Anaheim Ducks Blog Posts

Ducks Defense Still Staggering

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:00:06 EDT

It was no shock to the city of Anaheim when all-star defenseman Chris Pronger was traded on NHL draft day. The real shock may come during the 2009-10 season when the Ducks still put out a strong defensive lineup on opening day.

Pronger saw his tenure with the Ducks end at three seasons after a Norris Trophy nomination and a Stanley Cup Championship in 2007. But Anaheim did not see their defense depletion stop there; puck-moving defenseman Francois Beauchemin agreed to a three-year, $11.4 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 5th. He even had a few harsh words about not being re-signed for his former GM Bob Murray and Anaheim Ducks management.

“Yeah, I am a little bit disappointed by them,” Beauchemin said on a media conference call, “Obviously, I had four great years there. When you play in a place for four years and win a Stanley Cup, it’s always tough to leave, but at the same time, when they don’t want you, it’s time to move on.”

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Ducks Re-Sign Scott Niedermayer to 1-Year 6 Million Contract

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:34:04 EDT

As expected, the Ducks have brought back their captain.

Scott Niedermayer, the man who made up his mind to return to the Ducks just before the NHL Draft on Friday, has signed a 1-year deal reportedly worth $6 million. The Ducks traded star defenseman Chris Pronger on draft day, knowing that Niedermayer wanted to return to his team.

Scott registered 59 points from the blue line in 2008-09, which is a steady drop from his career-high 69 points in the 2006-07 campaign. His abilities have steadily decreased in that time, but is still considered a strong 2-way defenseman. Scott's best attribute though may be his leadership abilities on the ice though, which is very important to have in an ever-changing Ducks roster. With the addition of Ryan Whitney in the 2009 Trade Deadline, the Ducks still have a formidable power-play even after the loss of Chris Pronger.

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Retirement questions return for Ducks

Mon, 25 May 2009 15:46:05 EDT

As the hockey-watching world concentrates on the final two rounds of the NHL play-offs, the people of Orange County are again on retirement watch as questions about Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne’s future again rear their ugly head.

For the third season running, the Ducks go into the summer trading and draft season not knowing if two of their prized veterans are going to be around at the Honda Center again next season, and it’s becoming more and more of a worry as the years tick on and the veterans get older.

Niedermayer is coming off a great season, adding 10 play-off points to a 59-point regular campaign and as usual showing the grit and heart that should be expected of a captain.

Likewise Selanne showed few signs of slowing down, apart from one spell out injured, although his chemistry with the Ducks rookies wasn’t quite as strong in the post-season and his best performance came in the sickening game seven defeat by Detroit, when he intriguingly had less ice-time than grinders like Drew Miller and Todd Marchant.

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Mon, 25 May 2009 15:33:57 EDT

Niedermayer is coming off a great season, adding 10 play-off points to a 59-point regular campaign and as usual showing the grit and heart that should be expected of a captain.

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Western Conference Rolls Along

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:44:41 EDT

I have a confession to make. I love the Canucks. I really have loved them ever since the worst trade in NHL history when my beloved Panthers gave Luongo away for nothing. I know he is great and that team has a ton of fast guys with a lot of talent. For some reason, I really want them to win. What a job they did last night finishing off the Blues. Hey some big time people picked the Blues to win, since they were so hot coming down the stretch. So,no prediction is even needed for Vancouver. All I know is, I do not know of any team that wants to face the Canucks in the 2nd round.

Onto the series that are still going on...Sharks/Ducks. What a series this is. I think this is the best one we have going (no disrespect to NJ/CAR). It is a bit tough in Florida to be able to watch all of this series, but every second that I have seen has been awesome. Huge hits, I mean huge and every goal has been hard fought. I think this series will come down to who makes the least number of mistakes. That was especially true last night. Both teams are solid and the difference is going to be very small. I have to go with SJ here, they did not win President's trophy for nothing. 7 games, but this will take its toll on whoever ends up winning here.

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Signed 2007 Stanley Cup Winning Team Jersey

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:54:19 EDT

I have a Ducks jersey that is signed by the entire team during their winning season of 2007. They signed it in December 2007. It is in MINT condition. I got it from the Ducks and GoCountry105 radio station, during their Christmas toy drive in Anaheim. If you are interested in buying it, please contact me at ramgirl2002@yahoo.com. At your request, I will email 4-5 pictures of the jersey.

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Mike Brown is a Duck

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:55:59 EST

After getting very little time on the ice this season at Vancouver, the Canucks traded Mike Brown to the Ducks last week. He was enjoying his day off when his cell phone rang and the general manager told him to pack his bags. The Ducks were playing the Predators the next evening in Nashville and Brown needed to get there ready to suit up. He left Vancouver a little before 11:00 P.M. that night for a trip to Nashville via Toronto. Flying all night, he set down in Nashville about 9:30 the next morning. After meeting his new teammates, he took a long nap before the game that evening.

Mike played over eleven minutes in his debut game with the Ducks, which was more time on the ice than he had at Vancouver this season. In fact, he had only played in 2 games for the Canucks this year. He was pumped up and ready to play, as he tied for a game high 4 hits and had 2 shots on goal. Two nights later Brown saw extensive action again in Calgary as the Ducks beat the Flames. His first home game in Anaheim will be Wednesday, February 11th against those same Flames.

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Weighing in on Recent Blues News

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:00:40 EST

The Blues have made a few changes in the past week. Let’s take a look at how the Blues are making headlines:

Manny Legace placed on waivers; clears and heads to Peoria in the AHL

Manny Legace has officially seen his last day as a St. Louis Blue. Around 11:00 a.m. Friday, Blues President John Davidson announced that the veteran goaltender would be put on waivers, and if he clears he would be assigned to the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. The team also called up rookie goaltender Chris Holt, recently signed to a pro-contract. Manny was not so happy-go-lucky after hearing the news.

"It's extremely tough," Legace said Friday afternoon. "You play your heart out for a team, and the minute you hit a little bit of a rough patch, they dump on you. It was very hard to hear."

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Stempniak Trade Analysis

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:49:38 EST

The end of the Stempniak era is over in St. Louis. Being dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, Stempniak will join his new team Tuesday night in Atlanta. What does this mean for both teams though?

The Blues brought in defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and center Alex Steen from the deal, two players that have been under fire in a Leafs sweater this season. Steen, racking just four points in 20 games, is known as a two-way center that can also kill penalties. After being drafted in the first round (26th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry draft, Alex has 126 points in 253 career NHL games. Not too shabby, but his former head coach Ron Wilson showed how upset he was when Steen was traded, being the only member of Leafs management to not say his goodbyes to the 24 year-old.

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NHL GMs Not Taking Drop In Scoring Lying Down

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:20:49 EDT

Last week, the GM's of all the teams around the NHL got together in Chicago for a little chit-chat to discuss the state of the game and how to increase offense. The best thing their collective minds could come up with: penalizing players for dropping to the ice to block a shot. If you don't believe me check out the story here. Apparently the security was a little loose for the boardroom and somebody spiked their Gatorade.

Their rationale (I didn't want to use the word 'rational', but I needed it to spell 'rationale') is that by prohibiting players from laying on the ice to stop a blast on net, we will see an immediate rise in the average number of goals scored per game.

Apparently, the GM's feel that fans find it much more exciting when they see a 6-4 slobberknocker such as the Oct. 25 game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Montreal Canadiens than if they watch the Rangers battle back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the Penguins 2-2 and need a shootout to settle things. Didn't most of these GM's actually play hockey at one time in their lives? Who out there in HockeyLand thinks that the excitement of a game is directly proportional to the number of goals scored? Would that mean that the NHL would draw more fans for a 13-0 slaughter than a 1-goal nail-biter? I'd like to get a chance to ask one of these GM's to try to explain how the game of soccer is gaining so much popularity despite the fact it's widely known for its lack of scoring. My guess is because of the decreased hitting and increased diving. Maybe NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is still stuck in his NBA days, where scores would reach triple-digits and players were penalized for goaltending.

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