2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Anaheim Ducks
by James Mirtle on Sep 15, 2009 11:00 AM CDT
5 comments
Who's in: Evgeny Artyukhin, Nick Boynton, Steve Eminger, Saku Koivu, Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa
Who's out: Francois Beauchemin, Bret Hedican, Drew Miller, Rob Niedermayer, Chris Pronger
Outlook: Bob Murray's first off-season in the big chair was a busy one.
The Ducks were faced with having to pare payroll with owner Henry Samueli in legal trouble, and the biggest name exiting stage left was former Hart Trophy winner Chris Pronger in a deal to the Flyers for Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and two first-round picks. Also on the way out was Francois Beauchemin, who former GM Brian Burke signed to a big-ticket contract in Toronto.
The results will see Anaheim ice a much difference defence core this fall, one still built around captain Scott Niedermayer but which will also rely heavily on Ryan Whitney, James Wisniewski and free agent signings like Nick Boynton and Steve Eminger in key minutes. The Ducks struggled last season with goals against even with Pronger in the lineup (with some of those issues attributable to Jean-Sebastien Giguere's play) but there may be more growing pains to come in that department given this cast.
Where there should be gains is up front, as Murray added popular former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu on a bargain $3.25-million contract, and he will likely experience some success with long-time Team Finland linemate Teemu Selanne. Add in Lupul's contributions in his second go-round with the Ducks and the fact Bobby Ryan will finally get a full season in the NHL and this should be one of the more dangerous offensive teams in the Western Conference.
Where that likely puts Anaheim is back on the bubble, battling to stay on as a low playoff seed with the potential to slide in somewhere in the middle if Jonas Hiller proves the real deal.
X-factor: Ryan Whitney
For a more in-depth Ducks preview, visit Battle of California
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook
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The more I think about the Ducks’ defense the more excited I get. They gave up a lot of shots last year, but they didn’t give up a lot of rebounds. Losing Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin is going to hurt that quite a bit, I think. That, combined with the fact that Hiller gives up more rebounds than the Knicks, could end up costing the Ducks a lot of goals against.
The West Coast is the Best Coast.
by RudyKelly on Sep 15, 2009 1:33 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Sure, but they were dead-league-average in terms of GA last year, even with the superstars.
It’s possible that this collection of blueliners and goalies can’t produce league-average GA results again, I suppose, but I’m not ruling out improvement, either. All it would take, theoretically, would be less Giguere throwaway minutes and a less-than-awful PK. I need to see them play some games, though — too many guys made their money on the east coast; there’s still tons of unknowns.
http://www.battleofcali.com/
by Earl Sleek on Sep 15, 2009 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Ducks were faced with having to pare payroll with owner Henry Samueli in legal trouble
I’m not sure that the Ducks have felt the Samueli impact that much yet — though I’m not really sure. GM Murray had to trim payroll regardless of ownership issues because Brian Burke had pushed the Ducks to be cap over-spenders the last two seasons — Burkie’s heavy spending was permitted because of the cup win and Selanne/Niedermayer drama, but it was unsustainable long-term for mid-market Anaheim.
I’m actually kind of surprised how much the Ducks have spent this summer — earlier posts had me worried that they were aiming for bottom-five spending. Samueli’s real-life mess will still probably have an impact, but this year seems safely committed to.
http://www.battleofcali.com/
by Earl Sleek on Sep 15, 2009 2:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I thought we’re on par with the reported revenues from last year—- attendance was down as unemployment in southern california went sky high. But I never trust sellout/attendance numbers with the Ducks. I think they’ve underreported Pond seating since it was built. Still, on paper, I think paring down salary to get under budget was a must, even before factoring in Samueli.
Anaheim Calling
http://anaheimcalling.blogspot.com
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Sep 15, 2009 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What will hurt them almost as much as losing Pronger will be the loss of Pahlsson, Moen and Rob Niedermayer. In some sense, those three have been replaced by Lupul, Koivu and Selanne, shifting a dominant checking line for a secondary scoring line. Another x-factor is certainly Scott Niedermayer, who will be asked to play a ton, and be a big part of the Olympic team too. He’s one of my all-time favorite players, but he might be in for a tough season.
by K Marshall on Sep 17, 2009 12:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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