Kick Save
03-14-2006, 07:35 PM
Probably none of these items warrants its own topic, but I think there's enough here to provoke some response:
1. Brian Burke. There were a lot of complaints when Burke made some of his personnel moves: some people didn't like losing Rucchin and LeClerc for little in return. Others thought we may have overpaid for Scott Niedermayer (which, in effect, mandated dumping Rucchin and LeClerc). Some of the the most vocal criticism surrounded the Fedorov trade as in "Why did we give him away?" and "Couldn't we get more?" Parting with a 2nd Rounder for Fedoruk also was unpopular with some. We pretty much gave away Sykora. At the game on Sunday, Burke appeared in a video talking about the trades. Some people next to us booed when he mentioned the Keith Carney trade.
All things considered, I think Burke has done an excellent job. Scott Niedermeyer is one of the elite d-men in the league. The more I see of him, the more I appreciate some of the finer points of his game. He's the cornerstone of the team and should be making major contributions for at least the next four years.
While the returns for Rucchin and LeClerc weren't huge, both players were expendable. Neither really fit the mold of "the new Ducks". While LeClerc may be a serviceable player for Sutter, his history of injuries made it risky to retain him.
Irrespective of what Sykora does for the Rangers, he was never going to produce a lot of goals for the Ducks---at least not the Brian Burke Ducks. It's the old "addition by subtraction". Better that Getzlaf, Lupul and Perry get more NHL ice time than we cling to the likes of Rucchin, LeClerc and Sykora.
A Second-Rounder may have been a bit high for Fedoruk, but he has fit in nicely with the team. Getzlaf and Perry have talked about how he opens up ice space for them. While the role of the enforcer has been significantly diminished in the new NHL, you did at least one guy who will keep the opposition honest.
The name Francois Beauchemin elicited a big "Who?" from almost all of us. After all, he had only played 12 NHL games. Is there anyone out there now who doesn't think he was a "steal"? Fedorov hasn't helped the Blue Jackets a whole lot. Whether it's a lack of effort, a diminution of skill or both, he just isn't the same player he was a couple of years ago. We're a lot better off without him.
I agree with those of you who feel that Marchant's salary is a bit "pricey", but I can live with it.
Having met Keith Carney at a number of Ducks' function, I know what a classy guy he is. Like most of you, I'll miss him. But there's no denying that his skills seem to have diminished this year. I hope he does help the Canucks in the playoffs (provided, of course, that it doesn't come at the expense of the Ducks). But he is a UFA this summer and I don't think the Ducks would've re-signed him. Time will tell whether Skinner is a legitimate NHL prospect or not. But considering we also got a 2nd Rounder, the trade looks pretty good to me.
2. Randy Carlyle. He, too, was pretty roundly criticized earlier in the year. It looks to me like he gained the confidence of the players and has them playing at a high level. I think's he's done a good job.
3. The Kings vs. the Sharks. I was a bit torn about who to root for last night. It's always hard for me to root for the Kings. However, putting my aversion to the Kings aside, I think the Sharks constitute a bigger threat. We're only three points behind the Kings with (I think) three "games in hand". I think they're goaltending is shaky. They've often faded down the stretch. I think they'll do it again this year.
On the other hand, the Sharks are only three points behind us. I think they've underachieved all year. The addition of Joe Thornton makes them pretty formidable. If they sneak into the playoffs, they could pull off a first-round upset.
4. Jonathan Cheechoo. Maybe I don't watch enough hockey shows or read enough hockey publications, but it seems to me that this guy is one of the most-underrated players in the league. I was glad to see that he can score hat tricks against teams other than the Ducks. His hat trick last night against the Kings was his 4th this year. This guy could be one of the more prolific scorers in the NHL for years to come.
5. The Shootout. This will probably sound like sour grapes because the Ducks have been so awful at it, but I absolutely hate the shootout. I hate the notion of the outcome of any sport being decided by something that doesn't occur in regulation play. (Technically, I suppose a Penalty Shot is the equivalent of one shooter in the Shootout, but a Penalty Shot only occurs about once every 50 games. A shootout has at least four Penalty Shots and usually has a minimum of six.) Further, it just doesn't seem to provide the drama you'd think it would. I realize it determines who wins and who loses---and that should be drama enough---but after watching a shootout I'm often left with the feeling "Is that all there is?"
6. Chistov. Frequently, there are posters here who speak wistfully of the return of Chistov. Frankly, I don't miss him. The guy was exciting as a rookie, but seems to have regressed since. If we could get a 2nd rounder for the rights to Chistov, I'd say "take it".
7. Any Mathmaticians Out There?. When I glanced at the standings this morning, I noticed that only eight points separated us from 4th place Nashville. Eight points isn't a lot. However, if we're tied for eighth, there are four teams ahead of us and one tied with us. Since the schedule is heavily weighted towards games within the division, there will be some games (e.g., the Kings vs. the Stars) where we won't be able to pick up ground on both teams. Realistically, how many games will we have to win to vault over three, four or five teams?
1. Brian Burke. There were a lot of complaints when Burke made some of his personnel moves: some people didn't like losing Rucchin and LeClerc for little in return. Others thought we may have overpaid for Scott Niedermayer (which, in effect, mandated dumping Rucchin and LeClerc). Some of the the most vocal criticism surrounded the Fedorov trade as in "Why did we give him away?" and "Couldn't we get more?" Parting with a 2nd Rounder for Fedoruk also was unpopular with some. We pretty much gave away Sykora. At the game on Sunday, Burke appeared in a video talking about the trades. Some people next to us booed when he mentioned the Keith Carney trade.
All things considered, I think Burke has done an excellent job. Scott Niedermeyer is one of the elite d-men in the league. The more I see of him, the more I appreciate some of the finer points of his game. He's the cornerstone of the team and should be making major contributions for at least the next four years.
While the returns for Rucchin and LeClerc weren't huge, both players were expendable. Neither really fit the mold of "the new Ducks". While LeClerc may be a serviceable player for Sutter, his history of injuries made it risky to retain him.
Irrespective of what Sykora does for the Rangers, he was never going to produce a lot of goals for the Ducks---at least not the Brian Burke Ducks. It's the old "addition by subtraction". Better that Getzlaf, Lupul and Perry get more NHL ice time than we cling to the likes of Rucchin, LeClerc and Sykora.
A Second-Rounder may have been a bit high for Fedoruk, but he has fit in nicely with the team. Getzlaf and Perry have talked about how he opens up ice space for them. While the role of the enforcer has been significantly diminished in the new NHL, you did at least one guy who will keep the opposition honest.
The name Francois Beauchemin elicited a big "Who?" from almost all of us. After all, he had only played 12 NHL games. Is there anyone out there now who doesn't think he was a "steal"? Fedorov hasn't helped the Blue Jackets a whole lot. Whether it's a lack of effort, a diminution of skill or both, he just isn't the same player he was a couple of years ago. We're a lot better off without him.
I agree with those of you who feel that Marchant's salary is a bit "pricey", but I can live with it.
Having met Keith Carney at a number of Ducks' function, I know what a classy guy he is. Like most of you, I'll miss him. But there's no denying that his skills seem to have diminished this year. I hope he does help the Canucks in the playoffs (provided, of course, that it doesn't come at the expense of the Ducks). But he is a UFA this summer and I don't think the Ducks would've re-signed him. Time will tell whether Skinner is a legitimate NHL prospect or not. But considering we also got a 2nd Rounder, the trade looks pretty good to me.
2. Randy Carlyle. He, too, was pretty roundly criticized earlier in the year. It looks to me like he gained the confidence of the players and has them playing at a high level. I think's he's done a good job.
3. The Kings vs. the Sharks. I was a bit torn about who to root for last night. It's always hard for me to root for the Kings. However, putting my aversion to the Kings aside, I think the Sharks constitute a bigger threat. We're only three points behind the Kings with (I think) three "games in hand". I think they're goaltending is shaky. They've often faded down the stretch. I think they'll do it again this year.
On the other hand, the Sharks are only three points behind us. I think they've underachieved all year. The addition of Joe Thornton makes them pretty formidable. If they sneak into the playoffs, they could pull off a first-round upset.
4. Jonathan Cheechoo. Maybe I don't watch enough hockey shows or read enough hockey publications, but it seems to me that this guy is one of the most-underrated players in the league. I was glad to see that he can score hat tricks against teams other than the Ducks. His hat trick last night against the Kings was his 4th this year. This guy could be one of the more prolific scorers in the NHL for years to come.
5. The Shootout. This will probably sound like sour grapes because the Ducks have been so awful at it, but I absolutely hate the shootout. I hate the notion of the outcome of any sport being decided by something that doesn't occur in regulation play. (Technically, I suppose a Penalty Shot is the equivalent of one shooter in the Shootout, but a Penalty Shot only occurs about once every 50 games. A shootout has at least four Penalty Shots and usually has a minimum of six.) Further, it just doesn't seem to provide the drama you'd think it would. I realize it determines who wins and who loses---and that should be drama enough---but after watching a shootout I'm often left with the feeling "Is that all there is?"
6. Chistov. Frequently, there are posters here who speak wistfully of the return of Chistov. Frankly, I don't miss him. The guy was exciting as a rookie, but seems to have regressed since. If we could get a 2nd rounder for the rights to Chistov, I'd say "take it".
7. Any Mathmaticians Out There?. When I glanced at the standings this morning, I noticed that only eight points separated us from 4th place Nashville. Eight points isn't a lot. However, if we're tied for eighth, there are four teams ahead of us and one tied with us. Since the schedule is heavily weighted towards games within the division, there will be some games (e.g., the Kings vs. the Stars) where we won't be able to pick up ground on both teams. Realistically, how many games will we have to win to vault over three, four or five teams?