all. However, I will not be surprised if he is. If the Ducks can save another $3.5 million to spend on offense, which they desperately need, then I say do it. Bryzgalov is proving that he's ready to be a #1 goalie and since this is a season that is being used to build for the future, why not let him start as many games as possible by trading Giguere for the best players you can get?

I think one thing is for sure...Giguere knows that he is not safe with Burke callling the shots and he will be champing at the bit to get back on the ice and secure his job. Giguere has played very well this season, as has Bryzgalov, but he has to prove that he's the clear cut #1 goalie or else he could be calling some other city home before the end of the season.

Fedorov traded to Blue Jackets for scrubs - why that's good!

2005-11-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim traded Sergei Fedorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. The Ducks also sent Columbus a fifth round draft pick in the 2006 NHL draft.

The immediate reaction to this trade is - "What the hell? Why would they do that? Are you sure this wasn't a trade for FEDOR Fedorov?" But then, you look at it and it begins to make sense. Here's why.

The Ducks are not doing very well right now. They are in last place in the Pacific Division and they are having a hard time scoring goals. In addition, the team was at $38.1 million of salary with extremely little room to operate under the salary cap. If/when a major injury occured, the Ducks would have very little chance to make a move to fill the void.

At the same time, Sergei is about to turn 36, makes $6.08 million this season, and in 2006-07, and in 2007-08. Right now, he's not worth the money he's making. In two years...he'll REALLY be overpaid. Plus, having a guy make that kind of money in the new salary-cap NHL prohibits you from making other moves. With Scott Niedermayer also making over $6 million, and with Giguere making $4 million...you just can't have $16 million of your $39 million invested in three players and expect to have any depth. Plus, those three players had better carry your team on their backs to a LOT of wins, and that wasn't happening.

By making this trade, Ducks GM Brian Burke has given himself options. Not only for this season, but for next season and the season after that. He got back about $1.5 million in salary in Wright and Beauchemin, and those guys are under contract through next season. That gives Burke about $4.5 million to play with this season, another $4.5 million to play with next season and a full $6 million to play with in 2007-08! What he does with that money will be the key.

Let's look at what he could do with that money. First of all, let's take a look at the players on the Ducks right now that, if you add their salaries together, are making less than what Sergei made by himself. Jonathan Hedstrom, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Joffrey Lupul, Teemu Selanne, Andy McDonald, Todd Fedoruk, Travis Moen and Jason Marshall. Those nine players combine to make $5.98 million this year and have already produced 33 goals and 38 assists. Also, unlike Fedorov who can suffer one injury and leave the Ducks with $6 million in the press box, those players provide valuable depth.

Now, Burke can add two, three or even four players to the team with the money that he would have been giving to Fedorov. And, to be honest, Fedorov was not one of the best players in the league anymore. He is still a good player, but he's not the kind of guy that can take over a game and for $6 million that's what we would be looking for.

I have confidence that Burke will use that money wisely and that he will use it soon. Here is what he had to say about his plans for the money he saved and when he plans on using it:
"(This trade) gives us cap room to add a player. Whether we do that immediately, or reinvest that later in the season, it gives us cap room going out beyond the end of the season and as far as moves in the offseason."
"We intend to re-invest this money too. The Samuelis have been clear on that. We intend to spend at our near the cap, plus an adequate reserve for injuries, so we intend to reinvest this money as well. This isn’t about saving money, it’s about spending it elsewhere, or spending it in a different direction."
"I think when you’re reshaping a team and making a major move, I think if you can do more than one thing quickly, it’s better. If you’re trying to bring new people in, bring in three or four or five new guys in a seven to ten day period is preferable than bringing them in over a sixty day period."

Taking those comments into consideration, I would expect more moves to be made within the next two weeks and, unlike this deal, I would expect the Mighty Ducks to be adding salary and talent instead of losing it. We'll see what happens. I will give you a final verdict on this trade once we see how Burke spends the $4.5 million. For now, though, I like it and I like the options we have to improve the team.

Say this for Brian Burke, he's a stand-up kind of guy. He's going to be taking questions from the fans on MightyDucks.com at 2pm PT today to answer their concerns about the trade and the team. It's a rough day to be GM, but he's not interested in being popular, just in being successful.

Round 1 - Mighty Ducks vs. Queens - Set to begin!

2005-10-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since I've been able to say this, but ladies and gentlemen we are finally on the verge of the greatest rivalry in the history of Southern California professional sports. Yes, on Tuesday, October 25th, 2005, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim will take the ice to take on the Los Angeles Queens in a regular season game.

I am looking forward to this more a fat man looks forward to an all-you-can-eat buffet! I will try to contain myself for now and give you my completely biased preview of the game.

The Queens are off to a great start, unfortunately, though they have taken leads of 4-0 and 2-0 and turned them in to regulation losses, so even if the Mighty Ducks somehow get behind early in this game it is no reason to panic. I think Jeremy Roenick has been injured since opening night, only playing in one game since. No word on what his injury is, other than being embarassed to wear glitter in an NHL game. Some Queens fans have contacted me to tell me that he has in fact played every game this season, but that can't be. He'd have more than just one point since opening night. I mean, after all, this guy make $5 million a year! There's no way a guy making that much money, and with a mouth that big, could actually have just one point in eight games. Surely he's been out injured.

Andy Murray, who is still trying to clear his throat, will stick with his goalie rotation and start Jason LaBarbera whether he deserves it or not. He has played very well so far this season, but he's not a good goalie at all and as long as the Ducks can get some shots up on him they will torch him for an easy win. He's also played some bad teams. Beating Phoenix and Columbus is nothing to brag about, beating an Edmonton team on the second night of back-to-back road games is nothing huge and beating Dallas looks easier every day. He's also never faced more than 30 shots in a game. If the Ducks can show him more rubber than a free hooker, they'll win easy.

Sean Avery will probably play in this game, and chances are very good he'll throw some cheap shots and run his mouth. Fine. Right now he's that kid that teases the dog on the leash just out of the dog's reach. Eventually, the leash will snap and the dog will kill him. I hope to be watching the night that happens. I've said too much about that no-talent piece of shit already and until he actually grows some balls and decides to drop the gloves with ANYONE, I will refuse to discuss him any further.

I'm told that Luc Robitaille is still on the Queens, but again, that can't be right. The dude has to be in his 40's by now and he wasn't exactly torching the league under the old rules. If he is in the line-up, great, it's one less player we have to worry about stopping.

Pavol Demitra is on the Queens now. Too bad he didn't bring any talent with him from St. Louis. I've watched the Queens play and it's hilarious watching Demitra with the puck looking for someone to pass to. You can almost hear his thoughts, "Corvo...no. Norstrom...no. Conroy...no. Robitaille...LUC Robitaille? Really? No. Good God, where's the talent on this team? Holy shit! I'M the talent on this team!"

The Queens have a young kid named Dustin Brown that likes to hit hard. He also likes to take dumb penalties, so count on at least one big hit and at least one dumb penalty from him tomorrow night.

Finally, there's Michael Cammalleri. He lit up the AHL last year and for some reason the Queens fans still call him a young prospect. Dude has played almost 70 games in the NHL now, he's not a prospect. Corey Perry is a prospect, Cammalleri is a younger version of Andy McDonald.

Before I leave you, a few predictions:
1. Queens fans will be foaming at the mouth before, during and especially after this game.
2. Kostopolous, Avery & Brown will all take at least one penalty that comes as a result of being over-aggressive.
3. Avery will start a fight by either hitting someone late, hitting someone illegally or by making racist comments. He will then refuse to fight and Queens fans will applaud him. This is less of a prediction and more of a guarantee.
4. George Parros and Kip Brennan will get into a fight.
5. Joffrey Lupul will be the best player on the ice for either team.
6. The Mighty Ducks will win 4-3.

Folks, enjoy the game and remember that no matter what happens, we've got seven more of these still to come this season!

SacredCow

Ducks singing the Blues in St. Louis

2005-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

The Anaheim Ducks (I refuse to call them 'Mighty' until they start playing like it) lost their second straight road game and third of their last four games when they were beaten 3-2 by the St. Louis Blues last night at the Savvis Center.

The Blues, who stink, had only one win on the year coming into the game and were without Keith Tkachunk. The Ducks were without Sergei Fedorov, who is still nursing a groin injury, and Jason Marshall who is still out with a broken nose. Anaheim did get Sandis Ozolinsh back and he immediately paid dividends by scoring his first goal of the year in the first period to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. The Ducks started strong in this game with a good effort, lots of speed and dominated the play through the first 20 minutes. They killed all three penalties but also went 0-2 on the power play. Anaheim outshot St. Louis 12-9 in the first period.

The Ducks started the second period with the lead and on a power play, but did nothing. As has been their problem this season they came out flat in the second and the Blues started to get the momentum. That momentum was turned into a goal when the Blues scored a power play goal to even the score 1-1. Then, the Ducks got some very bad news as starting goalie J.S. Giguere was forced to leave the game with a groin injury. Ilya Bryzgalov replaced him and held the line to keep it tied after two periods. St. Louis outshot Anaheim 15-8 in the second period.

The third was more of the same as St. Louis got the most scoring chances early on. The Blues took the lead with another power play goal as the Ducks penalty kill continued to stink worse than an overflowing outhouse. It seemed to be a bit of a wake-up call for the Ducks as they finally started playing hard. They got a few power play opportunities and promptly did nothing with them. Then, with 2:56 left in the game they got another power play. This time Randy Carlyle pulled Bryzgalov to give the Ducks a 6-on-4 advantage and that's what it took to score as Teemu Selanne slammed home a rebound of a Rob Niedermayer wrist shot to tie the game at 2-2 with just 1:18 left. It appeared that the Ducks were going to get at least a point and then take their chances in overtime.

But, the Ducks decided to stop playing and promptly gave up a Blues goal. Eric Brewer scored just 19 seconds after Selanne to give the Blues a 3-2 lead with less than a minute to play, and that's how it would end.

The Ducks gave a much better effort than they did in Minnesota on Sunday, but it still was not enough. The "special" teams are awful for Anaheim. They are the same kind of special as the Special Olympics. The power play flat out sucks and the penalty kill is not much better. The Ducks are fine at even strength, but until they improve both of their special teams units they will continue to struggle. They've lost two in a row and are heading into Detroit tomorrow night where they will most likely get their asses kicked. No Fedorov, no Giguere, no penalty kill and no power play = no chance against Detroit.

The Ducks have already called up Michael Wall to serve as a back-up goalie as Giguere will have to miss some time with his groin injury. This is what is called piss-poor news for the Ducks. I am not a big believer in Bryzgalov as he was not even able to keep his starting job in Cincinnati last year. But, he's the starter for now until Giguere heals.

Six games down, 76 to go. If things don't get better soon, it could be a LONG 76 games.

Thanks for reading it, and if you have any comments just click on the button below.

Ducks Drop Superlatives - Lay Egg in St. Paul

2005-10-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim dropped all superlatives from their game against the Wild on Sunday with a 4-1 loss that wasn't as close as the score would indicate. By dropping superlatives, I mean that instead of the Mighty Ducks they were the Ducks. Instead of the power play, they went on the play. Their special teams could better be described as crap. Yep, the team completely laid an egg in this one, and thus the picture you see below - which is actually Randy Carlyle dropping said egg sometime during the first period.

There was very, very little to be happy with in this game if you are a Fowl Fan. The only Mighty Ducks player that played well was Ilya Bryzgalov, but unfortunately he didn't start and was only brought in once the game was already 4-0.

In the first two periods the Ducks had nothing going. They looked like crap and made the Wild look like the greatest defensive team to ever put on skates. Anaheim had no speed, created no offense and did nothing on defense except pass to no-one and take bad penalties.

The Ducks, who entered the game with one of the worst penalty killing units in the league, promptly gave the Wild two power plays. Minnesota, who has one of the best power plays in the league, took advantage and scored on both of them. The Ducks got a power play and used the infamous "dump-and-don't-chase" style that Anaheim fans know and love from the Pierre Page days. Through the first two periods the Ducks had a whopping 12 shots on goal, none of which were remotely good. An ECHL goalie would have had a shutout going into the third, much less Manny Fernandez.

Usually the Ducks start out great and then fade. Tonight, it was the exact opposite. They started out horrible and then, once the Wild had a 4-0 lead in the third, they played pretty well. Bruno St. Jacques got a goal in his first game with the Ducks to keep them from getting a shutout, but for the most part this game was a horrible, horrible effort from the Mighty Ducks.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you have any comments, even if it's just to say that you read it, I'd love to hear from you. Just click on the "comments" button below and to the right.

Ducks lose to Predators in shootout

2005-10-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

After what seemed like a week off, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim finally returned to the ice tonight when they lost 3-2 to the Nashville Predators in a shootout.

The line-up was exactly the same as on opening night as Dustin Penner was a healthy scratch and Jonathan Hedstrom was still out of the lineup with a sore groin. J.S. Giguere got the start in net.

The Ducks scored first when Samuel Pahlsson scored his first goal of the season off an assist from rookie Corey Perry. Perry now has points in each of his first two NHL games and is playing very well for a 20-year old. The first period was dominated by the Mighty Ducks but ended just 1-0 in favor of Anaheim.

In the second period, the Predators took control and tied the game when Yanic Perreault scored on the power play. Like the first period, the play was dominated by Nashville but they only managed one goal and the game was tied heading into the third.

Early on in the third Perreault scored again to give Nashville their first lead. That seemed to wake the Ducks up as they played very well from then on and created a lot of scoring chances. Eventually, Petr Sykora lit the lamp for his first goal of the year and the game headed to overtime tied at 2-2.

Thanks to matching penalties, the overtime started with some 3-on-3. The Ducks were gassed, though, and created very few scoring opportunities. They did a good job of keeping the Predators from scoring so we went to the shootout.

The first to shoot for the Ducks was Sergei Fedorov. He had nothing left in the tank and looked like he was going in slow motion as he approached Thomas Vokoun. His shot was stopped and it was Steve Sullivan's turn to shoot for Nashville. He tried to beat Giguere to the goalie's right but Giggy was able to stop him.

Next up was Teemu Selanne, who flew in on net and tried to go five-hole. Vokoun made the save. Marek Zidlicky was next for the Predators and he either shot wide or Giguere got it with his glove. Still no goals with just one shooter left for each team.

Andy McDonald was the surprise pick for the third Ducks shooter and he made a great move to his backhand but Vokoun was able to get just enough of it with his stick to force it wide. I say that McDonald was a surprise pick because Sykora was flying in the third period and had a shot that rang off the post in addition to his goal. I would have gone with the hot hand, but Ducks coach Randy Carlyle went with Mighty Mac.

The Predators last shooter was none other than Paul Kariya and he buried a gorgeous shot in the top of the net, beating Giguere high glove side for the win. It was vintage Kariya to wait for the goalie to drop just a little bit before firing a laser past him. Great goal, and a win for the Predators.

The Ducks still earned a point for the loss, though, and that is enough to move them into first place all by themselves in the Pacific Division. They started the season with two road games against Conference foes and came home with three of the possible four points. If they can go .500 on the road this year, I think they'll have a great chance of winning the Division.

A few other thoughts on the game tonight. I have to say again that Ryan Getzlaf is not ready for the NHL. He's not comfortable on the ice and is still timid. I'd rather see him in Portland getting top line minutes and gaining confidence, and I'm not sure what Brian Burke sees in his game that makes him keep him in the NHL. Why not dress Dustin Penner, especially since you're playing Getzlaf on the fourth line? Once Hedstrom is healed and ready to play I expect to see him dressed and Getzlaf either scratched or sent down.

The chemistry on this Ducks team, from the outside looking in, appears to be fantastic. I'm not talking about the play on the ice, either. I'm talking about the guys playing hard for each other, sticking up for each other and enjoying each other's company. I've seen many players smiling, laughing and joking around with each other both in practices and on the bench during games, and I don't remember seeing that in the past. Also, in tonight's game I saw something that I either haven't ever seen, or haven't seen in a long time...Teemu Selanne got pissed off.

It was late in the third and Petr Sykora crashed the net. Vokoun covered the puck and here came Danny Markov to cross-check him from behind. Selanne saw the whole thing and lost his mind trying to get at Markov to even the score. A scrum ensued, one which saw Scott Niedermayer manhandle Kariya, and order was restored. Seeing that, though, made me realize how willing this team is to defend each other. I can see Fedoruk, Moen or Brennan doing that, but to see Selanne do it told me that everyone on this team, not just the goons, has every other players back. That's good to see and I think it will help this team win a lot of games.

I thought Giguere played well, again, and he gave the Ducks a chance to win. At the end of the day, that's all you want out of your goalie. Hopefully he can steal a few wins during the course of the year, but if he can just keep the team in the game and give them a chance to win, I will be very pleased with him.

Finally, the style of play is great to see. The Ducks go hard after the puck and throw a lot of checks. Vitali Vishnevski is becoming a physical presence on the ice, which is what we've all been hoping for for years. He laid out Martin Erat in the neutral zone tonight and had a few other very solid checks. The Ducks are fun to watch, and not just because they are my favorite team but also because of the way they play the game.

Two down, 80 to go. The Mighty Ducks are in first place and things are good! Thanks for reading, and any comments you've had, even if it's just a note to let me know you read it, would be appreciated. Just click on the comment button below.

Ducks win season opener 5-3 over Blackhawks!

2005-10-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Last night was opening night in the NHL with all 30 teams playing, but the only game we care about here on the Unofficial Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Blog is the Mighty Ducks/Blackhawks.

First off, the healthy scratches were Dustin Penner and Jonathan Hedstrom. J.S. Giguere got the start in net against Nikolai Khabibulin. The Hawks scored first at 8:22 of the first when Mark Bell put in a rebound from right in front of the crease. 1-0 Chicago.

However, the Ducks then got a two-man advantage and made good use of it as Teemu Selanne scored his first goal of the season with just one second left in the two-man power play. Petr Sykora and Corey Perry got the assists, and for Perry it was his first ever NHL point. The goal wasn't the prettiest one Teemu has ever scored, as it went off his pants, then a Blackhawks defender before finding the back of the net. But, they all count the same and the score was tied 1-1.

With 2:30 left in the first, the Blackhawks were on a power play. That's when Joffrey Lupul jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone and raced in on net. His shot went five-hole on Khabibulin and barely trickled past the goal line for a shorthanded goal that gave the Ducks their first lead. Again, not pretty - but they all count the same. 2-1 Ducks at the first intermission.

The second period saw more of Lupul's talent as he beat two Blackhawks defenders along the left-wing before cutting back to the slot and beating Khabibulin, again through the five-hole, for his second goal of the night. This was the first pretty goal the Ducks had scored, but they all count the same! Kip Brennan and Keith Carney picked up the assists and it was 3-1 Ducks!

Chicago would answer with a goal by Curtis Brown to make it 3-2. Less than a minute later, though, with Anaheim on a power play, Scott Niedermayer re-directed a Sergei Fedorov slapshot past Khabibulin to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead. Andy McDonald also assisted on the goal.

Again, Chicago would answer. This time it was Rene Bourque who scored his first NHL goal with just under four minutes to play in the second and it was 4-3 at the second intermission.

With the Ducks shorthanded early in the third, they struck again. Andy McDonald led a rush up the left wing before throwing a shot on net. The rebound went towards the right face-off circle where Rob Niedermayer somehow backhanded a one-timer top shelf for his first goal of the year and the Ducks second shorthanded goal of the night. The defense, from that point on, played great and Giguere was fantastic as Anaheim held on for a 5-3 win!

A few of my thoughts on this game. First of all, the team looked great. Joffrey Lupul looks very determined to be a star player in this league and to never play in the AHL again. Everyone was flying early on thanks to the adrenaline of opening night, but the Ducks pressure was obvious throughout the night. There were a lot of good scoring chances, for both teams, throughout the night.

Scott Niedermayer flat out kicks ass. This guy is so smooth and so skilled it's unreal. He's by far the best defenseman the Ducks have ever had and it will be a pleasure to watch this guy play in Anaheim for the next four years.

Corey Perry looked very nervous, and understandably so, but he also looked good. He had many scoring chances and as the year goes on he'll get his. I still think that Ryan Getzlaf could use some time in Portland to get more comfortable, but he wasn't a liability either.

Ruslan Salei is going to hav to work on his conditioning. He was gassed late in the game and took some dumb penalties as a result of being out of position or unable to keep up with opposing forwards.

Todd Fedoruk introduced himself to former Duck Todd Simpson in the second, and the two fought to a draw. It's great to have him, Kip Brennan and Travis Moen all dressed in the same game as you know the Ducks will not ever be physically intimidated when they are present. Speaking of Brennan, he had an assist and did a great job on the forecheck. He could be a great player for the Ducks if he continues to play like that.

Giguere looked fine. He looked like he got hurt late in the third, and I haven't heard more about that yet, but he finished the game and earned his first of what we all hope are many wins this season.

The new style that Randy Carlyle and Brian Burke have the Ducks playing is a lot of fun to watch. They were very aggressive in going after the puck and threw a lot of checks. It was opening night, so we'll see if they can keep that up for a full season. If so, we should be very entertained.

One game down - 81 to play. So far, so good. Any day that the Mighty Ducks win is a good day. If the Queens also lose that day, it's a great day. If the Angels win a playoff game the same day, it's a fantastic day! Yesterday was a fantastic day!

Time to Rant N' Roll!

2005-09-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Folks, it's been too long since I've really ranted and gotten a lot off of my chest. Well, now's the time because there's something that's been bugging me and I can't take it any longer! What is the source of my frustration? DucksTV.

About seven weeks ago I clicked onto the Mighty Ducks official website to see that there was a new thing call "MDTV". It had an introduction video and everything! It claimed it was going to be my all-access pass to the team, the front office and everything else Mighty Ducks. They were going to take us into the locker-room for interviews, show us video from practice and give us behind the scenes access that we couldn't get anywhere else! When I saw this, I was fired up! I couldn't wait for training camp to begin so that I could get my fix of Mighty Ducks information straight from the source!

Well, foolish me for believing them. Since that video was posted on the front page of the site back on August 7th, they have done nothing. Well, that's not entirely true. They have changed the name from "MDTV" to "DucksTV" and then proceeded to pull the introduction video off entirely. Luckily, they replaced it with NOTHING.

How hard can this really be? This is an organization with a new billionaire owner and a new GM that is very hands-on and community oriented. Yet, they've completely dropped the ball on this.

Now, if I were in charge of this thing (and I presented this exact idea to the Mighty Ducks about three years ago) here's how it would go. First of all, we would had an update the first day of training camp. We would have shown video from camp, interviewed guys like Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne about being with the Ducks, interviewed Randy Carlyle about his first day of practice as an NHL coach and interviewed guys like Ladislav Smid and Corey Perry about their first day at an NHL training camp. We also would have had video from the scrimmage. I would have similiar updates every day of training camp with the latest news on injuries (how about an update on Jason Marshall's condition or an interview with him to see how he's feeling?) and roster moves (who's going to be the left wing on the top line, who's being sent down, etc.).

On game days I'd stay late to post a report after the game. If they only wanted to do it after home games, that's fine. But it would be posted that night! Interviews with the players, soundbytes from the press conferences, highlights of the game and analysis of the game, the season and the team! How hard would that be? Plus, if fans knew that something like that would be posted after EVERY home game, they would log onto the site to check it out because NOBODY else would have that kind of coverage!

I am really very disappointed with the way the Mighty Ducks have handled this. Training camp has been going on for 10 days and we haven't gotten a single report. The Ducks have played two preseason games and we haven't gotten a single report. Obviously they are not taking this seriously, and that's a shame because it has the potential to really kick ass if it's done right. Hell, if it's done at all!

SHARKS vs. MIGHTY DUCKS recap

I was lucky enough to be at the Mighty Ducks first home preseason game against the San Jose Sharks last night, and here's what I thought:

Before the preseason began I was concerned with the Mighty Ducks lack of offense. Sergei Fedorov, Teemu Selanne and Petr Sykora are the only pure goal scorers on the entire roster, and I was concerned that would not be enough. The first two preseason games have done nothing but add to that concern.

On Tuesday night, the Queens scored three goals in 51 seconds against the Coyotes. So far in two games, the Mighty Ducks have scored three goals in 125 minutes. Those goals have come from Jason Marshall (PP), Corey Perry and Todd Fedoruk. That's not a good sign, folks. For a team that is supposedly going to play up-tempo, fast-paced, aggressive hockey, you can't rely on your sixth defenseman, a rookie that will start the year in Portland and your goon to provide the offense. Yeah, it's just the preseason, but with opening night just 13 days away it would be nice to see the offense start clicking.

The defense looks pretty good with the exception of Sandis Ozolinsh. He's never been a great defenseman, and last night was a joke. He chased Dimitrakos around the Ducks zone for about 10 seconds, never catching him mind you, before the Shark wristed a shot past Giguere to tie the score. Cut the man off! Earlier, he couldn't hold the puck in the offensive zone and turned it over. A Shark picked it up and would have had a breakaway had Sandis not hooked him and been called for a penalty. We went from having the puck in their zone to being shorthanded because he couldn't handle a pass. Not good.

On the positive side of things, I like the way Todd Fedoruk, Andy McDonald, Samuel Pahlsson and Scott Niedermayer looked. Scott is the smallest good defenseman I've ever seen. He looks like a normal guy out there, but his skating and stickhandling abilities are awesome! He had a pass to Corey Perry in third to set-up a great scoring chance and the pass was incredible. I think we are all going to like having him around.

I noticed the Mighty Ducks got thrown out of the face-off circle a lot last night. Funny, I don't remember Steve Rucchin getting tossed out very often. In fact, I think he was among the league leaders in winning face-offs every single year. Good thing we got rid of him! By the way, where the hell is the guy we got for him? Trevor Gillies...did he ever even show up? I haven't heard a damn thing about that guy.

I like having Kip Brennan and Todd Fedoruk on the active roster, it lets you know that the other team will not be able to take liberties with our star players without paying a price. Plus, Fedoruk is a pretty good power forward and should replace Mike Leclerc easily.

For all of you out there that were worried about J.S. Giguere adjusting to the new goalie pads...relax. Giggy looked AWESOME last night and made many great saves. His positioning is the key to his success, not the size of his pads. Last night he was reading the plays very well and was in great position nearly every time. He bailed out the defense a few times with spectacular saves and played very, very well. If he can do that all year, we'll be fine.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and I hope you check back soon for more of my thoughts on the Mighty Ducks. If you do read this, please let me know by posting a message at the end of this thread. It doesn't have to be much, just something to let me know you were here and that you read it. Thanks in advance, and GO MIGHTY DUCKS!

Ducks lose to Queens 4-2 in preseason opener

2005-09-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim lost to the Los Angeles Queens on Saturday night 4-2 in the preseason opener for both teams. The Ducks line-up featured many regulars and new faces as Sergei Fedorov, Teemu Selanne, Sandis Ozolinsh, Joffrey Lupul, Rob Niedermayer, Ruslan Salei and Jason Marshall all suited up. Not in action were Scott Niedermayer, Keith Carney, J.S. Giguere, Petr Sykora and Samuel Pahlsson.

The Ducks scored first when Jason Marshall scored a power play goal. The Ducks were on the power play a lot in the first period as the Queens were very aggresive and made a lot of dumb plays as a result. 1-0 Anaheim and things looked good.

Soon afterwards, though, Ken Belanger challenged Jason Marshall to a fight. Marshall looked reluctant but finally dropped the gloves. Before they had hit the ice, Belanger had attacked and knocked Marshall to the ice. Marshall didn't get up and the Queens fans, being classy as always, cheered like mad. Belanger was ejected from the game and the Mighty Ducks were given a nine minute power play. When Marshall did get up he was dripping blood from his face and appeared woozy. He left the ice and did not return. Reports say he got four stitches under his right eye.

Before Belanger left the ice, he pulled another classy move and skated past the Ducks bench to taunt them. Todd Fedoruk did everything but leap over the boards and send him to the IR and it was clear that he takes his job as bodyguard VERY seriously. I look forward to him keeping the peace on the ice often this season, and I can see why Burke and Carlyle have him on the same line as Fedorov and Selanne.

Just after the nine minute power play had expired the Ducks scored again, this time on a gorgeous move by rookie Corey Perry. The Ducks were up 2-0 and both goals came against the Queens #1 goalie Mathieu Garon.

It was 2-0 after the first period and the second was the exact opposite of the first. Now it was the Ducks that made a litany of dumb plays that landed them in the penalty box and the Queens capitalized. They took a3-2 lead into the second intermission.

In the third we finally got some 5-on-5 time, but the Ducks were unable to score. Ilya Bryzgalov went far to the right of his net to play the puck off the glass but the Queens got the puck and Craig Conroy scored an empty net goal to cement the win. The final was 4-2.

Despite the fact that the game was over, they still had a shootout. The Queens won that 3-2.

Overall, it was a very entertaining game. Kip Brennan is a skilled fighter who is very entertaining. Jonathan Hedstrom looks very good on the penalty kill as he skates very hard and forechecks extremely well. Rob Niedermayer's passing looks great, and Vitaly Vishnevski looks to be playing with a little bit more of an edge as well.

Most of the penalties, and there were 38 total, were by guys that will start the season in Portland. Zenon Konopka, Shane O'Brien, Ryan Getzlaf, Mikkelson...these are the guys that were penalized. Ruslan Salei, Sandis Ozolinsh, Vitali Vishnevski, Fedorov, Selanne, Rob Niedermayer...I don't remember any penalties called against them though I have not checked the box score to confirm that.

The Ducks are playing more up-tempo and aggressively on offense, now to see if that style translates into wins.

Ducks to name captain soon!

2005-09-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Based on some inside information, I know that the Mighty Ducks are expected to announce who their captain will be in the next few days. It's apparently down to two guys...Scott Niedermayer and Keith Carney. Being that Scott Niedermayer has won just about every championship a player can win, as well as individual honors, and has a four-year contract, I would expect him to be wearing the C on his chest come opening night.
Personally, I prefer a more intense captain, one that will let players know when they are not doing enough. But, there is something to be said for a guy that leads by example and who speaks only when it's needed. Steve Yzerman is that type of guy, and he has led the Red Wings to many championships and a ton of success.
I think either Carney or S. Niedermayer would be a fine captain, and I'm glad that it will be announced soon so that whoever it is can start establishing their role as team leader in training camp.

Ducks sign Scott Niedermayer - Burke is once again a genius!

2005-08-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I was worried for a while, but as it turns out Brian Burke knew what he was doing all along. I never should have doubted him, in hindsight.

Burke went out and got the best defenseman available by signing Scott Niedermayer to a four year deal for $27 million. He also re-signed Rob Niedermayer for four-years, $8 million.

This is obviously a great signing for the Mighty Ducks. S. Niedermayer is the defending Norris Trophy winner and is arguably the best defenseman in the game today. His signing gives the Mighty Ducks incredible depth on the blueline. Carney and S. Niedermayer are the top pair, Salei and Ozolinsh are the second pair and, to hear Randy Carlyle tell it, that may be all he needs! However, if he wants to trot another pair onto the ice he has Vitaly Vishnevski and either Marc Popovic and/or Ladislav Smid. In my mind, that's the best group of defenseman in the NHL.

Now, the question becomes who will score for the Mighty Ducks? Sergei Fedorov is solid, of course, as the #1 center. Petr Sykora is a fine choice as the #1 right wing. However, who will play the left wing on the top line? Right now, it's either Joffrey Lupul, Mike Leclerc or Rob Niedermayer. Of those three, only Mike Leclerc is a natural left wing, but he doesn't have the natural scoring touch that Lupul does. R. Niedermayer is even less skilled when it comes to scoring, but he's the fastest and the best in the corners/forechecking. Lupul is the star in the making, but is he ready to play on the top line? It may be time to find out.

Randy Carlyle is the new coach, and he's an intense guy that promises to play up-tempo hockey. I'm not sure the Mighty Ducks have the legs to play that style on offense, but then again this is not the roster we will see on opening night. Burke still has time to make some more moves, and I'm sure he will. I lost my patience with him earlier this week because he had yet to make a big splash as Mighty Ducks GM. Now that he has, and now that he has brought a 31-year old Norris Trophy winner to Anaheim, I have more confidence in him than ever before that he will put together a team that will not only be good, but who will be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Silence is NOT golden - it's maddening!

2005-08-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

The doors of the UFA store have been opened for just over 48 hours and most GM's have rushed in to grab what they can. Here are a few of the players that have been signed already:
Chris Pronger
Markus Naslund
Mike Modano
Jerome Iginla
Derian Hatcher
Pavol Demitra
Alexei Kovalev
Sergei Gonchar
Tony Amonte
Steve Yzerman
Bobby Holik
Glen Murray
Adrian Aucoin
Adam Foote
Joe Nieuwendyk
Gary Roberts

Meanwhile, a few GM's are still circling the parking lot looking for a place to park. Those GM's work for teams like the Avalanche, the Maple Leafs, the Sharks, the Capitals, the Devils, the Sabres, the Lightning, the Predators and, unfortunately, the Mighty Ducks. These GM's have combined to do exactly nothing since the doors opened.

Now sure, there are plenty of good players still on the shelves. Peter Forsberg, Scott Niedermayer, Ziggy Palffy, Nikolai Khabibulin, Paul Kariya, Miroslav Satan, Brian Raflaski, etc. However, the selection is not what it once was and instead of having their choice of players, the GM's in the parking lot will be left to fight over what's left.

As a Mighty Ducks fan it has been a very disappointing 48 hours. We've heard nothing from our GM except that the new head coach hates losing as much as he does (both could be pissed this season unless they sign some talent) followed by a cryptic interview with a Vancouver radio station. We have no idea what players he is interested in, no idea what players are interested in Anaheim and no idea when we will hear anything other than the maddening silence that is slowly driving some of us crazy.

To me, this is like being a foster kid at Christmas. You go to bed on Christmas Eve dreaming of all the things that you might get the next day. When you wake up you rush downstairs to see what you got. But when you get there, there's no gifts with your name on them. Instead, you get to watch all the other kids open their gifts with glee while you and a few others sit in the corner with nothing but jealousy and frustration to keep you company.

(I will now try to bring all these bad analogies home) Hopefully, Burke parks the car soon. Hopefully he gets himself into the UFA store and buys a couple of players. Hopefully he puts them under the tree for us to open and enjoy, and hopefully he does it before we completely give up hope and/or go insane.

Paging Mr. Burke! Mr. Brian Burke, please do something!

2005-08-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

There's a line in a recent article about Dave Nonis that is very telling to me:
"Nonis left the distinct impression he's very much in control of things, which may come as some comfort to the faithful who are used to the more theatrical style of his predecessor."
Right now, all Mighty Ducks fans are on the verge of hysterics. We are watching the Queens, the Penguins, the Blackhawks, the Panthers, the Blue Jackets, the Wild, the Thrashers and every other team not named after a Disney movie make moves to improve their team. Meanwhile, we don't hear crap from our supposed genius GM and are left with nothing but conflicting reports that he is either going to do nothing, going to sign a player soon, going to be near the cap, going to leave room under the cap for flexibility or going to use the cap money to buy himself some office furniture.
That line tells me that this is what Canucks fans have been going through for years. Apparently, this is how Burke works, and it's driving me, and from the sounds of it, every other Ducks fans absolutely crazy! At least in the past we knew we weren't going to do anything, so there were no raised hopes to be crushed. But now, we expected Burke to improve this team. While he still might, it would be nice if he did SOMETHING before the end of the day just to let us know that he is not dead.
Since the start of UFA there are only nine teams that have not made any moves. Anaheim, Toronto, Buffalo, Colorado, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Washington, Nashville and San Jose. I'd hate to be the last team to make a move in free agency.
Mr. Burke, anytime you feel like doing something, please feel free.

Hockey's back - What now for the Mighty Ducks?

2005-07-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, NHL fans finally got the news they've been waiting 301 days for...the lockout is over. Now comes the fun part - a draft lottery, the draft itself, contract buyouts, free agency and then...training camps and a new NHL season!

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim still have to hire a coach, but GM Brian Burke is already working on his plans for putting the team together. Currently, the Mighty Ducks have nine players under contract at a total of $20.47 million. The cap is expected to be $39 million, which means they have just over $18.5 million to sign approximately 16 players. The players they have under contract are: Sergei Fedorov, J.S. Giguere, Petr Sykora, Steve Rucchin, Keith Carney, Vitali Vishnevski, Joffrey Lupul, Andy McDonald and Garrett Burnett.

Most of those 16 open roster spots will be filled by the Mighty Ducks restricted free agents (RFA's). Those players are: Stanislav Chistov, Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson, Ruslan Salei, Mikael Holmqvist, Martin Skoula, Lance Ward and Petr Schastlivy. The Mighty Ducks also have two players that will be unrestricted free agents (UFA's) in Sandis Ozolinsh and Jason Krog.

Of those players, I would expect to see Niedermayer, Pahlsson, Salei, Ozolinsh and Skoula brought back. That gives the Mighty Ducks 14 players. Not mentioned earlier, but already under contract, are rookies that I would expect to see make the team such as Ilya Bryzgalov, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Then there's Mike Leclerc, who I can't find on any list of players that the Mighty Ducks have, but who is only 29 and therefore ineligible for UFA status. That brings the total to 18 players, leaving seven open roster spots.

Breaking it down by position, here's how the Mighty Ducks roster looks:
Forwards (11)
Steve Rucchin
Petr Sykora
Sergei Fedorov
Andy McDonald
Rob Niedermayer
Joffrey Lupul
Garrett Burnett
Ryan Getzlaf
Mike Leclerc
Corey Perry
Samuel Pahlsson

Defenseman (5)
Sandis Ozolinsh
Keith Carney
Ruslan Salei
Martin Skoula
Vitali Vishnevski

Goalies (2)
J.S. Giguere
Ilya Bryzgalov

Obviously, the Mighty Ducks have no need for another goalie, so we know that the remaining spots will be filled by at least one defefenseman and one forward.

Two players that will be UFA's are Markus Naslund and Scott Niedermayer. Burke is familiar with Naslund from his days in Vancouver and Niedermayer is the brother of Rob and the two have stated a desire to play together in the past. They would fill the starting roster out nicely and leave the Mighty Ducks with potential lines of:

Line #1 - Naslund-Fedorov-Sykora
Line #2 - R. Niedermayer-Rucchin-Lupul
Line #3 - Leclerc-Pahlsson-McDonald
Line #4 - Burnett-Getzlaf-Perry

(Players in bold are not currently under contract with the Mighty Ducks. Players in bold & italics are UFA's)

Certainly this leaves the Mighty Ducks with a great top line, a solid second line (especially defensively), a third line that would be hard working if nothing else and a fourth line that would be very young, but also tough and exciting at times.

On defense:
Pairing #1 - S. Niedermayer & Carney
Pairing #2 - Ozolinsh & Salei
Pairing #3 - Vishnevski & Skoula

(Players in bold are not currently under contract with the Mighty Ducks. Players in bold & italics are UFA's)

This is fantastic, and would be among the best defensive groupings in the league. Each line would have someone that is capable of contributing offensively (S. Niedermayer, Ozolinsh and Skoula), as well as having solid stay-at-home defenseman (Carney, Salei & Vishnevski). Plus, all six are good in their own end.

Clearly this is all speculation on my part, and I have no inside information. Only Brian Burke knows what he will try to do when free agency begins, and if the Mighty Ducks were to win the #1 pick in the draft you'd have to work Sidney Crosby into the lineup as well. However, this should give you an idea of where the Mighty Ducks stand going forward.

The worst time in the history of the NHL is now behind us, and we're coming up on what should be one of the most exciting summers in NHL history. Get ready fans, it's going to be great!

(If you have any thoughts on who you think the Mighty Ducks will/should/could sign, please post them in a comment by clicking on the link below.)

Roenick goes off - and couldn't be more wrong

2005-06-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't already done so, please click on this link to read Jeremy Roenick's recent comments about the CBA negotiations and the future of hockey.

Now that you've done that, here are my thoughts:

I wish I could look like an idiot, get screwed over by my boss and be called names by the press and public. If having all that "hardship" still leads to my being a multi-milloinaire that can retire at 37 and never worry about money again...I'll take it in a heartbeat.

The players will never get it, at least not the ones like JR that have made millions for so long that they've forgotten what it's like to live check-to-check and to not be able to afford everything your little heart desires. When's the last time anyone reading this played golf at a private club for free? Never? Yeah, me either. Yet that's precisely where JR was and that's precisely what he was doing when he went off on this tirade.

To say the players are getting screwed in this new CBA is like saying the drummer for Coldplay is getting screwed because he gets the last pick of the groupies. In both cases, you're still getting what the average Joe, and the people that ultimately pay your salary, can only dream of getting. Be thankful that you never have to worry about where your next meal is coming from, whether or not there will be a roof over your head that night or whether or not you will be able to afford the medicine for your family. Take a step back and realize just how badly some people in this country, not to mention the rest of the world, have it and shut the f*ck up about having to "settle" for a $38 million cap on a 25 man roster.

I like Roenick a lot and have always thought he was one of the good guys in the NHL. I still do. But these comments, no matter who makes them, irritate me.

Mighty Ducks sale approved: Samueli's take control

2005-06-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

For the first time in history, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim do not belong to Disney. The NHL's board of governors approved the sale of the team to Henry and Susan Samueli yesterday in an unanimous vote.

LA Times story on the sale

First of all, I will say that I am thrilled with this. The Samueli's are self-made billionaires that are from Southern California, they own the Pond and they have already expressed a commitment to keep the team in Anaheim. To have owners that answer to themselves and not stockholders is fantastic, and I am very excited about the future of this organization under the Samueli's leadership.

Secondly, I feel I must address the end of the Disney era. Disney is the sole reason that there even is a Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and for that I will be forever thankful. Without them I would never have gotten to go to the Ducks playoff game against the Coyotes in 1997 with my dad, I would never have gotten to go crazy at a Stanley Cup Finals game with my wife and I would never have gotten to be the hockey fan that I am today. I became a Mighty Ducks fan the day the team was announced, but since that coincided with my move to Fresno for college, I did not get to follow the team on a day to day basis until 1997. By then, Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya were torching the league on a nightly basis while Guy Hebert stood tall in net. Again, for that I have Disney to thank.

However, not all of Disney's ownership was good. They turned the team into a punchline as soon as they named them after the movies. Now, I have never had a problem with the name, (Red Wings has never exactly been a great name and if they were an expansion team right now people would ridicule that name to no end), but I could see where other people viewed it as a joke. Then there are the things that Disney did early on, with Tinkerbell on the scoreboard after every Ducks goal, etc. Embarassing. They were trying to make it like a Disneyland attraction instead of making it like a hockey game. They stopped that stuff early on, but the damage was already done to a lot of fans.

Then there were the stockholders. These are people that, because they are one of millions of people who own stock in the company, feel they have a right to tell the company what to do. They pressured Disney to keep the budget low for the Mighty Ducks, which made the product suffer, which lowered attendance, which made them lower the payroll even more. Disney also refused to ever hire anyone with any real hockey background until they hired Bryan Murray to be their coach. Before that is was a series of people that had no experience at the NHL level - aka cheap labor. Murray coached the team well and then took over as GM and built a confernce champion in just one year. Amazing what having proven NHL people running things can do, eh Disney!

In the end, I am grateful to Disney for bringing NHL hockey to Anaheim and to Orange County. The Mighty Ducks have given me a great deal of joy over the years, and they are the reason for that, so thank you. But at the same time, it was time for a change and a fresh start. With the Samueli's owning the team now, and with Brian Burke on the verge of being named the GM, the future of the Mighty Ducks is very bright and I am as excited as I've ever been about the team. I really think the Mighty Ducks are going to become one of the elite teams in the NHL and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Ducks to announce Burke as GM

2005-06-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

As has been rumored on this blog and all over the web, Brian Burke is expected to be the next General Manager of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The official announcement is rumored to be taking place on Monday, June 20th, which will be the same press conference that announces Henry & Susan Samueli as the new owners of the team.

Burke is the former GM of the Vancouver Canucks and Hartford Whalers (any chance to mention the Whale is worth taking) and reportedly is getting a four or five year contract for around $1 million per year. He was also the vice-president and director of hockey operations for the NHL during the mid 1990's.

I cannot tell you how excited I am about the future of the Mighty Ducks. I like physical hockey and Burke's teams have always had a physical edge. I know now that the Ducks will soon have that same edge. Burke is also a great quote and a good GM at getting value for the money. He worked with a tight budget in Vancouver but still put together teams that won Division titles, made the playoffs consistently and even a few 100-point years. If he can do the same in Anaheim, I'll be delighted.

Yesterday, when this news hit the wire, I couldn't stop smiling. I really have a feeling that the Mighty Ducks are about to enter a golden age. Everything is coming into place for them - new billionaire owners who also own the building so there is no threat of moving the team and they are motivated to sell tickets - a new GM that is a proven commodity and one that will bring media and public attention to the team - a new CBA that will ensure that the Mighty Ducks are on equal footing with the rest of the league - a slew of prospects like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Joffrey Lupul and Ilya Bryzgalov that are ready to make their mark in the NHL - a great coach like Mike Babcock to bring it all together on the ice. I truly believe that the Mighty Ducks will become the team to beat in the Pacific Division very soon, and that they will be Stanley Cup contenders for years to come.

I hope to have an interview with Brian Burke soon after he is announced as the new GM, so please check back often for updates on that.

Ducks expected to hire Burke as GM

2005-06-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

According to Bob McKenzie of TSN.ca, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are now negotiating with Brian Burke in hopes of reaching a deal to name Burke the next GM. Burke is allegedly the only candidate for the job right now and the expectation from both sides is that the negotiations will go smoothly and that Burke will get the job as soon as the Samueli's purchase of the team is approved.

This is great news for me as a Mighty Ducks fan. Burke is a guy that is a legitimate hockey person. The Mighty Ducks have only had that once before, and that was when Bryan Murray was running the show. Murray got the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season as GM and then signed the biggest FA in the league in Sergei Fedorov to follow it up. By hiring a guy like Burke the Mighty Ducks are taking a big step to not only becoming a legitimate team in hockey, but a legitimate contender.

Burke is a guy that tells it like it is and he has a great personality for Southern California sports. His sometimes outrageous quotes will fit in very well with the press here and will get the Mighty Ducks a lot of extra coverage. But beyond that, he's proven that he knows how to put together a good hockey team.

As GM of the Vancouver Canucks, Burke "turned a sad sack hockey club into a strong team with plenty of potential and doing it all while working within a reasonable budget" accoring to Jeff Patterson of Straight.com in Vacouver. Does that sound familiar? He's being hired to do the same kind of thing here in Anaheim, and I believe he'll be able to do it.

The Mighty Ducks will almost assuredly take on a different look under Burke, and it should be a very entertaining one. Here's what Burke had to say at his farewell press conference in Vancouver: "I like the commitment the team has made to an entertaining style. We are not in the hockey business; we are in the entertainment business. We have played a style that has been pleasing not only to our fans but to fans around the NHL."

When I think of the Canucks teams under Burke, I think of teams that had all the elements. Toughness, snipers, aggression, skill and work ethic. I think of guys like Todd Bertuzzi, Donald Brashear, the Sedin twins and Markus Naslund. He put together teams that could play a variety of styles and which could play and entertaining style. With a better goalie, he probably would have won a lot more playoff series - especially if he didn't have to play Colorado so often.

Finally, to quote Jeff Patterson again: "Burke made hockey matter again in this city, and for that, Vancouver owes him a huge debt of gratitude." Burke will now try to make hockey matter in Anaheim, and I believe he will succeed.

Have Ducks hired a GM?

2005-06-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

According to the Orlando Sentinel, former Orlando Magic GM John Weisbrod has been hired as GM of an NHL team. While the identity of the team is not known, Weisbrod was rumored to be a candidate for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim GM position.

Weisbrod was named the Magic GM in March of 2004 after serving as GM of the Orlando Solar Bears of the IHL. He's known for being a no-nonsense kind of guy and expecting his players and staff to be the same. When he left the Magic it was said he did so to "pursue an opportunity in hockey." According to the Sentinel, that opportunity was with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Check back soon for any more details.

Are you ready for some hockey?

2005-06-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Let me start this off by saying, no, I am not sitting in on the negotiations. No, I am not an NHL player, nor an owner of an NHL team, nor an agent for an NHL player. I also do not know any of those people on a personal basis. However, I have talked to people that work for NHL teams and who have spoken to NHL players, and they have told me:

THE LOCKOUT WILL END AS SOON AS TOMORROW!

Here's what I've heard. The NHL and NHLPA have basically agreed on how the deal will look. They still need to finalize everything and make sure that there are no loopholes for either side as well as finalize the numbers and specifics. But, they agreed to a framework last week and Bob Goodenow wanted to see if the players and agents were actually behind it. So, he leaked the info to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Larry wrote the article and Bob waited for the calls of outrage to come from players and agents. Only problem was, the calls never came. So, the deal proceeded forward. Now the two sides are meeting today to wrap up the revenue reporting and financial end of the deal and then tomorrow (Thursday) will be a long session with Bettman and Goodenow there to finalize everything. They should at least have the majority of the work done tomorrow night, if not everything done. The actual announcement (aka press conference) won't come until the lawyers have picked through everything, checked for spelling errors and made sure that everything is covered, and that could be a few more days. However, you should start hearing from legitimate media sources within the next 36 hours that a deal has been made.

Happy times are (almost) here again, hockey fans!

Mighty Ducks sign five-year deal with Portland Pirates

2005-05-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

The worst kept secret in all of Maine was finally made official today as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim announced that the Portland Pirates would be their new AHL affiliate effective immediately.

The two teams held a press conference in Portland, Maine to announce the five-year agreement. Mighty Ducks interim GM Al Coates was on hand, along with assistant GM Chuck Fletcher, Mighty Ducks prospects Tim Brent and Dustin Penner and Wild Wing. Representing the Pirates were Managing Owner/CEO Brian Petrovek, President/COO Brian Williams and Salty Pete. Petrovek had this to say:

This is such a great day for our fans and for our entire organization and represents an important turning point in the history of Portland Pirates hockey. From my initial conversation with the Ducks, I knew that this had the makings of a special relationship, one that we’re confident will raise the bar beginning today and for many years to come. This is all about striving to be the very best, competing for championships and making a difference in our community. We’re looking forward to great days ahead.

Coates had this to say:

We are very excited to be coming to a traditional hockey market and working with the Pirates’ ownership and management team. Having our players in a marketplace conducive to both on and off-ice development with a group committed to winning will be very healthy for the continuation of our development that we’ve had over the last several years.

Salty Pete had this to say:

Arggh!

The speculation is finally over and the Portland Pirates are now officiall part of the Mighty Ducks family.

Mighty Ducks coach says lockout to be over "within a month"

2005-05-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim head coach Mike Babcock was interviewed on KABC's SportsZone this afternoon and had this to say about the status of the lockout.

"I think we'll see an agreement reached within the next month or so. I think it's very important to get our season started on time."

Babcock also said that he checks the Unofficial Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Blog "every 30 minutes, just to see what the latest news is." Ok, I made that last part up. But the first part is true.

This goes along with a few articles on TSN.ca that also claim the lockout could be close to an end.

Story #1 - Cautious optimism as NHL talks wrap up
Story #2 - NHL wants deal by mid-June
Story #3 - Bob McKenzie's column about possible end to lockout

At the end of the day, this all means nothing. But, it is at least optimism from a variety of sources. I don't know what Babcock knows about the progress made at the meetings, but he seemed certain, not just optimistic, that the lockout would end relatively soon. That has to be a good sign.

Mighty Ducks prospect leads Moose into Western Conference Final

2005-05-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim prospect Cory Pecker and the rest of the Manitoba Moose are preparing to begin the AHL's Western Conference Final against the Chicago Wolves with the puck dropping on game one tomorrow night.

Pecker was loaned to the Moose by the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks back in March and played 12 games with Manitoba before suffering an "upper body injury". He returned for the Moose's second round series against the Rochester Americans, a series which saw Manitoba win in five games.

The series against the Wolves will begin in Chicago where the Wolves are an impressive 28-7-4-1 this season. On the road, the Moose went 22-12-2-4 this season and were just 1-3 against the Wolves. In the season series between the two and 0-2 in Chicago.

Check back with The Unofficial Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Blog for the latest news on this series, and everything in the world of the Mighty Ducks.

Portland Pirates to name new NHL affiliation on May 23

2005-05-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Portland Pirates will hold a press conference on Monday, May 23 to announce their new NHL affiliation. For the past 12 years they've been the AHL affiliate for the Washington Capitals but have been without a parent club since the Caps moved their players to the Hershey Bears. It has been a very poorly kept secret that the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would be the new parent club.

On Friday the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs. Yesterday, it was officially announced that the Mighty Ducks would no longer use Cincy as their AHL affiliate, but would not say where they were moving. At the same time, Portland had mentioned that they had an agreement with an NHL team but that they were waiting for the team to be eliminated from the playoffs before making an announcement. As I mentioned on this page a few days ago, both sides are waiting to make the agreement official in respect to Cincinnati which will now most likely be without AHL hockey after eight years, and without hockey altogether after having two teams as recently as two years ago.

The Pirates have announced that their deal with the NHL team runs through 2010, which is also when their lease with the Cumberland County Civic Center runs out. Reportedly, the deal also includes significant upgrades the the Civic Center including remodeled locker rooms and a new scoreboard.

As soon as anything more is known, we will bring it to you here on the Unofficial Mighty Ducks of Anaheim blog.

Cincy Ducks move to Portland expected to be announced today

2005-05-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks are expected to officially announce the re-location of the team to Portland, Maine later today according to The Cincy Post.

The move has been rumored for a long time and will end the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim's use of Cincinnati as the home of its AHL farm team after eight years.

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks President and CEO is already talking about the move in the past tense:

We had an excellent relationship with (Anaheim), but they've opted for another direction.

At least one Mighty Ducks prospect is upset by the move. Zenon Konopka, who was tied for second on the team with 46 points this past season, had this to say:

It doesn't make much sense to me. It isn't fair to the fans, in any sense of the word. The fans come out, and they cheer every game. It's going to hurt the game of hockey in Cincinnati. It's going to be tough to win the fans back again. My gut feeling is that it might go dark for a year. There's a lot of bad decisions that have happened in hockey, and it just seems like things like this happen all the time.

The announcement of an affiliation between the Mighty Ducks and the Portland Pirates has yet to be made, and no affiliation between Cincinnati and another AHL team is planned. The team will most likely not field a team next season and will have to wait for a team to move there before beginning play again.

Petr Sykora & Czech Republic win World Championship!

2005-05-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim forward Petr Sykora and the Czech Republic won the gold medal in the IIHF World Championships today with a 3-0 win over Canada.

The Czech Republic, which beat the United States in a shootout in the quarterfinal and which needed overtime to beat Sweden, blew the Canadians out. Martin Rucinsky had a goal and an assists, Jaromir Jagr had two assists and former Mighty Ducks Vaclav Prospal had the game-winning goal. Tomas Vokoun had the shutout for the Czech's who won their first gold medal since 2001.

In the bronze medal game, Mighty Ducks forward Samuel Pahlsson and Sweden were beaten 6-3 by Russia. Sweden's streak of four straight medal wins is snapped.

Complete article and tournament wrap-up

Cincy Ducks eliminated from AHL Playoffs; Move imminent?

2005-05-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were eliminated from the AHL Calder Cup playoffs last night, losing to the Chicago Wolves 4-1. The loss is not only the final game of the season for the Ducks, but could also be the final game they ever play as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that the team will re-locate to Portland, Maine and take over the Portland Pirates franchise. It is believed that team and Portland officials were waiting for Cincinnati's season to end before making an announcement, and now they may wait a few days longer to not appear like they are dancing on Cincy's grave.

In last nights game the Mighty Ducks led 1-0 going into the third period but were dominated by the Wolves in the final 20 minutes. Chicago scored four goals on just six shots in the third period, two of them coming on an empty net, to advance to the Western Conference final where they will play Manitoba. Manitoba has one Mighty Ducks prospect on their roster - Cory Pecker - and we will continue to update his progress in the days to come.

Fredric Cassivi was in net for the Mighty Ducks and had 38 saves on 40 shots faced. The lone goal for Cincy was scored in the second period by Curtis Glencross, a shorthanded goal off an assist by Tim Brent.

As soon as any announcement regarding the future home of the Mighty Ducks is made, we'll have it posted here so check back often.

Pecker set for return to action

2005-05-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Mighty Ducks prospect Cory Pecker is ready to return to action with the Manitoba Moose after missing action with an "upper body injury."

Pecker was loaned to the Moose by the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in March and had one goal and one assist in 12 games before being injured. The Moose have a 3-1 series lead over the Rochester Americans in the AHL's North Division final.

Article in Winnepeg Sun.

Pecker's review by HockeysFuture.com.

Cincy Ducks win 3-2; Calder Cup hopes still alive

2005-05-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks beat the Chicago Wolves 3-2 in game four of their AHL West Division Final series to avoid elimination and force a fifth game.

Fredric Cassivi, who helped the Wolves win the 2002 Calder Cup, was between the pipes for the Mighty Ducks and had 31 saves. All three of the Mighty Ducks goals came in the first period. Joffrey Lupul scored his third goal of the playoffs to tie the game off assists from Aaron Rome and Zenon Konopka. Dustin Penner then scored on the power play with assists to Lupul and Chris Kunitz. Less than three minutes later Stanislav Chistov scored a power play goal from Shane O'Brien and Kunitz to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead. Chicago scored with 8:15 left in regulation but the Ducks held on for the 3-2 win.

The Mighty Ducks killed off all 11 of the Wolves power plays and outshot Chicago 36-32 in the game. Game five is tomorrow night in Chicago and the Ducks are just 1-5 on the road this postseason.

Former announcer suing Mighty Ducks

2005-05-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

Chris Madsen, the voice of the Mighty Ducks from day one through the 2001-2002 season, is suing the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Disney for defamation and breach of contract according to an article in today's OC Register.

Madsen was let go after his contract expired in 2002 and claims that the Mighty Ducks have defamed him when talking to potential employers ever since. Madsen's lawyer, Michelle Reinglass, had this to say:

"Each time he would get close to closing a deal, it would suddenly stop when they would do their background check with the Ducks. The bottom line is it's one thing for the Ducks to have not renewed his contract, to basically fire him. It's another thing when they've gone out of their way to keep him from getting employed."

Madsen also claims that he was told he had nothing to worry about by Ducks officials as his contract neared expiration. Ducks officials also said that Madsen was "difficult to work with" and, according to the suit, insinuated to the media and the public that he wanted too much money.

Personal note: I met Chris Madsen outside of JT Schmidt's restaurant when I was raising money for the Beat the Avalanche fund. Chris was at a table across the way from me selling a book that he had co-written. He was very nice to me, my wife and my parents and was extremely nice to all the people he talked with that night. Even if he was "difficult to work with" while he was with the Mighty Ducks, that does not mean that Disney should do anything to keep him from being employed by others. If they are guilty of what he is accusing them of, I hope he wins his case. I also hope that he lands on his feet and we hear him on the air again someday. I always liked the job he did as Mighty Ducks announcer and I have nothing but good memories of him both on and off the air.

Cincy Ducks lose 5-2; Down 3-0 in series

2005-05-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks had their 10-game home unbeaten streaked snapped yesterday with a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Wolves in game three of their West Division Final. The Wolves now have a commanding three games to none lead in the series.

Mighty Ducks goalie, and supposed stud prosepect, Ilya Bryzgalov allowed three goals on just five shots before being pulled in favor of anyone not named Ilya Bryzgalov. Casey Hankinson did have a goal and an assist in the game for Cincy, and his goal was scored shorthanded to tie the game at one in the first period. But Chicago scored three times in the second period to put the game out of reach. Curtis Glencross had the other goal for the Mighty Ducks off assists Chris McAlpine and Hankinson.

Game four of the series is tomorrow night and after the Wolves win and eliminate the Mighty Ducks they can officially announce their move to Portland.

Lupul & Chistov talk trash about Cincy; Are Chistov's days with Ducks numbered?

2005-05-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

As was reported on here May 7th, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim could be moving their AHL affiliate from Cincinnati to Portland, Maine. Adding fuel to the fire is a comment from Joffrey Lupul in today's Post-Tribune.

Lupul on life with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks:

"It’s a little tough to adapt to; it’s a different life. Even when I played
junior in Medicine Hat, we had 5,000 fans at every game. And here, we’re playing
home playoff games in front of 1,400 fans. It’s a little disappointing. Cincinnati’s definitely not a hockey hotbed."

Stanislav Chistov on the Cincinnati Gardens:

"Everyone says it’s the single worst place to play."

Now, certainly this is not a malicious swipe at the Queen City by Lupul and Chistov, but it does sound to me like comments from a couple of guys that knows they won't be playing there much longer. They must know that the team is moving to Portland right after they win the Calder Cup, so they figure what the hell. (By the way, the Portland franchise has never averaged fewer than 4,000 fans per game and last season averaged 4,339 for a team that did not make the playoffs.)

The big story, in my mind, is buried near the bottom of the article (and I've done the same thing here). According to the writer, Chistov has "resigned himself to playing in Russia next year without a contract offer from Anaheim."

Now, I'm not a big fan of Chistov. I think the guy has gotten progressively worse the longer he's been in North America. He's a classic case of a guy that has the European hockey skill set (puck handling and skating) and not the North American hockey skill set (quick shot release and physical play). This is a guy that, in the 2002-2003 season at age 19, had 12 goals and 30 points for the Mighty Ducks and looked to be a future star. The next season he had two goals and 18 points. This season he only had 38 points (and 141 penalty minutes!) for Cincinnati!

That being said, I don't want to see the Mighty Ducks #1 pick from 2001 (#5 pick overall) just walk away. He's still just 22 years old so let's give him time to find himself and his game in North America before we give up on him. If you don't think he's going to pan out, trade him, but don't let him go for nothing. I don't want to make the same mistake the Queens made with Olli Jokinen and give up on him early only to see him develop into an All-Star for another team.

Cincy Ducks lose 2-1 to Wolves; Down 2-0 in series

2005-05-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks lost to the Chicago Wolves 2-1 in Game two of their best-of-seven West Division final on Saturday. The loss gives the Wolves a two games to none advantage as the series heads to Cincinnati for game three on Monday.

The Mighty Ducks only goal came from defenseman Aaron Rome on the power play off assists from Joffrey Lupul and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks had a ridiculous 22 shots in the second period yet the game was tied 1-1 heading into the third. Karl Stewart scored shorthanded with just 44 seconds left in regulation to win it for the Wolves.

The Ducks, 1-5 on the road in the playoffs this season, return home where they are 3-0.

Corey Perry named OHL MVP

2005-05-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim prospect Corey Perry (first round pick in 2003) was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as the 2004-2005 Ontario Hockey League Most Valuable Player.

Perry, who plays for the London Knights, had 47 goals and 83 assists (130 points) in 60 games this season. He had 36 multiple-point games including an eight point game against the Saginaw Spirit on March 4th. Perry, 19, received 109 points in the voting by members of the media while runner up Brad Richardson received only 41.

This is Perry's fourth season with the Knights and he is their all-time leading scorer with 380 points in 253 games.

NHL & NHLPA Meet for 8 hours - No progress

2005-05-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

The NHL and NHLPA met for eight hours over the last two days, and yet no progess was made. Which leads to one question - What the hell were they talking about?

Eight hours of negotiation and no progress? Couldn't you have made no progress in eight seconds?

Gary Bettman - "Here's our new proposal."
Bob Goodenow - "Yeah, that's great. Go to hell."

Seriously, what could they have been talking about? According to the article on FOXSports.com the two sides will meet again next week, and the week after, to continue "discussing the conceptual framework first raised at our April 4 meeting."

Whatever. Let me know when you actually make progress, or when you are going to let cameras in to watch the negotiations. Otherwise, for all we know Bob and Gary are in there getting lap dances and/or watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD. It doesn't sound like they are actually negotiating at all, and if they are and they cannot make any progress in eight hours, then what hope is there that they will be able to save the 2005-2006 season?

Mighty Ducks AHL team moving to Portland?

2005-05-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim have used the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks as their AHL affiliate for nine years now, but that could be coming to an end after this season. The Cincy Ducks, currently in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs against the Chicago Wolves, are rumored to be moving to Portland, Maine as soon as their season ends.

The Portland Pirates hockey team had an affiliation with the Washington Capitals, but that has been terminated as Washington will now be affiliated with the Hershey Bears, who were affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche. If you care who the Avalanche's new affiliate is, go look it up on Google, this is a Mighty Ducks blog and I've taken it as far as I am willing to.

The reason for the switch by the Mighty Ducks would be travel costs, allegedly. Instead of having to fly to road games the Portland location would allow them to bus the team to road games against teams like Manchester, Providence, Lowell, Worcester, etc. The Pirates have a solid following in Portland and Maine is a very solid hockey state.

An official announcement is expected to be made as soon as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks season is over, so let's hope the teams last game is the one in which they clinch the Calder Cup!