Multiple NHL rumor sites, Twitter accounts, and members of the media have reported that the Ducks are pursuing him. GM Bob Murray confirmed that he has been looking at him as an option, not to mention Selanne has been lobbying both parties to bring him back.
His possible return remains total speculation, but active Ducks fans have been discussing his possible return after Selanne's signing to no end. Topics like: what his contract should look like, how they will react, whether or not they need him if Jason Blake is in the roster.
But what seems to remain constant is the large group of fans who still have not forgiven him for leaving the Ducks in 2003. All the hatred wasn't just because of his departure, it was the fashion in which he left. Kariya led the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup final in a Cinderella run back in 2003. Upon losing he made a promise to fans that he would bring them a cup the following year. Then he pulled a LeBron and left us to play with Selanne in Colorado for a dirt cheap contract in the hopes of getting a Stanley cup ring.
The fans did not react well, and ever since then Paul Kariya has been public enemy number one in their eyes.
But does he really deserve it anymore?
I used to loathe Kariya like any devoted Ducks fan. The season that followed our cup run was horrible. I blamed it all on Paul Kariya.
Fans collectively wished for Kariya to have a bad career.
Wasn't our wish granted?
Kariya has not won a single cup in his career, his production has slipped since his departure, and in the meantime our team has had better playoff success than Nashville or St. Louis, including a Stanley Cup victory. We can look at our Stanley cup banner and say we were all along for the ride, he can't.
Expectations for Kariya's career were always high, he and Selanne were expected to be the next great NHL legends. One will be remembered forever as a Hall of Famer and one won't. Selanne is just 4 goals away from the top 15. Paul hasn't even cracked the top 70. Selanne is in the top 25 in points Kariya is down in the low 70s. And how many more times was Selanne an all star and olympian?
Needless to say the fans got the last laugh. You could say we are even now. Kariya will never be the franchise player he could have been, and he will not be a hall of famer. He could have been, but he won't. He got what he deserved and we are even.
I can't help but pity Kariya, because I know that if he returns he will be hearing the boos. He still has a home in Orange County and lives here in the summer. If he is brave enough to return, doesn't he deserve a little forgivance? Especially if he works hard for our team every night? And what if he takes a paycut?
I'm not saying you should forget what he did, forgiving does not mean forgetting at all. But I do believe that if he wants to return he deserves the a second chance to repay for what he did, after all he did put our franchise on the map.
But based on the hand that karma dealt him, it's not incorrect to again say that Kariya got what he deserved. Now he can have a clean slate. He can have the chance to win back our approval. We won't love him like we used to, but is he does things right we might not hate him anymore.
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That is if he is signed of course...
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