With no chance of the team exercising their option on Marc-Andre Bergeron, acquired last season at the deadline as a depth player for a 3rd round draft choice, Brian Burke has found a taker in the Minnesota Wild. Coming back from the Wild is a 2009 3rd-round draft pick, essentially meaning the pickup of Bergeron last season didn’t cost Burke a thing (except perhaps dropping in the third round an insignificant number of spots).

Bergeron never saw a game in the Ducks’ first-round playoff loss to the Dallas Stars. He is considered somewhat of an offensive defenseman with a booming point shot, however his defensive skills appear to be severly lacking.

Most of you have probably put the Ducks’ first round playoff loss behind you and I hate to open old wounds, but I felt it’s about time I share my thoughts on the series.

I managed to watch every game of the series on television this year, a rare occurrence as I live in hockey-deprived Costa Rica. I think the series was won by the team who put more effort in; plain and simple, that team wasn’t Anaheim. Say what you want about the referees or Perry’s injury, but every player on the Dallas Stars gave 110% effort while Anaheim, with the exception of a few players, appeared lethargic at many times.

Lack of effort aside, let’s explore some of the other reasons why the Duks may have done as poorly as they did.

#1 - Cup Hangover

Don’t be so quick to dismiss this as simply an excuse; fatigue is a very real factor in teams trying to repeat their Cup-winning performance. Add in a trip across seas to London to start off the year and, Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer aside, and that toll is more than usual. It’s no surprise that of the recent Cup-winning teams, many have missed the playoffs or seen an early exit the following season.

#2 - Corey Perry

This factor, in my opinion, is a lot bigger than many people think. Without their leading goal-scorer, Anaheim just didn’t pack the offensive punch needed to get through a hard-working Stars’ defense as well as Marty Turco. When Perry came back, he did his best to get Anaheim back in the series (though, too little too late). He gets my vote for best Ducks’ player in the series, along with Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Perry doesn’t just score goals though, he is more important than that. He agitates the opposing teams, creates space, gains puck possession and is an underrated passer. He provides a spark that I felt the Ducks were definitely missing.

#3 - The Selanne/Niedermayer Situation

I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong. I thought, due to the fact both players had half the year off, they would be well rested and a dominant force for the Ducks. However, in the playoffs, they were not at their best. Thus, their ‘distraction’ to the team and handicapping Burke’s ability to make the proper moves was a severe negative.

#4 - Lack of Motivation

I believe this may be the biggest reason of all. The players, fresh off a big win last season, didn’t have that ‘hunger’ that is needed to go all the way. Sure, I would think winning two Cups in a row in this era of hockey should be challenge enough, but apparently the Ducks’ players didn’t agree with me. Last year, you had Teemu trying to win his first Cup and Scott trying to win one for his brother. Giguere, I am sure, also wanted one bad. Getzlaf and Perry were young studs on their way up and are known to be quite competitive guys. Pronger was hot off a losing trip to the Finals. I could go on. This year, in contrast, who had that hunger? Todd Bertuzzi was really the only veteran who hasn’t won one, but he didn’t show any of that drive to me.

Well, that pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter. If you think I left anything out, or don’t agree with me on a certain factor, fee free to leave me some comments and let me know.

Hey guys,

It’s been a real long while since I’ve posted here and I apologize for that. Then again, hobbies often take a back seat when life gets busy. I’d like you all to know things have settled down and I find myself with time once again to post.

I’ve updated the blog to the latest version of WP, as it seems in my absense some jerk used an exploit to fill my entries with invisible gambling links, getting me flagged as a badware site. Hopefully that should be removed in a few days now. I’ve also updated some plugins, so as you can see at the top of the page the site is available in a lot more languages now.

Check back tomorrow where I’ll have a write up about the Ducks playoff performance, or lack thereof.

Lately, things have been real crazy for this part-time blogger and unfortunately it left me with little to no time to update this site. I will catch up on the missing posts (game recaps, rumors, etc…) over the next few days, but I’d like to take this moment to explain to you guys why.

First, I caught quite the tropical flu which laid me up in bed for about 4-5 days. That sucked. I have a pretty strong immune system though and recovered easily. Then, I had family come in to town which meant a lot of trips to the beach, an African reserve and basically a lot of being away from home and the internet.

Finally, I’ve been extremely busy with work, as we dealt with potential buyers for our company as well as began work on a brand-new project. I’m happy to say the former has now concluded and the latter is progressing nicely towards its goal.

All that said, I apologize for missing so much time on here and hope it doesn’t happen again anytime soon. The most exciting time of the year is coming quickly upon us, with the Trade Deadline and final push for the playoffs and ultimately the playoffs themselves. I think we have a solid shot to repeat as Cup champions for the first time since Detroit did it. I’m willing to bet on it, any takers?

Ever since the Ducks won a Cup last year, Teemu Selanne has stated how he wanted to go out while at the top. He didn’t want to become a player who keeps playing until he is a shell of his former self. Guys who either need the money, or just don’t know how to say goodbye to the game.

It can be said that Teemu Selanne, also known to many fans as “The Finnish Flash”, was on his way downhill after landing with the San Jose Sharks and then Colorado Avalanche. He failed to win a Cup in Denver with best-buddy Paul Kariya. He seemed to be done for. However, Ducks’GM Brian Burke decided to take a chance on him. Selanne did have knee surgery and a lot of time to rest during the lockout. Selanne also had some of his best years in Anaheim, so Burke took a gamble that paid off greatly. For just 1 million, he bought himself a 40-goal scorer as Teemu found himself a new man.

Then last year, Teemu Selanne put together another 40-goal campaign and won his first Stanley Cup in his first Finals appearance ever. One could say (and I imagine Teemu has asked himself), that there isn’t anything left for Teemu to do and if he retired now he would definitely be going out on top. I, however, beg to differ.

Repeating is an extremely difficult task in the new NHL, with more league parity and salary caps, but with Anaheim playing very solid hockey as of late and going on a winning streak, adding Teemu could only cementtheir status as a favorite. That would be somethingnot many players can say they have done in their career. Still, this is an obvious reason. There is another.

Jari Kurri is arguably the best Finnish player to ever play in the NHL. Personally, I give that nod to Selanne but hat Kurri did can’t be overlooked. People will say “sure, but he played on those great Oiler teams and in high offense times” and they are right; but the point is they cannot say how Kurri would have produced if he came in the league at the same time as Selanne.

Jari Kurri leads all Finnish players with 601 goals. Teemu is second, with 540 goals. Selanne has the better goals-per-game pace though with a 0.52, compared to Kurri’s  0.48. I think being the top-scoring Finnish player could be a challenge for Teemu. With the number of games left, assuming Selanne returns in a week or two at most, let’s say he manages to shake off the rust and scores 17 goals in the last 25-30 games. Can it be done? Sure. Will it be done? I’m not a psychic.

Teemu would obviously have to return next season as well as avoid injury if he wants to tak a crack at it. He’d need a 47 goal season to accomplish his task and end at 602 goals. He just had a 48 goal season. He’s had plenty of rest this year, so he might not be running on empty next season just yet. Assuming Bertuzzi - Getzlaf - Perry stay together, he’ll likely find himself getting less attention from the other teamand more chances. He will need a solid C to feed him the puck, but I think we’ll be able to find one. There are a lot of IFs, but if Selanne returned for this and next year, he couldhave a task to make him push himself in beating Jari Kurri.

Does that interest Teemu? I have no idea. Maybe it doesn’t. Then again, maybe, just maybe, it’s the incentive he’s been looking for.

Only time will tell.

Finally, for the first time this season, the Ducks were up to the challenge of playing the Stars. Scott Niedermayer had his biggest night since returning, garnering himself the game’s first goal as well as two assists to tie his career high of 3 pts in a game (which he has done 15 times now)!

Todd Marchant, Ryan Getzlaf and Todd Bertuzzi had the other Ducks goals, with Getzlaf and Bertuzzi also adding an assist. Giguere was solid with 22 saves. Turco, the much busier goalie, can’t say the same stopping 32 of 36 in the loss. He also was beat by Brandon Bochenski on a late-game breakaway, but luckily (for Turco) the shot rang off the cross-bar. Chris Kunitz also had the first penalty shot of his career but lost control of the puck and was not able to fire a shot off.

The ducks ended their four-game homestand a perfect 4-0, beating Nashville, Toronto, San Jose and Dallas. They also moved ahead of Dallas into second spot in the Pacific Division, one point less than the Sharks (who lost tonight to Phoenix).

Niklas Hagman and Loui Eriksson scored for Dallas in the losing effort. The game however was not as close as the score.

Brad May also had a tremendous, old-school fight with Stars’ tough-guy Krys Barch.

Few rumors going around the net these days:

Chicago GM Dale Tallon has expressed an interest in acquiring an older defenseman with some offensive upside to mentor his young players. Francois Beauchemin’s name is one that has been bandied about. It’s unknown if Burke is seeking to move Beauchemin due to him struggling this year, but Burke himself has said he traded Andy McDonald in an effort to keep his D corps intact. If there were a deal, it’d likely be for picks/prospects or perhaps a young defender with a low cap hit.

Brian Burke’s senior consultant, Al Coates, also took in two Bruins games recently in Boston. Coates does have personal connections in the city however, so this rumor may not be based on much more than pure speculation. The Bruins and Ducks recently completed a swap, with Anaheim acquiring Brandon Bochenski and Boston getting Shane Hnidy.

Lastly, the latest on Teemu Selanne is that he will be back in 1-3 weeks. I myself predicted we would see him back in a Ducks uniform around the All-Star game; the rumored timeframe seeks to make me correct on that. Teemu has been upping his practice schedule and practicing in full gear this week.

San Jose built themselves a 3-1 lead and looked to be on their way to getting their first regulation win over the Ducks this season in six games, when Corey Perry banged home a puck behind rookie Shark goalie Thomas Greiss, who was getting his first NHL start. The Ducks couldn’t score the tying goal however until there was less than 30 seconds left in the game and they had netminder Jean-Sebastien pulled for an extra attacker.

Doug Weight banked a shot from the far side off the skate of San Jose defenceman Alexi Semenov and into an open net past Greiss. Francois Beauchemin, who jumped into a rush, then scored the OT winner just 33 seconds into the extra period. He one-timed a perfect pass from Todd Marchant for his first goal in 41 games.

Todd Bertuzzi continued his impressive play of late scoring a goal and adding an assist, giving him 2 goals and 4 assists over the past three Anaheim games (all wins). Milan Michalek, Jeremy Roenick and Torrey Mitchell has the Shark goals. Giguere made a key save with 5 seconds remaining on Michalek who had a strong game and got into a quasi-fight with the Ducks’ Corey Perry.

Rumors are starting to creep around the league about potential deadline-rentals Mats Sundin and Marian Hossa. The Ducks and Sharks have both been mentioned to be interested.

Obviously, any team in the playoff hunt should be interested, but it’s of my opinion neither player will be a Duck anytime this season. Let’s examine why.

Mats Sundin

Obviously, Sundin is a great center who plays hard and still performs near the top of the league at this stage of his career. He has stated his feelings before on how winning a Cup with another team would make it feel ‘cheap’. The chances he’ll waive his No Movement Clause (NMC) are slim, but I feel he might if it is to a contender and the team asks him to, in an effort to acquire assets to help them in the future (as a UFA, Sundin could then resign with the Leafs in the summer).

If Sundin is moved, it’ll definitely be to the West. The most likely destination I can see is Vancouver, or possibly Detroit. Anaheim has Getzlaf and Weight as their top two centers and I don’t see that changing (despite the fact Sundin is much better than Weight). Weight is starting to build chemistry with Chris Kunitz and is producing. Getzlaf, Perry and Bertuzzi are the Ducks’ top line. Sundin doesn’t have the same value playing the wing; so he’s not a good fit for the Ducks right now. I can’t see him going to the Sharks either, who have their own top centers in Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

Marian Hossa

Hossa, in my opinion, is one of the top 10 forwards in the league. He would fit very nicely on the second line with Weight and Kunitz. While defenders try and stop the Getzlaf-Perry-Bertuzzi connection, Weight and Hossa would have less attention and more space to work their plays. The thing is, I feel Teemu Selanne will be back this season. Selanne fills that right-wing spot. Hossa could potentially take Kunitz’ place on the left side of that line, but playing Kunitz on the third/fourth line would be a waste to me. The other thing is, the price for Hossa will and should be HUGE. We are talking much larger than prices paid for an injured Peter Forsberg, Ryan Smyth or Keith Tkachuk last year. I do not feel Brian Burke is prepared to pay that kind of cost for a rental. Unless some major bodies moved, Anaheim would not have any shot to resign him as a free-agent for next year (as well as keep Corey Perry).

I do think San Jose will make a solid bid for Hossa. They have proven before they are interested in rentals and while Bill Guerin didn’t take them to the Cup last season, adding Hossa will definitely make them a favorite. They also have enough young talent to offer up to Atlanta. Guys like Torrey Mitchell, Logan Couture, Devin Setoguchi, Ty Wishart and Nick Petrecki would lead the list of candidates.

If Selanne doesn’t return, Anaheim is still in good shape. They can bring Bobby Ryan back up to fill the second line right wing spot after he’s missed the chance for his games played bonus, or if Bochenski produces consistently he can have the spot. Brian Sutherby is another option, as he’d create energy and not be a defensive liability. I think Anaheim has the best shot to repeat of any Cup champion in years.

For the second game in a row, Anaheim’s offense was clicking on all cylinders and the Ducks found themselves with five goals for. At the other end of the ice, Jean-Sebastien Giguere closed the door on all of Toronto’s attempts to post his 27th career shutout. Giguere is now tied with former Ducks netminder Guy Hebert for the franchise record.

Todd Bertuzzi continued his excellent play of late notching a goal and adding two helpers. Corey Perry did the same, while Doug Weight, Chris Kunitz and newly acquired forward Brandon Bochenski scored his first goal as a Duck.

Tough guy George Parros was forced to leave the game with an injured knee, suffered during a fight with Leaf Wade Belak.

Anaheim has sent young right wing Matt Keith to the Islanders in exchange for right wing Darryl Bootland. Both players are expected to report to their new teams’ AHL affiliates.

Bootland is a depth player, who brings energy and fighting to the team but not a lot else.

Anaheim needed a game like this. After an extended string of games where the Ducks just couldn’t score more than 2 goals, their offense broke out in a second period, four-goal outburst to put an end to the funk. Corey Perry, Chris Kunitz, Chris Pronger, Travis Moen and Ryan Getzlaf scored with Perry, Kunitz and Getzlaf picking up an assist as well to lead the charge. Getzlaf now has points in 8 straight games, tying his career personal best.

The Ducks were also 2-for-3 on the powerplay, while both Predators’ goals were also scored with the man advantage. Marek Zidlicky and J.P. Dumont had the Nashville goals while Nashville goaltender Dan Ellis lost for the first time in his previous 5 starts and let in four goals on just 10 shots in the second period span.

The win moved Anaheim into a tie with Vancouver for fifth in the Western Conference, though the Canucks have 4 games in hand. Anaheim is 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

With ever-growing rumors that Teemu Selanne is on his way back to the Ducks this season, I figured we should take a look at the potential logjam at forward this presents Anaheim.

Scoring Line 1

Without a doubt, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have cemented their statuses this season as first-liners. The problem is, their coveted left-wing spot has seen a revolving door of guys who just haven’t been the perfect match.

In my opinion, I would leave Chris Kunitz there. He brings energy and grit to an already feisty line and complements the others well. While Perry is agitating and dangling his way off the boards or out of the corners to the front of the net, Kunitz can install himself in perfect deflection position in front of the net. This frees Getzlaf to roam behind the net or to the high slot, where his rocket shot is best used.

Scoring Line 2

A line that has been used with moderate success since acquiring Doug Weight is that of Todd Bertuzzi, Weight and top Ducks’ prospect Bobby Ryan. While I have really liked Ryan’s recent play since being called up again, if Teemu returns you know the RW spot is his for the taking. I think despite the chemistry Teemu and Andy McDonald had the past two seasons due to their speed, Teemu will do great with Weight and Bertuzzi. Big Bert can screen the net, as he does best, while Weight makes the plays to find Selanne and Teemu does the “finnishing” - pun intended. Unfortunately for Ryan, this means he will be sent down as playing on defensive lines makes no sense for him at this stage in his budding career.

Checking Line

There is no reason not to keep Moen, Pahlsson and Niedermayer together here. While they may not be having the season they did last year, they still do an excellent defensive job.

Fourth /Energy Line

Here is where there are too many takers and not enough spots. George Parros’ play has improved a lot this season and he will remain in the lineup as long as he’s not a defensive liability. His energy, spirit and fighting (while no pro boxer he holds his own often enough) are needed with the physical brand of hockey Anaheim plays. Todd Marchant also has a spot secure as his salary is high, he is a very versatile player and an excellent penalty-killer; he’s also the Ducks’ best short-handed threat. That leaves just one spot open and numerous forwards fighting for it. Drew Miller has been sent down to Portland, so it’s unlikely he’ll get called up anytime soon again unless the injury bug bites. Youngster Ryan Carter has been playing very well recently and looks to be making a strong case to hold a position.

That brings us to two players recently acquired; Brian Sutherby and Brandon Bochenski. Bochenski was tried out tonight in Bobby Ryan’s position but didn’t seem to do much with the ice time. He could be claimed on waivers if sent down, so expect him to get a few more chances (likely in Ryan’s spot) until Selanne returns. Unless he lights it up big time, he’ll likely be sent down and possibly claimed. Sutherby is a different case. It seems he was someone Burke wanted, as opposed to just clearing cap and tagging space for next season. Having played with Getzlaf and Perry, it’s obvious the team had plans for him. Injuries, however, changed all that. I would expect Sutherby to be a healthy scratch for the moment, perhaps swapping in with Carter if his play slows down. Or a first-shot injury replacement if pretty much any of the other forwards go down.

Speaking of injuries, we need not forget Brad May. Currently injured, he also must fit into this jigsaw puzzle somehow. I would say that he’ll be seeing the press box until injuries or playoff time, where May will likely get slotted back in at the expense of Parros or a rookie like Carter.

You do have to think though, if Burke receives an offer on Marchant, that he’d ship him out for the tagging space needed to extend Perry, freeing up that 4th line spot.

To summarize, here are the lines I see for Anaheim:

Kunitz - Getzlaf - Perry

Bertuzzi - Weight - Selanne/Ryan

Moen - Pahlsson - Niedermayer

Carter - Marchant -Parros

Extras: Sutherby, May, Bochenski

Personally, despite the fact I really like Marchant, I would try and find a suitor for him even if it’s only for a late draft pick. That will allow us to extend Corey Perry and give Sutherby his slot.

What would you do?

In an anticipated battle of former teammates, it was Ilya Bryzgalov who earned the tight victory (albeit via shootout) over rival Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Peter Mueller sealed the comeback win for Phoenix, scoring the only goal of the shootout.

Phoenix twice came back from one-goal deficits, first when Shane Doan scored to tie it 1-1 not long after Ryan Getzlaf opened the scoring for Anaheim. Then, after a deflection by Doug Weight gave Anaheim the lead once more, Phoenix quickly tied it on a goal from hot-as-of-late Steven Reinprecht.

This was Bryzgalov’s second game against the Ducks since being put on waivers by them and claimed by the Coyotes earlier this season.

Jean-Sebastien came down with a slight flu so it was up to Jonas Hiller to grab the reins and he did just that. Hiller made several excellent saves against young Hawks stars such as Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp to lead the Ducks to a second consecutive 2-1 victory.

Patrick Sharp did beat Hiller for his 21st goal of the season, two more than all of last year, but it wasn’t enough.

Corey Perry opened the scoring very quickly for Anaheim with a goal 16 seconds in off a rush. Chris KUnitz then closed out the first period with under a minute to go by deflecting a Perry shot past Chicago netminder Khabibulin.

Anaheim will play again tomorrow night against Ilya Bryzgalov and the Phoenix Coyotes.