Ducks pluck Todd Simpson in waiver draft

No link...saw it on the tailend of the Travis Green selection plastered all over tsn.ca...spector's hockey has a biggerblurb about it

What are we going to do with him?
I mean it's a slick move, but not for us
we already have 7 d-men and also Mark Popovic to boot....

Off the cuff, I think this might be the end of Vishnevski in Anaheim. I like the pickup of Simpson though. I was hoping the Kings would have taken a flyer on him.

Simpson was a very smart pick up. Trust me, he is well worth it. I am still pissed at Phoenix for exposing him. :rant:

Simpson was a very smart pick up. Trust me, he is well worth it. I am still pissed at Phoenix for exposing him. :rant:

Simpson is a +27 over the last 2 years. Awesome pick-up by murray. This makes an allready solid group of defensemen even better. He has great size, very physical, great vetran prescence....I think this definatly means Vish is being traded, because i don't think there is even a spot on the roster for him now. Great move.....now you guys don't have to listen to me keep saying that we should get a UFA defenseman anymore.

Great pickup. Basically an upgrade over Ward at the seventh defensive spot, and someone who will press Vish. Ward will probably stick around as an eighth d-man/thirteenth forward. One less forward spot now, though.

Simpson wont be a 7th D-man i guarantee you that.

I think he is more like or 5th defenseman moving saur to 6th and vish to 7th

Solid pickup by Murray. He gets a solid d-man for nothing at all that improves our D that was already a solid group from last year. Something is obviously in the works and it could be a good possibility now that Vishnevski will be moved. Murray might have been working out a trade at the GM meetings involving Vishnevski to get another forward or Carney could be hurt worse than day to day as reported.

I think he is more like or 5th defenseman moving saur to 6th and vish to 7th

Simpson is AT LEAST a 6th defenseman. Could possibly be a 5th. He'll be a great pick up. One of the best middleweight fighters in the NHL. He can also hold his own against most heavyweights. I don't know too many other physical type defensemen that can say they have more than held their own against Georges Laraque. Simpson can because he has. He is also well respected in the locker room, a former captain, he'll be great on your team. I am officially an Anaheim fan now.

Why was he exposed? Did Phoenix not want to pay the 1.5? Was he not popular? Was he pushed off the depth chart? What's the story?

Why was he exposed? Did Phoenix not want to pay the 1.5? Was he not popular? Was he pushed off the depth chart? What's the story?

Money was a major issue. For some reason they decided to go with Hulse $1.1 million and Suchy $1 million instead. Real stupid mistake as they will learn this year. Also the play of Matthew Spiller gave them 8 possible NHL defensemen. Suchy should've been the odd man out, but nothing can be done about that now. The Ducks just got lucky.

Is there any chance on Chris Therien?

Is there any chance on Chris Therien?

Therien = 2.6 million this year. That's the reason nobody got near 40 feet of him during the draft.

Carney's got a broken foot, and its unknown how long he'll be out for. At least thats according to "The Score" sports network in Canada. So with that alone its a good insurance policy against Keith being out an extended period of time. That aside, Simpson's a solid d-man, a tough sob, and a popular guy in the room. Good leader. I think this move will make Havelid more of a pp specialist, and may slide Vish out of the lineup. Ducks don't have anyone as mean as Todd on the blueline, so he brings a different and well-needed element.

If Carney's out then it isn't going to slide anyone out of the lineup.

This makes me extremely happy and really adds to the depth on the blue line. Another great move by Murray.

Getting Simpson was a great move to add more depth on the blueline. This guy is one tough SOB, something we don't have. And to boot, Todd Simpson is a character player as well. He'll do a good job filling in the holes we have without Carney.

If Carney comes back, our top 6 will be looking very nice.

Carney
Ozo
Salei
Havelid
Simpson
Sauer

With Popovic in the wings, maybe its time to move Vish, as sad as that may sound. I love the kid. Unfortunately, he's just not fitting in with Babcock's system and his development is stuck in neutral. Maybe a change of venue can get his career and game back on track.

Solid pickup by Murray. He gets a solid d-man for nothing at all that improves our D that was already a solid group from last year. Something is obviously in the works and it could be a good possibility now that Vishnevski will be moved. Murray might have been working out a trade at the GM meetings involving Vishnevski to get another forward or Carney could be hurt worse than day to day as reported.
Martin Havlat anyone? Ottawa can use another defensemen and a forward....all i have to say is...LETS HOPE VISHNEVSKI IS GONE! we finally have a big bruising defensemen..murray does it again.

i hope vish does good this season bc i like the kid...i loved him when he was a wrecking ball out in the ice,hitting everyone...hope he goes back to that form..

If we were going to add someone in the waiver draft I'm glad it's Simpson...Our team toughness is going to be better this year. :yo:

Just got back from the Game. We looked terrible. Defense out of postition all night long no outlet passes whatsoever.
Ward = He is AHL Level. Slow, terrible passing, out of postion and when he gets challenged by Lappy - well I guess he bear hugged him.
Havelid = Invisible all game
Sauer = Back to the old pre playoff game - out of position, no tape to tape basses, overmatched in corners
Ozo = was ok, at least he moves the puck
Salei = got Major slash penaltiy and game misconduct in the first. This will have additional consequences has Salei has already a history with the NHL. I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone for 5 - 10 games - not good
Vish = Believe or not but he was actually looking pretty good and tried to creat some offense.

The Carney injuriy is going to hurt us much more than some poster try to make us believe. Add to this that Salei could be out too and the first few games of the season are already very crucial.

Quiet frankly the Kings were head and shoulders above us in every aspect of the game and thats without Miller, Deadmarsh and Allison in the lineup. We got scored twice on the PP. Sykora, Rucchin, Prospal were invisible for the entire game. Feds had some nice moves. Chistov was pushed around from the first minute.Lupul, Getzlaf, Smirnov and Holmvist were caught out of postion quiet a few times. Severson - I don't know he doesn't strike me as being a particular intelligent hockey player - he took a lot of dump pentalites that ended costing us some goals. Krog and Phalson did ok.
Nieds was the only player of significance that did not play (besides Leclerc)
Guigere did not play the last period and when he got the 3rd goal was really mad. The entire Ducks defense just kept running around in front of him.
That's two games against the Kings that we get beat cleanly. We are lacking grinders and mucklers (Steve Thomas were are you)
The game though was called in the good old fashion way. Lot's of suddle interferences, holding and clutching all night long.

Just got back from the Game. We looked terrible. Defense out of postition all night long no outlet passes whatsoever.
Ward = He is AHL Level. Slow, terrible passing, out of postion and when he gets challenged by Lappy - well I guess he bear hugged him.
Havelid = Invisible all game
Sauer = Back to the old pre playoff game - out of position, no tape to tape basses, overmatched in corners
Ozo = was ok, at least he moves the puck
Salei = got Major slash penaltiy and game misconduct in the first. This will have additional consequences has Salei has already a history with the NHL. I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone for 5 - 10 games - not good
Vish = Believe or not but he was actually looking pretty good and tried to creat some offense.

The Carney injuriy is going to hurt us much more than some poster try to make us believe. Add to this that Salei could be out too and the first few games of the season are already very crucial.

Quiet frankly the Kings were head and shoulders above us in every aspect of the game and thats without Miller, Deadmarsh and Allison in the lineup. We got scored twice on the PP. Sykora, Rucchin, Prospal were invisible for the entire game. Feds had some nice moves. Chistov was pushed around from the first minute.Lupul, Getzlaf, Smirnov and Holmvist were caught out of postion quiet a few times. Severson - I don't know he doesn't strike me as being a particular intelligent hockey player - he took a lot of dump pentalites that ended costing us some goals. Krog and Phalson did ok.
Nieds was the only player of significance that did not play (besides Leclerc)
Guigere did not play the last period and when he got the 3rd goal was really mad. The entire Ducks defense just kept running around in front of him.
That's two games against the Kings that we get beat cleanly. We are lacking grinders and mucklers (Steve Thomas were are you)
The game though was called in the good old fashion way. Lot's of suddle interferences, holding and clutching all night long.

Wow I didn't realize the Salei slash was that bad...damn Robitaille...Salei better not get suspended.

I think picking a guy like him is great, we finally get a really mean dman and although he may be slow, he is a good positional player with leadership.

This is great in case Vish or Sauer regress this season... I just think it will allow Popo to get a little more seasoning (cause hes solid but didnt have a spectacular AHL yr and hes only 20) and it just pushes a guy like Garrett to the AHL and Ward up to the 4rth line and utility role.

[QUOTE=quad]Just got back from the Game. We looked terrible. Defense out of postition all night long no outlet passes whatsoever.
Ward = He is AHL Level. Slow, terrible passing, out of postion and when he gets challenged by Lappy - well I guess he bear hugged him.
Havelid = Invisible all game
Sauer = Back to the old pre playoff game - out of position, no tape to tape basses, overmatched in corners
Ozo = was ok, at least he moves the puck


Wow, 1 bad game and the whole team sucks. Talk about bandwagon fans.... :rant:

How can the NHL review an incident without video? I don't think anything will happen to Salei.

How can the NHL review an incident without video? I don't think anything will happen to Salei.

good question :dunno:

possibly the referees and off ice officials could be asked about the incident...if it was serious enough. :dunno:

I don't think anything will happen though.

Wow, 1 bad game and the whole team sucks. Talk about bandwagon fans.... :rant:[/QUOTE]

I have been a ducks supporter for 10 years - Being critical has nothing to do with being a bandwagoner. What's the point of sugar coating a performance - we looked terrible and the Kings outplayed us for 60 Minutes by a wide margin. (anybody who went to the game will confirm this) Yes it is only pre season but it will be foolish to think that you can just turn the switch on in 4 days when it counts. The Kings came into the pond prepared and with a clear purpose - Most of the ducks looked lost last night. Maybe this is the best thing that could happend to them - A big wake up call for everybody.

BTW I went to a coupe of games already - Ward looked terrible in both of them - We are in trouble if he is sloted in as a starter and Severson has shown me nothing but taking stupid penalties - for the 5 minutes he plays a game I'll take Burnett any day of the week - at least he fights.

Wow, 1 bad game and the whole team sucks. Talk about bandwagon fans.... :rant:

I have been a ducks supporter for 10 years - Being critical has nothing to do with being a bandwagoner. What's the point of sugar coating a performance - we looked terrible and the Kings outplayed us for 60 Minutes by a wide margin. (anybody who went to the game will confirm this) Yes it is only pre season but it will be foolish to think that you can just turn the switch on in 4 days when it counts. The Kings came into the pond prepared and with a clear purpose - Most of the ducks looked lost last night. Maybe this is the best thing that could happend to them - A big wake up call for everybody.

BTW I went to a coupe of games already - Ward looked terrible in both of them - We are in trouble if he is sloted in as a starter and Severson has shown me nothing but taking stupid penalties - for the 5 minutes he plays a game I'll take Burnett any day of the week - at least he fights.

In regards to Severson, he is an "agitator"...agitators are going to take stupid penalties. The only question is whether or not he can get the other team to take stupid penalties atleast as often as he is taking them. In last nights game he took a run at one of the Kings which led to an altercation with the King's enforcer Brennan...in that situation Brennan got the extra penalty for going after Severson...so that was a positive of what he can do as an agitator...on the other hand later he goes crazy going after a King's player and gets a bunch of penalties...

So basically if his own penalties are canceled out by the penalties the other team takes because of him, along with getting them off their games...then he is worth having on the team.

I have been a ducks supporter for 10 years - Being critical has nothing to do with being a bandwagoner.

There's a pervasive feeling amongst the more unimaginative that everything in eggplant and jade (or plum and black) is perfection and that saying anything else is blasphemy.

"BTW I went to a coupe of games already - Ward looked terrible in both of them - We are in trouble if he is sloted in as a starter and Severson has shown me nothing but taking stupid penalties - for the 5 minutes he plays a game I'll take Burnett any day of the week - at least he fights."




Sorry, but I have a difficult time taking Ward bashers seriously. Ward had a bad game last night?? Well Sauer was on for 3 goals, Ward 2 and Sauer is expected to be one of our top 4. Why is it that Ward gets all the heat?

Considering the fact that for 2 years he's played out of position, a bad game is hardly a shock. Also the Duck radio announcer last night said Lance Ward was one of the best defensemen the previous night versus the Yotes. So he is capable and is also one of the more physical players on a team that needs some toughness.

Oh, and his skating speed is better than that of Todd Simpson, Scott Stevens and many more big league defensemen. Those who are critical of that aspect of Ward's game seem to miss that obvious point.

The West will be a tough, physical division this season and guys like Ward and Severson will become very important as the season goes along.

"BTW I went to a coupe of games already - Ward looked terrible in both of them - We are in trouble if he is sloted in as a starter and Severson has shown me nothing but taking stupid penalties - for the 5 minutes he plays a game I'll take Burnett any day of the week - at least he fights."




Sorry, but I have a difficult time taking Ward bashers seriously. Ward had a bad game last night?? Well Sauer was on for 3 goals, Ward 2 and Sauer is expected to be one of our top 4. Why is it that Ward gets all the heat?

Considering the fact that for 2 years he's played out of position, a bad game is hardly a shock. Also the Duck radio announcer last night said Lance Ward was one of the best defensemen the previous night versus the Yotes. So he is capable and is also one of the more physical players on a team that needs some toughness.

Oh, and his skating speed is better than that of Todd Simpson, Scott Stevens and many more big league defensemen. Those who are critical of that aspect of Ward's game seem to miss that obvious point.

The West will be a tough, physical division this season and guys like Ward and Severson will become very important as the season goes along.


It's not overall speed thats the problem with Ward, its his lateral movement thats bad...from what I've seen...but I don't mind him as our 7th d-man.

There's a pervasive feeling amongst the more unimaginative that everything in eggplant and jade (or plum and black) is perfection and that saying anything else is blasphemy.

There's also a pervasive feeling that some people aren't happy without something to complain about.

Last night was a hiccup. Our #1 d-man was out with an injury, another one of our top four d-man goes out early with a game misconduct. Prior to last night, Sauer was having a great preseason. I'd hardly consider it fatal.

Why was he exposed? Did Phoenix not want to pay the 1.5? Was he not popular? Was he pushed off the depth chart? What's the story?

acording to the hockey news yearbook. he was 4th on the coyotes depth chart behind brad ference and above cale hulse.

The NYI will gladly take a big tough Defenseman like Ward off your hands.

how about ward for trent hunter :)

"BTW I went to a coupe of games already - Ward looked terrible in both of them - We are in trouble if he is sloted in as a starter and Severson has shown me nothing but taking stupid penalties - for the 5 minutes he plays a game I'll take Burnett any day of the week - at least he fights."




Sorry, but I have a difficult time taking Ward bashers seriously. Ward had a bad game last night?? Well Sauer was on for 3 goals, Ward 2 and Sauer is expected to be one of our top 4. Why is it that Ward gets all the heat?

Considering the fact that for 2 years he's played out of position, a bad game is hardly a shock. Also the Duck radio announcer last night said Lance Ward was one of the best defensemen the previous night versus the Yotes. So he is capable and is also one of the more physical players on a team that needs some toughness.

Oh, and his skating speed is better than that of Todd Simpson, Scott Stevens and many more big league defensemen. Those who are critical of that aspect of Ward's game seem to miss that obvious point.

The West will be a tough, physical division this season and guys like Ward and Severson will become very important as the season goes along.




Well if you read my post you would have realized that Sauer had a terrible game too. I could not see the game against the Yotes (for obvious reasons) what I have seen so far from Ward this year just doesn't strike me as being very good.
He is slow, out of position and like a previous poster pointed out has a difficult time to move laterally which hurts him when he needs to skate the puck out of the zone. At this point he is at best the #7 D-Man on the roster. As for Carney out we better get used to it - He won't play for at least a month.
I just felt last night was a pathetic performance from pretty much the entire team - and quiet frankly if you are happy to lay your (hard earned?!) $ out for this kind of performance without being critical after that - more power to you.

There's also a pervasive feeling that some people aren't happy without something to complain about.

Yes. By the group I mentioned.

Last night was a hiccup. Our #1 d-man was out with an injury, another one of our top four d-man goes out early with a game misconduct. Prior to last night, Sauer was having a great preseason. I'd hardly consider it fatal.

That doesn't really explain the poor-sounding play of the forwards entirely. Or Fedorov's inability to show himself on the scoresheet. But I've only seen one preseason game, so maybe you've seen more than I.

There's also a pervasive feeling that some people aren't happy without something to complain about.

Last night was a hiccup. Our #1 d-man was out with an injury, another one of our top four d-man goes out early with a game misconduct. Prior to last night, Sauer was having a great preseason. I'd hardly consider it fatal.

No kidding, we lost one game, a meaningless one at that and the big whine begins. Of course everybody was crap last night, but some folks only seem to have watched Lance Ward's performance..

"He is slow, out of position and like a previous poster pointed out has a difficult time to move laterally which hurts him when he needs to skate the puck out of the zone. At this point he is at best the #7 D-Man on the roster. "

Sorry, but for a defenseman, Lance Ward is not slow. Wait till you see Todd Simpson skate if you think Ward is slow.

He is the #7 defensmen on the roster, which is a credit to him since he's played mainly forward for 2 years. Pair him with Carney everyday and he wouldn't look out of position at all.

He isn't much slower than Ward is. Besides Simpson is more physical and a lot tougher. Therefore he is more valuable.

That doesn't really explain the poor-sounding play of the forwards entirely. Or Fedorov's inability to show himself on the scoresheet. But I've only seen one preseason game, so maybe you've seen more than I.

I've seen enough over the years to know that preseason performances don't mean squat for veterans like Feds. If he plays the games that count like he did the preseason, I'll be criticizing him right along with you. And the forwards have been playing fine if you take the whole preseason into account and not just this game. Last night, the Ducks couldn't even get the puck out of their own zone. If the opposition is continuously overpowering our d-men down low, there isn't a lot the forwards can do.

Players are usually giving a half ass effort in the preseason so I wouldn't put too much stock in the game against the Kings. Considering the Ducks played the night before, we definitely got outworked. Wed night, ESPN2 national TV opening night should be a better time to gauge where this team is at and what areas we need to improve.

That's ESPN, Jerky. We made the big show.

Moneyp, I'm just arguing for argument's sake. But if the defensemen are continuously overpowered, then the forwards need to do a better job of making themselves available for outlet passes.