The Anaheim Ducks: Your 2007 Stanley Cup Champions!

In just their second season as a “brand new” team (set in motion by Disney selling the team, the dropping of ‘Mighty’ from the name, a new coach and a new general manager) the Ducks are the envy of every owner, GM and coach in the league. They have won the Stanley Cup with an impressive 16-5 playoff record. Unlike their previous Cinderella run in 2003 where they fell just one game short, this was not a one-man (or one-goalie) show. This was a complete, dominant team effort throughout the whole ’second season’.

Five or six players could possibly have won the Conn Smythe as Most Valuable Player and no one would have much argument. A solid 1-2 punch in nets, the best Top-3 defence in the league, a decent energy line of rotating players, a supreme shutdown line and first-and-second line scoring from a mix of young guns and an older vet having his first shot at a Cup (Selanne) proved to be a winning formula.

The question is, what happens now??

There are rumors going around that this could be the swan song for either Scott Niedermayer or Teemu Selanne. In Niedermayer’s case, there really isn’t anything for him left to prove after winning his 4th Stanley Cup (finally one alongside his brother) and the Conn Smythe. However I think if he is still having fun and still wants to be around brother Rob he will continue playing. Teemu, on the other hand, has hinted he wants to go out on top. After consecutive 40-goal seasons at his age and finally, a Stanley Cup, he would definitely be going out on top if he chose to retire now. He should and would be the first Duck to have their number retired. Again though, I don’t think he’ll be departing just yet. You see in the past two seasons, Teemu has been living a renewed youth. He’s having fun playing hockey again. I think he will keep playing until the day he wakes up and says ‘I really don’t feel like playing today’ and not a game before.

Scott and Teemu’s decisions will weigh heavily into the direction the Ducks take this off season. Should both players remain, the Ducks will likely only slightly tweak the roster and aim for a repeat performance. Should the Ducks lose either man to retirement, or top net minder Jean-Sebastien Giguere to free-agency, there will be major moves made to fill the holes. An exciting summer to be a Ducks’ fan for sure.

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