21 Aug '05 - + 166 - 112 The Ducks: New... but improved?
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim have spent the offseason making a couple
big moves and letting a lot of people go. It's tough to see how
this team will perform, especially since they still don't have a full
roster. At last count, the Ducks had 17 players under contract
and are expected to sign Ruslan Salei as well. Salei will fill
out their defense, but Giguere has no backup goaltender and the team
still can't put four lines on the ice.
Assuming no really big names sign, though, it's fairly easy to identify the holes in this roster.
The Ducks recently signed Selanne, which would have filled out their
forward lines to a competitive level. Immediately afterward,
however, they dealt away Leclerc and Rucchin for cap reasons.
That leaves their second line fairly questionable at this point.
In
addition, Giguere's backup will have to be signed, and for very little
money. Since most teams would prefer to rest their goalie for at
least a dozen games during the season, it would be nice for the Ducks
if they could sign a competent backup. At this point, they have
little to choose from, both because of their cap problems and because
all but a handful of netminders have already signed. Cechmanek is
the best available, and the Ducks can probably afford him if they want
to spend money there. Otherwise, they'll be looking at names like
Tugnutt, Irbe, and Dafoe for veterans - which is more likely, given they already
have a definite starter.
If Salei signs at or around his original
qualifying offer, the Ducks will be sitting around $35 million
committed to 18 players. While that technically leaves them $4
million in cap room, Burke has said he wants to keep the team near $37
million, which means they're at the end of big acquisitions unless they
trade more players away.
Major Losses - Stanislav Chistov, left wing. An
up-and-coming scorer with first-line potential, Chistov has elected to
play this upcoming season in his home country of Russia. The team
has said it has not given up on signing him for future years, and they
retain his rights as a restricted free agent for now.
- Mike Leclerc, left wing.
Limited by his knee injury and the resulting surgery to only 10 games
last year, Leclerc was nevertheless a solid player that will be sorely
missed - especially as weak as this team is at wing. Leclerc was
traded to Phoenix for a conditional 2007 draft pick for cap reasons.
- Steve Rucchin, center.
Rucchin is another cap victim. The Ducks felt they were deep at
center and he was the best option to trade, since no team would be
likely to take Fedorov's $6 million cap hit. He was traded to the
Rangers for Trevor Gillies, who will likely play at the AHL level, and
another conditional 2007 draft pick.
- Vaclav Prospal, left wing/center. Prospal,
acquired as a free agent from Tampa Bay before the '03-'04 season, was
traded back to Tampa Bay for a second-round pick in 2005 (used on
Brendan Mikkelson) before the lockout began. He'll be missed as
well, another 45-50 point winger that could have filled out the forward
lines here.
- Niclas Havelid, defense. Havelid was
a decent offensive defenseman, also traded before the lockout
began. The Ducks received Kurtis Foster, a big defensive
prospect, from Atlanta in the trade.
Acquisitions
- Scott Niedermayer, defense. One
of the top defensemen in the NHL, Niedermayer immediately became the
highest paid player for Anaheim when he signed his contract for $6.75
million per year for four years. His presence brings legitimacy to a
blueline that was strictly middle-of-the-pack last season.
- Teemu Selanne, right wing. Selanne
signed for only $1 million dollars, making him too tempting to pass
up. The Ducks bring back a very popular player in doing so,
although they wound up letting two home-grown fan favorites go -
Rucchin and Leclerc. If Selanne can pick his game back up to his
former level, this is a great move. Even at his recent production
level, he's a bargain at this price. He last played at Colorado,
garnering a mere 32 points (16G, 16A) in 78 games, after spending three
years in San Jose.
- Todd Fedoruk, left wing. Fedoruk is a
career enforcer the Ducks picked up from Philadelphia. He's never
broken into full-time starter at the NHL level, but with the Ducks'
situation at wing, he'll get plenty of ice time in the upcoming season.
Things to watch
- The second line. With
a presumed first line of Sykora-Fedorov-Selanne, the second line is a
giant question mark. The Ducks will have a first-rate top line,
at least on paper, but for now they have no proven wingers to put on
their second line. Unless they make some decent acquisitions
before the season starts, they'll have problems here.
- Goaltending. After
a stellar playoff run in 2003, Giguere had an iffy season in '03-'04,
posting a 2.62 GAA. To be fair, part of that was his defense, as
Giguere did manage a respectable .914 save percentage - but even that
is only good enough for 19th in the league. The Ducks will need
him to look more like the goalie that led them to the Stanley Cup
Finals if they're going to make the playoffs this year. And to
give him that chance, they'll need to sign a backup goaltender that can
take some games away from him. Giguere has never played more than
65 games in a year, which is plenty, but right now they've got him
signed up for 82. A capable goaltender as backup will help quite
a bit.
The Verdict
This
team may or may not have improved; it's hard to tell. The defense
has taken a big step forward with the acquisition of Scott
Niedermayer. But they
certainly haven't improved as much as Los Angeles or Phoenix, the other
two divisional non-playoff teams in '03-'04, so it's hard to imagine
them a contender for a divisional title. Looking at the forward
lines the way they stand today, it's likely they'll be fighting just to
get into the playoffs. Although anything's possible.
Unless
they wind up signing two respectable wingers and a veteran goalie for
backup, Anaheim currently sits as the obvious pick for last place in the Pacific.
The Roster
Forwards
Sergei Fedorov, C, $6.08
Rob Niedermayer, C, $2
Joffrey Lupul, C, $0.9006
Andy McDonald, C, $0.627
Samuel Pahlsson, C, $0.625
Todd Fedoruk, LW, $0.45
Travis Moen, LW, $0.45
Petr Sykora, RW, $3.116
Teemu Selanne, RW, $1
Chris Kunitz, RW, $0.4619
Defense
Scott Niedermayer, D, $6.75
Sandis Ozolinsh, D, $2.75
Keith Carney, D, $2.052
Ruslan Salei, D, $1.8
Vitali Vishnevkski, D, $1.14
Jason Marshall, D, $0.45
Mark Popovic, D, $0.45
Goal
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G, $3.99