My Notes on a Wild Wednesday night

First of all, this is going to be a very disjointed, unprofessional blog. The night started with the Chicago- St. Louis game. Chicago won in overtime by virtue of a completely illegal goal. Firstly, hossa clearly kicked the puck, he lined up his skate blade, pulled his foot back, and kicked the rubber like a soccer ball. The puck then hits the post and slides across the line, never completely crossing it. The war room in Toronto deemed it a good goal. Had it not gone in STL could've easily won. Check out the game highlights, decide for yourself. Me, I decided, and I flamed TSN's Bob McKenzie because he seemed to defend the goal. I sent him about 10 tweets with the expectation that he'd never reply. Well he did, and he wasn't amused with my rage. Perhaps I overreacted, but this is serious business. Hossa kicked the puck like a soccer ball and it never went in. If you can't conclude that the puck crossed the line, you call no-goal, not the other way around. And the decision should've been made quickly after hossa's clear, most blatant example of a distinct kicking motion. Points hung in the balance for team's like Dallas and Anaheim. Had events played out correctly, Anaheim would've separated themselves from Chicago, and Dallas wouldn't feel as much pressure to do or die. Ok my rant here is over. Now for a string of random notes. First of all, this was perfect revenge for the game Saturday, a perfect effort given by the team, and perfect turnaround by Carlyle. Pretend it's April 2010, right now. Most of us are researching the draft and praying we pick Etem with the 12th pick. What would YOU do if I told you we would draft Cam Fowler with the 12th pick? Well last night he pulled a goal and an assist to give him 10 goals and 40 points. That's out of his draft year. C4 has outproduced Drew Doughty, Erik Johnson, and Victor Hedman's (all dmen who started the NHL at the age of 18). Those are terrific numbers for any defenseman, and the scary/great thing is: he's only going to get better. Ryan Whitney...if you can, make a mental tribute video to his "amazing" play in Anaheim. Now look at Visnovsky, top dman in the league, and Norris contender. We got THAT for Ryan Whitney. 3 more points for 70 on the year. I don't know how the NHL can justify giving the Norris to Lidstrom over Lubo. Ever play Black Ops zombies? You know the one zombie with no legs, that you let crawl around while you rack up points for the next round? Calgary was the West's handicapped zombie. Anaheim put in the kill shot. It is now impossible for them to make the playoffs. Ducks need one more win to clinch, or two OTLs, a Dallas loss, or two Chicago losses. 2 points is all we need. Captain Getzlaf continues to stay hot...he's been racking up points almost as well as CP. He's on pace for 94 points (well that's what he'd have if he played all 82). Can't believe all the posts I saw from Ducks fans demanding Getzlaf to be traded. I believe he's back to being a dynamic force on the ice. Teemu. Everything that needs to be said about this season for #8 has been said. But he needs one more goal to have 30 on the season, giving us 2 30 goal players. MVPerry. This game was a statement for CP's run at the Hart. He's getting serious recognition from big time names. Not to mention HFboards (check my timeline for a link to a CP thread. 90% of the posters give it to Perry, 50% give it to him despite their boldly stated disdain for him).  I want to start by apologizing to Perry. I never viewed him as special. I appreciated what he did, but for whatever reason I found it hard to love him as a player. Something was missing. He showed me he had that something all along. The way he stepped up and carried this team, and inspired the lineup...he never quit on the season. I'll love him for it forever.  I won't make my case for why Perry should win the Hart, other than a quick summary. He deserves to win because he produces almost as well as D. Sedin, but he didn't have supporters like H. Sedin behind him the whole time. CP did more, and meant more to his team than Danny end of story. He needs 4 points (assuming Danny goes cold) to win the Art Ross. At that point if he still doesn't win I'll be shocked. (that sounded like I did make my case, but I coulda written a novel on the topic) Lastly, the manner in which the Hatty was scored was very epic. He needed 3 to be the first player to hit 50. He did it against our potential 1st round matchup, in a must win, revenge game. Each goal scored brought down louder chants of MVP, which was bone chilling in and of itself. And who else to assist on his 50th goal? Teemu Selanne, the last Duck to get 50, and the first winner of the Maurice Rocket Richard (known for his 50 goal seasons) trophy. Perry kept the 50 goal trend every year since the lockout, going (brainfart, grammar fail). There's no better way to celebrate 50 then a downpour of hats. Looking forward, the Ducks play an injured and ailing L.A kings team in a home in home double header series. They need 2 points out of 4 to erase last year's failure. Thank you for reading. Hope you had more fun than me last night. Cause I was flying.

The Home stretch: Race for the Cup

First blog in quite some time here. Most of what I would have blogged about has been put into tweets anyway. We all know the Ducks are poised to make the playoffs this year, after missing last year's big game. Hopefully everyone is aware of how tight the Western playoff race is this year. If you don't, to give you an idea: the Ducks were one win away from being 3rd in the west. 3 pretty brutal losses later, they find themselves 10th in the West. They are also one of 5 teams that have 68 points.  22 games now remain in the Ducks season. Like it or not, this is the final stretch. In a western conference where every game counts, the Ducks must either step up, or falter once again. Sportsclubstats tell us how many points are needed to make the playoffs. 93 points=a 53.4% chance to make the playoffs, 94 points=77.7%, 95=92.6% 96=98.3 97=99.8 98 points and higher mean making the playoffs are a certainty. The site also says that to win the Pacific division they will need at least 102 points, and 107 points to clinch it. The Ducks, at the present time are on pace for 93 points. Below is an expanded breakdown of records from this point to get to a certain point total. 95 points.     96 points.   97 points 12-7-3        13-7-2.     13-6-3 11-6-5        12-6-4.      12-5-5 10-5-7        11-5-6.      11-4-7 9-4-9.          10-4-8.      10-3-8 98 points      99 points.    100 pts.     14-6-2.        14-5-3.      15-5-2.      13-5-4.        13-4-5.      14-4-4.      12-4-6.        12-3-7.      13-3-6.      11-3-7.        11-2-8.      12-2-8.      Ducks have 22 games left. 21 vs Teams in the west. 10 vs. Pacific teams.  Remaining schedule+record vs team LAK 1-1-0  MIN 1-1-1  COL 1-0-0   DET 0-3-0 DAL 2-1-0 VAN 2-0-1 NYR 0-0-0 COL 1-0-0 PHO 3-2-0 STL 1-2-1 LAK 1-1-0 CGY 2-0-0 DAL 2-1-0 NAS 1-2-1 CHI   1-1-1 COL.  1-0-0 CGY. 2-0-0 SJS 2-2-0 DAL 2-1-0 SJS 2-2-0 LAK 1-1-0 LAK 1-1-0 Of all the losses the Ducks have been in, only 4 were not in regulation. The Ducks have now pushed enough losses to overtime, that is why other teams in the West have an advantage over them. If they want to make the playoffs, even if they just barely skate in (2010 Philadelphia Flyers style) they will need to ensure that if they cannot come on top they need to try to pull at least one point out of games. They need to continue to find ways to win. No matter what deviation of required records you run, almost every time the wins outweigh the losses acceptable. Each facet of the team must rise to the occasion, the defense, the offense, and the goaltending. Getting lucky wins can get you into the playoffs, but you need to know how to really win once you get there.  They have 22 games to get it together. They have 22 games to solidify their team identity. They have 22 games to make amends for last season's failures. They have 22 games to earn their ticket to the big show. The rest of the season is now behind us. That portion of the year put us in contention. The race for the cup starts now.

Is it Finally Time to Fire the Coach?

Bob Murray made it very clear that he will not be firing Carlyle any time soon.
He has faith in the head coach becuse he brought us a cup. He went on to say
that a major change to the line up would come before Carlyle loses his job if
the Ducks continue to lose games. Meaning he might potentially break up the top
line of Ryan, Getzlaf, and perry.

He went on to say that putting blame on the coach is an excuse for the players
not to play well. These are dangerous comments from the general manager of the
Ducks. The RPG line is widely regarded as one of the top trios in the nhl. Their
play in the 09 playoffs was among the only reasons the ducks defeated the Sharks
and took Detroit to game 7. And Ryan has yet to fully develop into a 40 goal
man.

Breaking up this line is not the answer.

Yes, Carlyle brought us a cup. And his system brought us regular season success
the two seasons after the cup victory. But the game has changed since then, and
Carlyle has refused to change with it. His system is now outdated and beatable.

Ever wonder why some players play much better when they leave Anaheim?
Wisniewski's play in Anaheim the season before he was traded was shaky at best.
This season in New York, he has been wonderful and is considered to be in the
running for the Norris if his play continues. Here he was a second pairing guy.
Now he's in the top 30 among all skaters in points. And that's just one example.

The players obviously aren't responding to him as a coach anymore. They take
dumb penalties. They are inconsistent in odd man situations. The defense, as
bad as it is could be better and has been bad for the last 2 years. How many
games can you remember that we surrendered fewer than 30 shots on goal? Our
coach is a former Norris winner. Explain that.

When you watch other teams play you can find glaring differences in the way
successful teams play and the way the Ducks play. Teams that do well in this
league give 100% every night, they fight for possesion, they make smart passes
that are well thought out, they almost never stop moving their feet, they all
get involved and have a job to do on the ice, and more than anything they fight
hard every minute they play to make sure they win. Watching the Ducks you don't
see that. And it's been like that the last two years, getting gradually worse as
time has progressed.

And a big question has to be, how is Carlyle's behavior as a coach? Last year as
the season was ending he told the media something that has bothered me to this
day. He told them that he didn't know what to do or say anymore to make the team
win. First of all that shows signs of weakness and lack of dedication on the
part of the coach. There should always be things to say, new plays to run,
something. Secondly, coaches are supposed to watch what they say when speaking
to the media. If he was careless enough to let that one slip, what kind of
things is he saying in the locker room?

Going back to having nothing left to say or do, Carlyle never seems to learn
from his mistakes. He continues doing the same things even when they obviously
fail. The line juggling, constant dump and chase, and this addiction of playing
the puck along the boards are among a myriad of things that don't work but never
seem to change. A good coach is a coach who realizes change is necessary and
learns from his mistakes. Carlyle makes changes in all the wrong places and
doesn't seem to notice when the same old thing fails again and again and again.
Maybe he can't advance his game style. Why would we want someone like that to
stick around?

And maybe his game style is better suited for another team. But it clearly isn't
working here.

Murray can seek ways to turn things around. There may be little things that
could help, but think (amazing I just realized this is the second time I'm
making this argument) about all of the teams that were under performing and
turned things around with a new coach. We all know how great a team Washington
was but does anyone remember how bad they were before Bodreau was made coach?
They weren't in playoff position. The Penguins weren't a Stanley Cup winning
force until their coaching change. The coyotes wouldn't have made the playoffs
last year if Gretzky had not been replaced with Tippett who had been fired by
his last team. The ducks need something fresh and new to turn things around. But
the first step is ditching Carlyle. And Murray shouldn't feel bad for Carlyle.
It wouldn't take him long to find work.

And Murray is not exempt from blame either. Sure, Burke left and we'll never
know how he'd do in Murray's place. I'll have another blog on why Murray
deserves to go.

But as a preview I can give you the newest one. He'd break up our strongest
offensive weapon before he ditches Carlyle. The RPG line is more valuable than
Carlyle. They are our future. And Murray thinks desperately latching onto a cup
winning coach who refuses to evolve will bring him success. This is nothing
short of insanity. He is disagreeing with an entire fan base (and I'm sure some
members of the front office) on this.

This blog is more of an attack on Murray then Carlyle. He is threatening to do
some serious damage to our line up in order to protect a losing coach in the
hope that he restores his status as a cup winning coach. If I were the owners, I
would be greatly disturbed and would replace both Carlyle and Murray. And this
is coming from someone who vehemently stood up for both men.

This team is broken, let's fix it already.

Is it Time to Forgive?

So I think we've all heard the rumors that Paul Kariya may be coming back to Anaheim.

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...

Ducks Draft Recap

The ducks had themselves one amazing draft day.

Arguably the winners of the draft they had the luck of being able to draft the number 5 and number 10 ranked players, Long Beach native, Emerson Etem, and Cam Fowler.

It was a perfect situation for Etem who lives in California to be drafted, and a huge honor for Fowler who received his sweater from his favorite player and idol, Scott Niedermayer.

It is difficult to say who was happier that those players were drafted, the players themselves, the fans, or Bob Murray and the rest of the Anaheim Ducks management.

Cam Fowler was a total steal at number 12. Apart from the Hall-Seguin debate, experts had trouble determining who the best defenseman was among the Gudbranson-Gormley-Fowler trio was. Gudbranson came fourth, but Fowler and Gormley fell to 12th and 13th respectively.

Murray was in total shock.

Fowler has received extremely high praise leading up to the draft. He has received comparisons to Erik and Jack Johnson, Brian Leetch, Thomas Kaberle, and even to an extent, Scott Niedermayer.

Watching his very first interview gave viewers the impression that he is intelligent, mature, and eager to work hard to make his way into the lineup as quickly as possible. It also helps that Scott Niedermayer may end up mentoring him. Isn't it also ironic that he has Fowl in his name? Yes I went for the lame duck related pun, but that is an awesome coincidence.

With the addition of Fowler, the Ducks' defensive pipeline appears to be the strongest in the league. Just thinking about Luca Sbisa, Jake Gardiner, Mark Mitera, and now Cam Fowler, it's enough to leave any fan drooling.

Etem luckily fell even further. It isn't a good feeling to have to wait as long as he did, but it almost seemed like fate that the speedy Californian managed to fall all the way to the team closest to home. I spent the last week with my family on a lake, but when I opened my phone at the hotel, I was in shock first to see that we actually drafted Fowler, my fourth favorite player in the draft, but with the 29th pick we took Etem. I honestly believed he would be taken 12th.

Not to say that Etem only got drafted because he is a California product. He has speed, size, and natural scoring talent. He received comparisons to Glen Anderson and Joffrey Lupul. But what is most impressive is Etem's determination and work ethic. From a young age Etem dedicated his life to hockey, going from city to city for hockey camps. In an interview he said he has already stopped caring about how far he fell, and that he is ready to make himself the best player selected in the draft.

That is very refreshing to hear. Many drafted players get caught up in the euphoria of being drafted and assume that they've reached their goal, by making the big time. They end up thinking that they will just continue improving physically and they will hit the big time without any problems. TR Goodman even said that he has the same focus and drive as Sidney Crosby.

Etem's mentality is what real stars are made of. They are always trying to improve themselves, they fight to be the best, and when you have the kind of talent that Etem has, a work ethic like that allows you to work out the weaknesses that caused you to drop in the draft. Expect Etem to be ranked among our top 10 prospects the next time THN and HF release their player rankings. He is an excellent pickup for the Ducks.

The draft was a step in the right direction, we will have to see if free agency will follow suit. If so, this upcoming season will be an exciting one.

Offseason Updates

It's been a rather uneventful offseason for the ducks so far. Fans have been hungrily waiting to see what Mr. Murray will do to make up for last year's Stanley cup absence.

Other than a couple of prospect signings, the Anaheim front office has shown no signs of life.

But fans can breathe a little easier knowing the silence will only last a little bit longer.

Fans who follow twitter, were given a major buzz of excitement when the official account of the ducks announced a signing would be made. This created some serious speculation, as everyone thought this was the first piece of big news they, well, we were waiting for.

Anaheim as an organization has never been known to tease fans with transaction hints. The Anaheim front office has always been more clandestine than other clubs. Nevertheless fans began to expect a big name like Ryan or niedermayer to be the signing.

In the end, Eric Stephens of the OCregister uncovered that the signing was for defenseman Sheldon Brookbank.

Not to bash on Brookbank, as he is an adept 3rd pairing defenseman, but fans were left expecting something big after so much time spent in silence. The hint dropped by the Ducks was almost like a message saying that the wait was over.

On the bright side, news is coming. Even if we have to wait a little bit longer.

Bobby Ryan's contract negotiations were described as being in their "early" stages a little over a week ago. The announcement of his signing should come within the next two to three weeks as a maximum, if he hasn't signed by draft day, it will be a safe bet that he will go to restricted free agency. Although it seems doubtful as both sides have sounded optimistic.

It has been announced that Scott Niedermayer will be announcing whether or not he will retire "soon". This is on the heels of Nicklas Lidstrom's recent desicion to return to his team for another year (at a million dollar paycut). Some could say that based on his interview, things aren't looking good, but Lidstrom (a fellow Norris trophy winner and future hall inductee) desicion could tilt the scales in the ducks' favor.

The draft is only a few short weeks away, and Murray is going to have to get a few signings done before then, to have a better picture of what kind of trades or free agent signings he needs to make.

So rest easy Duck fans, the silence will soon be broken.

Ducks Offseason Preview (Part 2): Return of the Vets? Murray s new plan.

Three huge players this season are not signed through next year's season. They combined for 56 goals and 152 points. Their names are Saku Koivu, Scott Niedermayer, and Teemu Selanne.

It will be the same old story again this season as we wait for these veterans to make their decisions. Only this time the story will be written a bit differently. The one thing that changed? The Anaheim Ducks missing the playoffs. The moves that GM Bob Murray (or someonelse?) will make this offseason will be greatly dictated based on the decisions these players make. They have all shown they have the skills needed to play the game (and play it well). They make up 2/3 of the 2cd scoring line and (in my opinion) Scotty is worth two defensive spots in our roster.

The Anaheim Ducks organization has made it unofficial policy to keep plans close to the chest. This year it has been different. A series of interviews from the 3 players and the Anaheim Ducks GM have brought forth clues as to what may happen. At the very least they gave us food for our speculative thoughts.

Saku Koivu: (35 years old, 71gp 19g 33a 52p, 2cd line center)

Koivu had the most positive news out of the trio. In a recent interview from anaheimducks.com, Koivu made it clear that he wants to stay a Duck. He says he loves it in Anaheim and even though he wasn't satisfied with the last season, he has enjoyed his time and his role on this team. He's been a smash hit with the fans after his one year stint. Of course Koivu is the best 2cd line center since (if you count 07-08) Andy McDonald. But Koivu brings so much more than 19 goals and 52 points to the team. Koivu works night in and night out, he never gives up, he performs when he is called on to step it up, and brings an overall positive attitude and leadership that the Ducks were missing in Chris Pronger (Koivu will even take a checking role if he has to). It's no wonder the fans in Montreal loved Koivu so much.

Koivu has made it his goal to get a contract in Anaheim (he wants 2 more years) and haas stated that he hadn't even thought of and doesn't even think he will test the free agent market. Hopefully if Koivu returns it will prompt teammate Teemu Selanne to return.
My Prediction: Murray would be an idiot not to sign it.

Teemu Selanne (39 years old, 54gp 27g 21a 48p, 2cd line RW)

41 goals 31 assists 72 points.

That was Teemu's projected numbers, had he played all 82 games. That would be 2cd on our team in terms of points and 7th in the NHL in goals…7th. I hope someone tells Teemu that.

But, something tells me he knows. Well he unofficially tells us he knows. In a recent interview Teemu was asked about his retirement plans. He said he wishes he hadn't played so well, because the decision would be much easier. And he's right, he hasn't played this well since the 06-07 season. He clearly has plenty of hockey left in him. He missed 28 games and he still almost hit the 30 goal mark. Plus he still scored 600 goals and passed his boyhood idol Jarri Kurri on the all time goal scorers list. And there are still so many milestones within reach, his for the taking. That makes it tougher still on Selanne.

A factor that could cause him to lean toward his retirement is the injuries he suffered. In his mind he is more injury prone because he is getting old and frail. He is being a little too modest in this scenario. He took a speeding puck to the jaw and the hand, those kind of impacts would have injured anybody in the NHL. Still, he's got skills, he isn't getting worse (cause he's a hockey legend), he has all kinds of milestones still within reach, and he had fun in the most dismal Ducks season to date.
My Prediction: One More Year (at least)

Scott Niedermayer (36 years old, 10g, 38a, 48pts, Top Anaheim defenseman)

Scott Niedermayer has made several statements about his plans to retire over the past few days. None of them were too telling about which way he is leaning. He is more cryptic this year than any of the previous years. Although from the audio on the final thoughts, Scotty's tone didn't seem too optimistic about his answer (but who can sound optimistic after missing the playoffs, especially a captain who is a perennial winner.) plus Murray is scouting big name dman at the moment. One bit of information he HAS given is that he will make his decision very soon, not before the season begins (this coincides with Murray's comments below). This statement isn't too convincing though as he has said it before.

Scott Niedermayer is still a defensive force. The whole league wants him, and even though his play has slipped lately he is still our best dman. The Ducks should not pay him more than or 6 million dollars though, they need money to look to the future and if he demands more, they should search other options

My Prediction: Could go either way but. I say he goes this time. Koivu or Getzlaf new "C" (I'll have a separate blog on why I think "someone" should get it).

Bob Murray

Murray's game plan has changed up a bit. Since he took over for Burke, he has played the same conservative role as his predecessor. Making smart trades maintaining respect for players who have historic background with the team. That is all changing. All eyes are on him this summer to make amends for this last, horrific season. Murray went forth to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun and spoke as openly about his offseason plans as any GM has since the lockout.

He informed LeBrun that the Anaheim Ducks organization would not play the waiting game with Niedermayer and Selanne this year. He has spoken to both and has given them a strict draft day deadline. He is looking to boost the blue line and said he is open to trades and that he is unafraid to make one OR two big moves at the deadline.

This could have negative repercussions on the decision's of Selanne and Niedermayer as mulling retirement takes real time and thinking. It's a life choice. If they do not make up their minds until the season starts, they should be prepared to be paid whatever salary money is left over after free agency.

Murray obviously doesn't want to lose these players. Under ordinary circumstances he would wait. These aren't ordinary circumstances. He is responsible for organizing the first Anaheim team to miss the playoffs since the lockout. It is a mess that he is preparing himself to clean, at whatever cost.
Prediction: Well this whole Offseason preview saga is about what he will do. Stay tuned.

So thank you for reading, if you haven't done so already, make sure you check out the other parts of my offseason preview. It's pretty good, I have to say.

The next part of my preview will be on the free agents.