The Offseason thread(draft, free agency etc)

Well the next order of business is the draft and then free agency.

The Ducks have 20 million in committed salaries for next season, including J.S Gigueres 4 million who is a candidate to be traded.

The Ducks have several free key RFA and UFA's which include Teemu Selanne, Ilya Bryzgalov, Joffrey Lupul, Vitaly Vishnevski, Todd Fedoruk, Jeff Friesen, Ruslan Salei and Andy Mcdonald.

So make you're opinions and guesses on what you think the Ducks should and will do.

Teemu will be back, that is almost a given.

Cory Emmerton would be a nice choice in the first, although I'm not too familiar with the draft crop this year. Any idea if we would be able to nab Jesse Joensuu in the second? I heard his stock fell but that he'd still be a decent 2nd round pick.

First business is getting Teemu back in the fold. Give the man his money, whatever it takes.

I doubt Giguere gets traded. There's no cap pressure, and Bryzgalov was really pretty average when we needed to take it up a notch.

I doubt Giguere gets traded. There's no cap pressure, and Bryzgalov was really pretty average when we needed to take it up a notch.
it's a very interesting situation. My stance is, if you can get something good for either of them take it. I am comfortable going with either as long as we sign a good backup.

and remember David McKee may also be fighting for a job after next year.

Lets say we trade Giguere, who would be our goalie? We have seen that Bryzgalov is not ready to be our start up goalie yet, but he is a great back up. Would the team want to get any other start up goalie fron any other team?

Moves I'd like to see us make, assuming there'll be a $44 million cap:

1.Re-sign Teemu to a 1-year, $4 million contract, Andy Mac to a 2-year, $5.5 million contract and Lupul to a 3-year, $7.5 million contract. Re-sign the other RFAs to close their QOs.

2.Trade Chistov and 19th overall and maybe something else to a team higher up so we can draft Bobby Sanguinetti.

3.Bring back Mike Leclerc with a 1-year, $1 million deal.

4.Sign Ed Jovanovski to a 3-year, $10 million contract.

5.If we can find a taker for OD, re-sign Rusty to a 3-year, $6.75 million contract.


Our line-up thereafter:


Penner(.507)-Marchant(2.47)-Selanne(4)
Leclerc(1)-McDonald(2.75)-Lupul(2.5)
Kunitz(.4619)-Pahlsson(.625)-Niedermayer(2)
Fedoruk(.5)-Getzlaf(.8816)-Perry(.684)
Moen(.5), Minimum salary fill-in

Niedermayer(6.75)-Beauchemin(.5)
Jovanovski(3.33)-Vishnevski(1.5)
Salei(2.25)-Smid(.855)
DiPenta(.5)

Giguere(3.99)
Bryzgalov(1.25)


If we could manage that, it'd come to just over $40 million, which would be great shape. Some RFAs might want more, and a guy like Jovo-cop might want a bit more to play here, but it'd be manageable. Now I definetely think that team could do awesome.

Priority #1: SIGN TEEMU!

RFAs:

Lupul, Bryz, Mac, Vish, and Kunitz should be locked up this offseason. I doubt anyone makes an offer sheet to any of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone were to go after Bryz with all the goaltending help needed around the league.

Dipenta will probably get a one year deal. He was solid as a #6. Moen not being brought back wouldn't break my heart. Konopka moving to wing to take his spot would be good IMO.

UFAs:

Salei is interesting. He's solid, but man does he love taking minor penalties. i like his rugged style and he has a good shot from the point (when it goes near the net which is only 10% of the time). I hope he's back.

Friesen had a good playoffs. I wouldn't mind seeing him being brought back as much as I hated the trade at the deadline. He had some chemistry with God and Rob on the 3rd line and they could be a great checking line. But anything more than in the 1-1.5 mill rang is too much.

Wants:

A top 6 winger to play on the top line with Andy Mac/Teemu. I like Kunitz, but I think he would be of better use on the 3rd line if Friesen isn't re-signed.

Top 4 d-man. A need for every team in the league. I think an upgrade at the #3/4 spot is needed for this team to be successful. Someone who's solid in his own end and decent on the PP to give Beauch and Nieds a rest.


Opinion on the goalie situation:

I don't want Giguere to be moved just to dump his salary. If a good offer comes along, Burke should take it. The Giguere/Bryz tandem is one of the best in the league and if both can fit under the cap to allow Burke to make moves, Burke should hold out to get an overpaying offer that can help the team.

So basically:

UFA/Kunitz-Mac-Teemu
Lupul-Marchant-Penner
Fridge-Getzlaf-Perry
Rob-God-Friesen/Kunitz/Konopka
Konopka, Moen/fill in

Nieds-Beauch
Salei-UFA
Vish-O'Donnell/Smid
Dipenta

Giguere
Bryz

why on earth would you want Mike Leclerc back? there's a reason Burke dumped his ***.

Alot of things went right this year. Who expecting Teemu and Andy to combine for 174 points? will that happen again? We didn't suffer many bad injuries, there's a good chance there will be more next year.

We need offense, the playoffs have convinced me that we have good depth, but not enough high octane offensive players.

Did anyone else see what Marty McSorely said about Sakic and Blake? Would you guys be opposed to going after them?

Offseason thread already? Am I the only one still crying? ;) .

I'll post my thoughts in a couple days when I regroup and think of next year. However what did McSorely say about Joe and Blake? They are looking to stay together or?


.... Mike LeClerc? Come on BRG I expect better from you. ;)

Would you guys be opposed to going after them?

I'm assuming this a rhetorical question. But hell no would I be opposed to going after them. What did Mcsorely say about them?

I don't think Brian Burke is opposed to trading Giguere but I don't like it. I'm not too confident in Bryzgalov taking us to the next level. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a good goaltender. But he's not a great goaltender who will help win us a Stanley Cup. I wouldn't mind signing Gerber back from Carolina.

Offseason thread already? Am I the only one still crying? ;) .

I'll post my thoughts in a couple days when I regroup and think of next year. However what did McSorely say about Joe and Blake? They are looking to stay together or?


.... Mike LeClerc? Come on BRG I expect better from you. ;)

If feel the same way about thinking about next year already. :cry:

I think I'll post a detailed description of what I want to happen this offseason within the next few days though.

Sakic and Blake would be nice, BTW. :)

why on earth would you want Mike Leclerc back? there's a reason Burke dumped his ***.

Alot of things went right this year. Who expecting Teemu and Andy to combine for 174 points? will that happen again? We didn't suffer many bad injuries, there's a good chance there will be more next year.

We need offense, the playoffs have convinced me that we have good depth, but not enough high octane offensive players.

Burke said he only dumped rooch and leclerc because of cap, I didnt mind it but its not like burke dumped him because
he lacked talent.

I don't think Brian Burke is opposed to trading Giguere but I don't like it. I'm not too confident in Bryzgalov taking us to the next level. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a good goaltender. But he's not a great goaltender who will help win us a Stanley Cup. I wouldn't mind signing Gerber back from Carolina.

Mark my word, Gerbs will get a sh!tlo@d of money.

Burke said he only dumped rooch and leclerc because of cap.

Mike won't be back. There's no room for him anyways.

I don't know if we REALLY need Sakic, but can you imagine Blake on our defense? If we can really go for Blake, I think Jovo can be left aside.

Mike won't be back. There's no room for him anyways.

no I understand I just didnt like the idea of people down talking a guy just cause there not here anymore. and I think blake would be an awsome addition, but Im not sure burke is gonna make alot of huge moves.
the only thing I think is a certain is frezien is gone and chistov takes his spot if his traning camp is good, belive me burke really talked him up at the sotu adress awhile back in a convo I had with him.

I don't know if we REALLY need Sakic, but can you imagine Blake on our defense? If we can really go for Blake, I think Jovo can be left aside.

I don't think we need Sakic either, but imagine him on this club.

Sakic
McDonald
Getzlaf
Pahlsson

Wow, that would be hell for our opposition.

I'm assuming this a rhetorical question. But hell no would I be opposed to going after them. What did Mcsorely say about them?
He said if the avs don't sign them they might be a package deal, brought up how Sakic has a house in newport and that they may take a little less to try and win a cup again.

Blake wanting to play in SoCal again is a poorly kept secret(not his commentary)and Sakic is buddies with Teemu and Scotty I think too.

I think it has some merit because Marty is friends with Blake and he isn't a rumor mongeror.

I don't think we need Sakic either, but imagine him on this club.

Sakic
McDonald
Getzlaf
Pahlsson

Wow, that would be hell for our opposition.
We need one more offensive player I think. A winger would be ideal but it's a better year UFA wise for centers.

He said if the avs don't sign them they might be a package deal, brought up how Sakic has a house in newport and that they may take a little less to try and win a cup again.

Blake wanting to play in SoCal again is a poorly kept secret(not his commentary)

I think it has some merit because Marty is friends with Blake and he isn't a rumor mongeror.

Sakic: 1 yr. 5 million
Blake: 2 yrs. 9 million

We need one more offensive player I think. A winger would be ideal but it's a better year UFA wise for centers.

Yeah, I agree. We really don't need another center. But, if the opportunity to get Sakic for cheap comes by, I don't think Burke would pass it up.

Sakic: 1 yr. 5 million
Blake: 2 yrs. 9 million
that is probably better than signing someone like Elias to a long term deal because pretty soon Getzlaf/Lupul/Perry/Penner will need to get paid.

I think spectors posted an article linking Sakic to Anaheim for whatever reason not to long ago.

I'd like the idea. You are mixing in quality vets with character with your young talent and basically saying we are going for it.

I watched Blake alot in the 2nd half, after a hard adjustment period he was very good. He would add what we need. Offense and a physical pressence on the blue line.

We should add as many small Euros we can find :clap:

I think we have a choice to make here.

Rally's right, we need more offense, and we need something more on d. So the question is then, do we rely on the youngsters to step their game up further and supply what we need, or do we look outwardly.

I think Jovo is a perfect fit for us. It was clear that we were missing a big, tough, big-shot type d-man. I don't think we have that in our system right now, and Jovo's young enough to warrant an offer. However, Smid is in the pipeline and probably will be ready for action.

Up front, Kunitz is great, but he's just not cutting it as a top liner. Andy and Teemu need someone with some jam who can carry the play at their level. I'll look over the ufas tomorrow sometime to see whats available. However, we have a glut of forwards right now, many of them young and in need of ice time to further their development. Maybe Penner's the answer there. I think Getzlaf can be looked upon to provide much more as well.

I'll go into more depth in a few days. But, there are some interesting questions to be considered!

I would like to see Arnott come here and move McDonald to the left wing. Arnott can bring the physical play on Selanne and Mac's line to take some of the pressure of them in front of the crease and Mac is a huge upgrade on the LW over Kunitz.

Id like to resign Rusty, but only if we have no chance of upgrading over him. In a perfect world we could keep Rusty and another UFA dman and get rid of O'Donell, but I dont think thats going to happen.

Something has to be done about Lupul though. He is keeping Getzlaf and Perry from seeing 2nd line minutes next year becuase he only plays RW. Id like to see Carlyle at least try him at LW next year.

McDonald-Arnott-Selanne
Penner-Getzlaf-Perry
Kunitz-Marchant-Lupul
Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Niedermayer

Nieds-Beauch
UFA-Rusty-O'Donnell
Vish-Smid

Burke needs to avoid the problem Murray had in 03 and let half his team walk away. We need to resign everybody, except maybe Friesen unless he wants to take a pay cut. A lot of our guys are going to get big raises and Burke says he didn't want to max out on the cap, remember we still lost money this year.

So if Friesen isn't brought back we'll need a veteren winger in the 1-2 mil range. I like the idea of Owen Nolan but I don't think he'll take that low of pay. I think if Roenick looses some weight and takes a pay cut we should go for him. I think this year was the result of the lockout, flame away.

If Rusty isn't resigned and I really hope he is, we need a veteren d-man in 2-2.5 mil range. We won't get Blake or Jovo for that kind of money but I'm sure there's someone out there that can fit the bill.

Smid is poised to be in our lineup and he needs NHL experience. DiPenta deserves to come back, the man is as solid a 6th d-man can be and must solid in the playoffs. Jiggy and Bryz will need to fight out the starting job before we talk about trading either of them and I'd expect a deadline trade at that point.

Bottom line though is our rookies are vets now and we should expect full, improved season out of all of them. We need more depth in the minors though, it's slim pickens right now with Konopka being our only solid callup and he may not be back. So depth callup guys are a must. Other than that we are already looking good for 06-07.

Why's everybody so down on OD? He was more than solid these last two months, I'm so stoked we have him for another year. He is a younger, tougher version of Keith Carney and that's awesome. Our D looks great as long as Rusty is resigned or properly replaced.

What's with the interest in Owen Nolan? The guy basically hasn't played hockey in 2 years...

Why's everybody so down on OD? He was more than solid these last two months, I'm so stoked we have him for another year. He is a younger, tougher version of Keith Carney and that's awesome. Our D looks great as long as Rusty is resigned or properly replaced.

The problem is that he is clogging up a spot that could be upgraded. Id love the opportunity to be able to sign Salei AND a UFA, but with O'Donnell that doesnt seem to be possible. That and Salei (if resigned) and Vishnevski fit the 'hard nose' dman bill pretty well. Instead of another of the same Id like to get a puck moving dman that can skate for the 2nd ppl unit, which needs to be improved for next year.

The problem is that he is clogging up a spot that could be upgraded. Id love the opportunity to be able to sign Salei AND a UFA, but with O'Donnell that doesnt seem to be possible. That and Salei (if resigned) and Vishnevski fit the 'hard nose' dman bill pretty well. Instead of another of the same Id like to get a puck moving dman that can skate for the 2nd ppl unit, which needs to be improved for next year.

Our PP system needs to be reworked. Frankie, Scotty and Rusty do a fine job on the point it's once the puck goes to the middle of the ice or second chance rebounds that are the problem. Penner needs to be worked better into our PP system.

I agree that if we can upgrade on OD than I would be fine with that be there's no great need. Our D is awesome and a full season out of Beachy and Smid's coming out party should make our D even better next year.

Our PP system needs to be reworked. Frankie, Scotty and Rusty do a fine job on the point it's once the puck goes to the middle of the ice or second chance rebounds that are the problem. Penner needs to be worked better into our PP system.

I agree that if we can upgrade on OD than I would be fine with that be there's no great need. Our D is awesome and a full season out of Beachy and Smid's coming out party should make our D even better next year.

Salei is terrible on the PPL. I cringe every time he touches the puck on the man advantage. But who else is there? Thats the point. The choices are Rusty, O'Donnell, Vishnevski, or Dipenta...enough said. The Ducks really need a puck moving dman for next year.

Salei is terrible on the PPL. I cringe every time he touches the puck on the man advantage. But who else is there? Thats the point. The choices are Rusty, O'Donnell, Vishnevski, or Dipenta...enough said. The Ducks really need a puck moving dman for next year.

Just imagining DiPenta on the PP... :biglaugh: . A scary, yet absolutley hilarious thought. :biglaugh:

I agree with you completely other than Friesen. I think you put Kunitz there and improve the top line.

Personally, I think a top 4 D is more improtant another top 6 forward.

I'd also like to see us Getzlaf, Perry and especially penner more often next year.

I'd also like to see us use a better blend of size and skill on the power play. I don't like it when both Selanne and Lupul are on PP at same time... I think we really need more size/screens in there.

Priority #1: SIGN TEEMU!

RFAs:

Lupul, Bryz, Mac, Vish, and Kunitz should be locked up this offseason. I doubt anyone makes an offer sheet to any of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone were to go after Bryz with all the goaltending help needed around the league.

Dipenta will probably get a one year deal. He was solid as a #6. Moen not being brought back wouldn't break my heart. Konopka moving to wing to take his spot would be good IMO.

UFAs:

Salei is interesting. He's solid, but man does he love taking minor penalties. i like his rugged style and he has a good shot from the point (when it goes near the net which is only 10% of the time). I hope he's back.

Friesen had a good playoffs. I wouldn't mind seeing him being brought back as much as I hated the trade at the deadline. He had some chemistry with God and Rob on the 3rd line and they could be a great checking line. But anything more than in the 1-1.5 mill rang is too much.

Wants:

A top 6 winger to play on the top line with Andy Mac/Teemu. I like Kunitz, but I think he would be of better use on the 3rd line if Friesen isn't re-signed.

Top 4 d-man. A need for every team in the league. I think an upgrade at the #3/4 spot is needed for this team to be successful. Someone who's solid in his own end and decent on the PP to give Beauch and Nieds a rest.


Opinion on the goalie situation:

I don't want Giguere to be moved just to dump his salary. If a good offer comes along, Burke should take it. The Giguere/Bryz tandem is one of the best in the league and if both can fit under the cap to allow Burke to make moves, Burke should hold out to get an overpaying offer that can help the team.

So basically:

UFA/Kunitz-Mac-Teemu
Lupul-Marchant-Penner
Fridge-Getzlaf-Perry
Rob-God-Friesen/Kunitz/Konopka
Konopka, Moen/fill in

Nieds-Beauch
Salei-UFA
Vish-O'Donnell/Smid
Dipenta

Giguere
Bryz

One other thing to keep in mind is cap space. I don't think the team will be above 35 million.

I can easily see Burke going after gus like Arnott and Jovonaski would, but in order to pay them and the rest of our RFAs, we're going to have to move some contracts (like Gigure/marchant/etc.). We'd also need to find a backup goalie since I don't think anyone is 100% sure to blindly give reigns to Bryzgalov.

I think Arnott will command a top money offer though and will be out of our cost-effective budget. I think it would be better to develop Penner/Getzlaf/Perry.

However, we can definitely justify throwing money on a defenseman though. A top matchup defenseman that can play on the 2nd powerplay unit is just what doctor ordered.

While I'd like Sakic and Blake, I think Blake will want too much money, and I wouldn't pay Sakic more than 2 years at a midrange salary (max 3.5 million). He's got skills, but he's what 37? And at their age I mind go with younger alternatives if the price difference is reasonable.

Selanne is a big concern, I hope they work out a reasonable but fair contract. Hopefully its a 1 year deal for at least 3 million. That way if he tanks 1 season you can say, well we underpaid him last one.

I'm also not sure what they do with Andy Mac now. I mean great during regular season and he was pretty much invisible during playoffs. Before I thought he'd get a big raise, now I'm not so sure if I'd want to pay him more than 2.

I also think moving marchant is a tough call. Expensive salary for a small checking center but man guy has guts and is a leader in playoffs. He's totally a burke type guy.

5,5 million for McDonald is a bit much, no?
Lecavalier makes 6 million, and Andy Mäc is nowhere near him, imo.

I agree he should be kept, maybe for around 3,5 million. Same with Selanne who should also get a raise.

I think that Burke will listen to offers for Giguere, but I doubt he'll dump him like he did with Fedorov.

Chistov should have a spot in training camp and if he shows up strong, he could end up as first line left winger.
I don't think Bobby Ryan will be in the NHL next season, he should go back to the OHL and dominate for an entire season, not just a half one.

As for D, I think Smid will get a serious shot for next season and I don't think they will bring in another high-profile UFA. There are several teams after the likes of Redden, Chara and Jovanovski and the best chance is they'll re-sign with their current clubs.

i'd love to get a sakic so andy can be more of a #2

Bobby Ryan has been left out of this discussion, does everybody think he needs more time in the minors before coming up to the NHL?

Bobby Ryan has been left out of this discussion, does everybody think he needs more time in the minors before coming up to the NHL?

Yes. There is no sense rushing him when the team is stacked at RW as it is.

who do you guys think can be let go? I mean from a burke standpoint?

i think
1.friesen
2. kunitz (maybe)
3. moen or fedoruk (konopka)
4. dipenta

does anyone know what contract brennen has? is he gone now?

who do you guys think can be let go? I mean from a burke standpoint?

i think
1.friesen
2. kunitz (maybe)
3. moen or fedoruk (konopka)
4. dipenta

does anyone know what contract brennen has? is he gone now?

Friesen is only one whose a UFA and if he takes a pay cut I say bring em all back. We had our best season ever, let's not screw with that. I believe Brennen is a UFA as well but who cares? He was let go long ago(I know he was just sent to the minors but Burke had no intention on bringing him back).

does anyone know what contract brennen has? is he gone now?

UFA...as is Trevor Gillies.

Is there a reason Burke should not try to ship Moen somewhere in a deal? What about Marshall? Does he have a contract for next season?

5,5 million for McDonald is a bit much, no?
Lecavalier makes 6 million, and Andy Mäc is nowhere near him, imo.

5.5M for TWO years total. 2.75M per year.

We can let Friesen go. I don't really want him back even he signs for the minimum - IMHO he brings nothing we need.

Fedoruk needs to be back without any questions - the turning point of the season was Fridge sending a message to opponents.

I'd like to see a line of Fedoruk-Zenon-Moe but we probably don't have the spots for them.

I really think that the duck should go (and will go) for patrick Elias... A former Niedermayer teammate and would be a great offensive player for our team.

I'd like to see us sign a top 6 LW and a top 2 defenseman. We are good to great everywhere else.

I'd like to see us sign a top 6 LW and a top 2 defenseman. We are good to great everywhere else.

Dunno if we can do both, but just getting one of the two would probably be a big boost. We can always go shopping for the other as a deadline rental.

5.5M for TWO years total. 2.75M per year.

We can let Friesen go. I don't really want him back even he signs for the minimum - IMHO he brings nothing we need.

Fedoruk needs to be back without any questions - the turning point of the season was Fridge sending a message to opponents.

I'd like to see a line of Fedoruk-Zenon-Moe but we probably don't have the spots for them.

I completely agree with the whole Friesen thing. He won't be back.

Basically, we've got too many guys fighting for too little spots. I think Burkey will get a little creative over the summer.

What's with the interest in Owen Nolan? The guy basically hasn't played hockey in 2 years...

Seriously.

The name Owen Nolan never needs to be said again on this board. :shakehead

Okay, here is how I think raises might be dissed out. Note I have Rusty added in there so the possibility to delete him is there and I also leave a big gap for what Teemu can make because it's basically whatever he wants:

Beauchemin $500,000.00 - same
Bryzgalov $456,000.00 - 1-1.5
DiPenta Joe $450,000.00 -.850
Fedoruk Todd $450,000.00 - 1
Getzlaf Ryan $881,600.00 - same
Giguere Jean-Sebastien $3,990,000.00 - same
Kunitz Chris $461,900.00 - 1-1.5
Lupul Joffrey $900,600.0 - 2-2.5
Marchant Todd $2,470,000.00 - same
McDonald Andy $627,000.00 - 3-4
Moen Travis $450,000.00 - .500
Niedermayer Rob $2,000,000.00 - same
Niedermayer Scott $6,750,000.00 -same
O'Donnell Sean $1,748,000.00 -same
Pahlsson Samuel $625,000.00 -same
Penner Dustin $507,000.00 -same
Perry Corey $684,000.00 -same
Salei Ruslan $1,824,000.00 - 2 -2.5
Selanne Teemu $1,000,000.00 - 1-6
Vishnevski Vitali $1,140,000.00 -1.875-2.25

34.38-42.88

I think at least the minimun raises with everyone is fair but we can probably average that out and assume our cap will be 36-37 after raises. With that roster right there that leaves three spots to be filled (7th d-man, top-6 forward and reserve forward.) A couple of rookies can fill the two reserves and be about 1 mil. So we are realisitically looking at 2-3 mil for another forward. (Note again if Rusty isn't resigned look for Burke to get a d-man at the same salary). I scoured and found a couple of guys I think can fit the bill.

Mike Grier - Fast, gritty and has a great finish 1.5-2 mil
Trevor Letowski - Gritty forward, won't bring lots of O but can be a defensive role like Friesen was - 1 mil
Jeremy Roenick - Only if he loses some weight and takes a huge cut. I think he wants a bounce back season and wants to stay close to home 1-1.5
Jamie Langenbrunner - I hate the guy but he would be PERFECT in my opinion. Quick, hard-noised, scoring touch, championship experience. He may want a considerable raise but if we can get him under 3 mil, I say take him.
Petr Cajenk - See Letowski, sign him if no one else is availible - 1 mil
Anson Carter - We all know how good he was this year but he'll want a big raise too, if he wants to play for a winner and at a modest 2-2.5, sign him up.

But realistically these are the type of forwards we can expect Burke to go after. He doesn't want to max out the cap and want be so easliy lured by big FA's like Chara and Elias. Our squad is pretty sweet as it is, only a couple of tweaks are necessary.

apparently Burke is going to get involved in the Chara bidding...no link...just from one of my sources.

apparently Burke is going to get involved in the Chara bidding...no link...just from one of my sources.

What source is that? Give us a hint.

What source is that? Give us a hint.

a friend who knows some of the players on the ducks...

apparently Burke is going to get involved in the Chara bidding...no link...just from one of my sources.

He's exactly what we need but he's way over our budget at this point. I'm sure someone will offer him over 6 million.

I'm thinking Jovo maybe a good fit too and hopefully he'll sign for less for burke and so cal.

If we trade Giguere, OD and Marchant we're saving around ~6M (their replacements cost around 2M total).

Then there are the RFAs to sign though

Friesen is only one whose a UFA and if he takes a pay cut I say bring em all back. We had our best season ever, let's not screw with that. I believe Brennen is a UFA as well but who cares? He was let go long ago(I know he was just sent to the minors but Burke had no intention on bringing him back).
No way man, alot of things went right this year. Friesen is blocking a younger, cheaper, and arguably better player.if we keep him it makes it kind of difficult to promote young guys and sign a top six player.

He's exactly what we need but he's way over our budget at this point. I'm sure someone will offer him over 6 million.

I'm thinking Jovo maybe a good fit too and hopefully he'll sign for less for burke and so cal.
I'd prefere a forward, if you sign Chara you might as well dump O'donnell, we really need some offense.

As much as I would love Chara, I can't see us having 12 million invested in two defensemen nor do I believe that is particulary wise.

Blake and Sakic is interesting though... :badidea: (Though I have heard that Sakic wants to stay in Colorado).

Blake would instantly make our PP twenty times better. :D

Let's not rule out that someone else who wants a particular free agent may decide to dump salary of their own, which might give us an opportunity to pick up someone who's not on the UFA list that could fill a role (either LW or point man). Then we could wait until the deadline to take care of the other need ... deadline rentals are less of a cap hit, since you only have to pick up a month or so's worth of salary.

And besides, you never know how well things might work out. Perhaps Burke will steal another player a la Beauchemin.

just so I know for sure who are all are

ufa and who are the rfa?

Well, if Friesen would sign for that low, change Leclerc to Friesen in my plan. I think it works just as well. Either that or trade for a fairly physical guy who has some hands. Or sign Mike Grier.

Well, if Friesen would sign for that low, change Leclerc to Friesen in my plan. I think it works just as well. Either that or trade for a fairly physical guy who has some hands. Or sign Mike Grier.

Id rather have Grier than Friesen...

On another note, would anyone be against bringing Matt Cullen back? He plays LW and center and could be used with Mac and Selanne or center Lupul's line and he shouldnt break the bank...just a thought.

As well as Cullen's done this season, we need more beef with Mac, Selanne or Lupul, not ice dancing.

just so I know for sure who are all are

ufa and who are the rfa?

http://www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2006.html (http://www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2006.html)

Brad Richards' recently-announced 5-year $39-million deal has just increased the price of the big names, and probably many intermediate names as well. Allow for substantial increases for resigning Selanne and MacDonald, too.

Predictions:

1. We won't be signing a significant free agent unless it's someone to replace Rusty, Teemu (whose signing I don't think is necessarily a slam-dunk) or Giguere. I think Burke will see the development of Getzlaf, Perry and Penner as the upgrades that the team needs (which isn't a bad plan).

2. If Giguere gets traded (I'd put it at about 55% at this point), it will be strictly a salary dump. Picks and prospects, or a mid-priced veteran d-man to replace Salei, if we don't re-sign him. Most of our cap space will be spent on re-signing our own guys.

3. Hedstrom won't be back. That other Swedish dude (Melin?) will make the team, as will at least two other role-player types that aren't on our radar right now. The Ducks won't seriously pursue resigning Konopka, who will sign somewhere he actually has a chance of cracking the lineup.

4. Salei: the bidding will get too high. Just a feeling.

Melin has a 2-way contract, unlike Hedström. Melin will play in the AHL next year.

Moves I'd like to see us make, assuming there'll be a $44 million cap:


2.Trade Chistov and 19th overall and maybe something else to a team higher up so we can draft Bobby Sanguinetti.

3.Bring back Mike Leclerc with a 1-year, $1 million deal.

4.Sign Ed Jovanovski to a 3-year, $10 million contract.

5.If we can find a taker for OD, re-sign Rusty to a 3-year, $6.75 million contract.




Hahahahahahahaha

what?

here's a couple of things from the LATIMES

-Salei wants a 3 year deal, Burke will not give him that many years.
-Ducks are expected to persue a top defensemen(this helps validate what mcdonald19 said about Chara)
-Burke will call Selanne in 7 days. Kind of sounds like Teemu is emotionally drained from his recent comments.

Brad Richards' recently-announced 5-year $39-million deal has just increased the price of the big names, and probably many intermediate names as well. Allow for substantial increases for resigning Selanne and MacDonald, too.
Mcdonalds lousy postseason should keep him reasonable and I don't think Teemu wants to play anywhere else if he continues to play.

apparently Burke is going to get involved in the Chara bidding...no link...just from one of my sources.

You know bud if it was almost anyone else on the board, I'd probably tell you you're full of *****, but I respect you, so I'll believe it. Even if it's not Chara, it at least shows us that he's up for upgrading the defense.

Here's the way I want our lines to end up:

Penner-Andymac-Selanne
Chistov-Getzlaf-Lupul
Niedermayer-Pahlsson-Kunitz (shutdown line)
Fedoruk-Marchant-Perry
Konopka (The ducks would role 4 lines throughout the game)

Beauchemin-Niedermayer
Smid-UFA
Vish-O'Donnell

I'm convinced that this team NEEDS another defender who can score besides our top 2. In a perfect world I'd like to see Salei stay and get a UFA, but I don't see it happening. If possible I would love these D pairings:
Beauchemin-Niedermayer
Salei-UFA
Vish-O'Donnell
Dipenta
(let Smid get another year in Portland until O'Donnell is a FA, and then let him go.)

I know a lot of you don't like the idea of spliting up Perry and Getzlaf, but personally I think Lupul is better and would love to see that line. Maybe switch perry and lupul every once in a while.

if Burke lets Salei and his 2 million walk and lands Chara at 6 million that will only add 4 million to the cap...not too bad.

I still am not that optimistic that it will happen just because of the number of teams who will be after Chara, but it's good to know that Burke is going to look into it.

Niedermayer-Beauchemin
Chara-O'Donnell
Vish-DiPenta
O'Brien

Melin has a 2-way contract, unlike Hedström. Melin will play in the AHL next year.

I think that Hedstrom is going to retire or be waived. Don't think he wants to be here. Maybe Burke will force him like he did Bryz. If the Burke not wanting to give Rusty three years thing is legit, he's played his last game as a Duck. Somebody out there will give him three years.

I think that Hedstrom is going to retire or be waived. Don't think he wants to be here. Maybe Burke will force him like he did Bryz. If the Burke not wanting to give Rusty three years thing is legit, he's played his last game as a Duck. Somebody out there will give him three years.

Are you serious? Why should force a 3rd/4th liner back when we have plenty of replacements, who are willing to play for us, on stock? Would make no sense at all!

Burke can't force Hedstrom to do anything, if he wants to play in Sweden he'll play there.

I think Burke is glad that Hedstrom left, a marginal 3rd liner with 600K one-way contract is not that great considering we already have too many players to fit in.

2004 draft:

6th rd-Matt Auffrey RW (previously signed to ATO for Portland, released)

7th rd-Gabriel Bouthillette G

2004 draft:

7th rd-Gabriel Bouthillette G
I wonder if McKee took Gabriel's contract.....

I think Burke is glad that Hedstrom left, a marginal 3rd liner with 600K one-way contract is not that great considering we already have too many players to fit in.
A 3rd line player on a playoff team at 600k isn't to great in a salary cap league? Lets go see if we can get a better one for 150k less at the league minimum :dunno: .

I'm fine with Hedstrom leaving as we have other players and options but to say a 3rd liner at 600k isn't good, well that just doesn't make sense to me.

The money ain't that bad but I just feel that he didn't bring anything special to the table and with 1-way contract we can't send him to minors either.

I just think we can do better with someone else.

I agree, we can hopefully find a real scoring line LW either this summer or at the trade deadline, and bump Kunitz down to Hedstrom's old role and be a heck of a lot better off.

I think Burke basically told Salei if you want to stay here its on my terms not yours, my guess he walks and I wouldn't blame Salei at all. I think Burke is basiclly bluffing/posturing anyways and wants to get a big time free agent (kind of what he did w/ babcock).

I think the ducks will begin to integrate Smid into their system next year and sign a UFA defenseman. I expect to see something like this:

Niedermayer Beachumein
Free Agent Vishnevski
Odonnel Smid

7th d-man Diepenta

Callups: Minor league guys like Obrien

I think we really should give vish and not odonnel top 4 minutes. Odonnel will protect smid, be a physical presenece (to what I've is a very non-physical person in smid), and allow the coach to have a lot of versatility.

My biggest problem in the playoffs was watching niedermayer and beachumein play every minute of every situation. I think Carlyle needs to figure out some pairings where he feels comfortable have someone other than our PP guys doing PK and top line matching...
I think Dipenta is the perfect 7th d-man and if anyone struggles or has a minor injury he'll easily be able to replace them. I think we got pretty lucky to not have a major injury all season, so some insurance would be great.

Af far as our forwards go, I'm very fearful Selanne will walk. If not, he will easily get 3 million (and he should as long as its 2 or 1 yars). With giving increase time to young guns, I see some thing like:

Penner McDonald Selanne
Perry Getzlaf Lupul
Kunitz Pahlson Niedermayer
Fedoruk Marchant Konopka

Extra: Moen

We could interchange Fedoruk & Lupul for some shifts if teams try to rough up the kids.

I'd also like to see us Konopka over Moen. I think he has more pizazze/flare and would give us an energy line. We would basically be only 3 lines deep though, but unless we're willing to invest some more cash

F Jonathan Hedström, Anaheim -> Timrå, Skellefteå (SEL)

Selanne won't walk. He has made ~50M dollars during his NHL career and he has never been one to look for the top dollar. He sees the team Ducks have and the direction Burke is taking it.

My bet is that he signs a 1y 2M deal.

About PP, why not try O'Brien there? According to all reports I've read, he was excellent as PP QB with his booming shot (and the points show that too).

1st PP Beauch - Nieds
2nd PP OB - Getzlaf

if Burke lets Salei and his 2 million walk and lands Chara at 6 million that will only add 4 million to the cap...not too bad.

I still am not that optimistic that it will happen just because of the number of teams who will be after Chara, but it's good to know that Burke is going to look into it.

Niedermayer-Beauchemin
Chara-O'Donnell
Vish-DiPenta
O'Brien
I think Blake would be a good alternative to Chara, he will be cheaper, yes he's older but he was really good after the new year he would provide a big boost to the PP unit with his shot and allow Beachemin to QB the 2nd PP.

after looking at our situation..we have to get rid of Kunitz or Marchant if we want to add a forward.

after looking at our situation..we have to get rid of Kunitz or Marchant if we want to add a forward.

I'm fine with just upgrading the blueline a bit, and waiting to see what we can do about the forward spot during the season, after the kids have gotten a chance to succeed/fail. Signing a free agent or something will mean we're stuck with that salary for a while, whereas trading for a deadline rental usually means a minimal cap hit.

And hey, if something happens like Chistov comes back and puts things together, the rest of the kids progress, and we get another solid season out of the veterans, maybe we won't need another forward at all.

Are you serious? Why should force a 3rd/4th liner back when we have plenty of replacements, who are willing to play for us, on stock? Would make no sense at all!

I'm not saying he should, I'm saying he might. I don't see the point in forcing a guy to play here if he doesn't want to. Of course, I said the same thing about Bryzgalov last year and was totally wrong. :)

Burke can't force Hedstrom to do anything, if he wants to play in Sweden he'll play there.

Pepper, you need to stay in the penalty box since you haven't recovered yet. Hedstrom has a contract with the Ducks. If Burke refuses to let him out of it, then Hedstrom has to honor it.

Selanne won't walk. He has made ~50M dollars during his NHL career and he has never been one to look for the top dollar. He sees the team Ducks have and the direction Burke is taking it.

My bet is that he signs a 1y 2M deal.

About PP, why not try O'Brien there? According to all reports I've read, he was excellent as PP QB with his booming shot (and the points show that too).

1st PP Beauch - Nieds
2nd PP OB - Getzlaf
Agreed on Selanne. As long as Burke is not openly disrespectful I think Teemu will take whatever deal is offered, irrespective of the dollar figure.

Pepper, you need to stay in the penalty box since you haven't recovered yet. Hedstrom has a contract with the Ducks. If Burke refuses to let him out of it, then Hedstrom has to honor it.

the questions is...and yes, I'm not pepper, I know :)...what do you get out of a player who doesn't want to be here...bad team chemistry maybe...

I'm fine with just upgrading the blueline a bit, and waiting to see what we can do about the forward spot during the season, after the kids have gotten a chance to succeed/fail. Signing a free agent or something will mean we're stuck with that salary for a while, whereas trading for a deadline rental usually means a minimal cap hit.

And hey, if something happens like Chistov comes back and puts things together, the rest of the kids progress, and we get another solid season out of the veterans, maybe we won't need another forward at all.
Well judging by Carlyles comments it sounds like he wants an insurance plan just in case the kids struggle. But you have to dump a guy or two to do it. If Chistov comes back I'd like to get a center.

But the signs are also pointed towards a dman being a high priority with Salei likely to test the market.

the questions is...and yes, I'm not pepper, I know :)...what do you get out of a player who doesn't want to be here...bad team chemistry maybe...

I addressed this already. Burke did the same thing with Bryz, who also didn't want to be here, this past offseason. What did we get out of him?

The two circumstances may be different, and Burke may handle them differently. As I already wrote, I don't expect Hedstrom to be with the team next season.

I think Burke basically told Salei if you want to stay here its on my terms not yours, my guess he walks and I wouldn't blame Salei at all.

And I don't blame Burke at all, he can do a lot better than Rusty for 2-2.5 million. Spending 4-6 Burke can do many, many times better.

I think we really should give vish and not odonnel top 4 minutes. Odonnel will protect smid, be a physical presenece (to what I've is a very non-physical person in smid), and allow the coach to have a lot of versatility.

My biggest problem in the playoffs was watching niedermayer and beachumein play every minute of every situation. I think Carlyle needs to figure out some pairings where he feels comfortable have someone other than our PP guys doing PK and top line matching...

That should tell you what kind of confidence Carlyle has in Vishnevski. We are in big trouble is Vish in the top 4 next season.

And I don't blame Burke at all, he can do a lot better than Rusty for 2-2.5 million. Spending 4-6 Burke can do many, many times better.


That should tell you what kind of confidence Carlyle has in Vishnevski. We are in big trouble is Vish in the top 4 next season.

I agree. Salei takes far too many soft penalties and is scary when he's out of the PP. We need an upgrade if we are to improve next season.

I thought Vish would be great is a physical playoff, he wasn't. Not a great draft pick in hindsight. Dipenta is just as good as Vish IMO.

That should tell you what kind of confidence Carlyle has in Vishnevski. We are in big trouble is Vish in the top 4 next season.

Vish is fun to watch with the open ice hits and all, but his overall impact is limited. Still, a big hitter is always useful to have on the 3rd pairing.

I would love to sign Blake to a one year contract and it actually could very well happen. Would make our normally anemic PP MUCH better. :)

Vish is fun to watch with the open ice hits and all, but his overall impact is limited. Still, a big hitter is always useful to have on the 3rd pairing.

His hockey sense is horrid, he has no clue WHEN to hit. And as I've said 1000 times he's too skinny to play that style. When you initiate contact you shouldn't be the one down on the ice.

I'd much rather have a guy like O'Donnell on the 3rd pair.

Salei's not the problem, our top PP unit is. We'd still be playing if it weren't for that abysmal failure. If we're going to upgrade the D, it should be for someone who knows when and how to shoot, instead of making cool-looking passes.

I think Burke basically told Salei if you want to stay here its on my terms not yours, my guess he walks and I wouldn't blame Salei at all. I think Burke is basiclly bluffing/posturing anyways and wants to get a big time free agent (kind of what he did w/ babcock).

I think the ducks will begin to integrate Smid into their system next year and sign a UFA defenseman. I expect to see something like this:

Niedermayer Beachumein
Free Agent Vishnevski
Odonnel Smid

7th d-man Diepenta

Callups: Minor league guys like Obrien

I think we really should give vish and not odonnel top 4 minutes. Odonnel will protect smid, be a physical presenece (to what I've is a very non-physical person in smid), and allow the coach to have a lot of versatility.

My biggest problem in the playoffs was watching niedermayer and beachumein play every minute of every situation. I think Carlyle needs to figure out some pairings where he feels comfortable have someone other than our PP guys doing PK and top line matching...
I think Dipenta is the perfect 7th d-man and if anyone struggles or has a minor injury he'll easily be able to replace them. I think we got pretty lucky to not have a major injury all season, so some insurance would be great.

Af far as our forwards go, I'm very fearful Selanne will walk. If not, he will easily get 3 million (and he should as long as its 2 or 1 yars). With giving increase time to young guns, I see some thing like:

Penner McDonald Selanne
Perry Getzlaf Lupul
Kunitz Pahlson Niedermayer
Fedoruk Marchant Konopka

Extra: Moen

We could interchange Fedoruk & Lupul for some shifts if teams try to rough up the kids.

I'd also like to see us Konopka over Moen. I think he has more pizazze/flare and would give us an energy line. We would basically be only 3 lines deep though, but unless we're willing to invest some more cash

Unfortunately I don't think Vish will ever see top 4 minutes. However, I would like to see him there as well, but I would definitely be happy with these pairings:
Beauchemin-Niedermayer
UFA-O'Donnell
Vish-Smid
Dipenta
Call up- O'Brien

As far as your forward lines go; I really like those lines, but what if chistov comes back? If he doesn't though, then I would be happy with the lines you have.

I am going around to every team's message boards and attempting to get a feel for who is expendable on your team and who you would like moved in the offseason. Who do you want to see moved from the Ducks?

Salei
Friesen
Moen
Kunitz

in all honesty which goalie do guys think are going? or we somehow keep them both?

Salei
Friessen
Moen

Salei and Friesen are most likely gone. Burke won't give Salei the contract he wants. Friesen is expendable. Moen is useless. The Ducks need to move Sean O'donnell and JS Giguere. Both guys get paid too much for their production. I wouldn't be to sad if we can move Todd Marchant. I know he did well for us in the playoffs but we need to upgrade our top 6 center position. Pahlsson is our checking line center. We don't need two.

in all honesty which goalie do guys think are going? or we somehow keep them both?

As far as we all know Bryzgalov is not set to be a start up goalie just yet, so keeping Giguere wouldn't be such a bad idea. I don't think getting rid of Giguere for the sake of being overpaid is a solution. I wouldn't mind seeing Gerber coming back though.

Salei's not the problem, our top PP unit is. We'd still be playing if it weren't for that abysmal failure. If we're going to upgrade the D, it should be for someone who knows when and how to shoot, instead of making cool-looking passes.

That would probably be Jovo or McCabe, if you don't mind the occasional defensive lapses. Either that or shell out bigtime for a Blake or Redden.

I am going around to every team's message boards and attempting to get a feel for who is expendable on your team and who you would like moved in the offseason. Who do you want to see moved from the Ducks?

Players who will probably be gone:
Salei
Friesen
Marshall
Hedstrom

Who I'd like to be gone:
Marchant
O'Donnell

Just curious; ILau, why would Kunitz be gone? I hope he's not on our top line next year, but I'd like to see him on our 3rd line.

Players who will probably be gone:
Salei
Friesen
Marshall
Hedstrom

Who I'd like to be gone:
Marchant
O'Donnell

Just curious; ILau, why would Kunitz be gone? I hope he's not on our top line next year, but I'd like to see him on our 3rd line.

Kunitz can play on our third line, thats where he belongs. Salei is overrated and should be shipped out and replaced by a tougher Dman who can help on the PP.

Marchant should stay, Pahlsson is not as good as Todd, besides the money factor why should God get the nod over Todd? :dunno:

I want somebody, be it via free agency or trade, that makes our powerplay better. That was our downfall vs. the Oilers. And it was middle of the pack all season, at best.

I would prefer to see Salei stay. I've always liked him, and think he brings a lot to the team.

Salei and Friesen are most likely gone. Burke won't give Salei the contract he wants. Friesen is expendable. Moen is useless. The Ducks need to move Sean O'donnell and JS Giguere. Both guys get paid too much for their production. I wouldn't be to sad if we can move Todd Marchant. I know he did well for us in the playoffs but we need to upgrade our top 6 center position. Pahlsson is our checking line center. We don't need two.
It would be kind of stupid to move OD if we are losing Salei. That's probably why Burke got him, so he wouldn't have to sign 2 defensemen if Salei left..

That would probably be Jovo or McCabe, if you don't mind the occasional defensive lapses. Either that or shell out bigtime for a Blake or Redden.
the upside to signing Blake is you only have to make a short term commitment, Jovo/McCabe/Redden/Chara types can command 3-4 years. Of course the downside is Blakes age but I thought he played really well to end the season.

Jovo is a good player but I don't know if he is the player the ducks need at the moment. We already got Beauchemin who plays a similar game. The Ducks should target Bryan McCabe. Doesn't Burke have a history when he traded Linden for McCabe and Bertuzzi?

the upside to signing Blake is you only have to make a short term commitment, Jovo/McCabe/Redden/Chara types can command 3-4 years. Of course the downside is Blakes age but I thought he played really well to end the season.

True, and Blake might find the combination of a return to SoCal and an up and coming Ducks team to be a really tempting situation. But if we also want to leave a little room for a forward acquisition (even if it's just a deadline pickup) then we have to consider the per year figure too.

If we can re-sign Andy & Teemu, plus get an upgrade over Salei on defense, without having to do any major salary dumping, that would be a very successful offseason even if we do nothing else of note.

The Ducks need to move Sean O'donnell and JS Giguere. Both guys get paid too much for their production.

O'Donnell at 1.6 vs Vishnevski at 1.2 (or more) is a negligible difference in salary.

Guys, just to clear this up:

Hedstrom is gone, he has already signed with a SEL team.

Well good luck to him, we will never forget that hat trick against the Kings. :handclap:

Well good luck to him, we will never forget that hat trick against the Kings. :handclap:

There's no question that he's good enough to be an NHL player. I think he'll be back with someone.

Pepper, you need to stay in the penalty box since you haven't recovered yet. Hedstrom has a contract with the Ducks. If Burke refuses to let him out of it, then Hedstrom has to honor it.

Still bitter I see.

Plenty of europeans have left the NHL to play in Europe despite having a contract with a NHL team, in practise Burke can't force Hedstrom to do anything. This is not like case Yashin where Yashin wanted more money, this is about Hedstrom wanting to go back to Sweden for good.

I addressed this already. Burke did the same thing with Bryz, who also didn't want to be here, this past offseason. What did we get out of him?

The two circumstances may be different, and Burke may handle them differently. As I already wrote, I don't expect Hedstrom to be with the team next season.

The two circumstances are totally different, hence case Bryz is a poor example.

Once everyone is resigned we won't have a lot of wiggle room for FA's. I'd say we need to get a d-man at the 2-2.5 range and a forward at the 1.5-2.5 range. I really hope Burke doesn't break the bank on a Chara or a Jovo because that would mean more cutting of the fat. It turned out good for us last year but there really aren't any guys that I'd like to see moved. Almost every guy on our roster had one of their best season, if not THE best. I don't know though because our PP does need improving but maybe the answer lies in the forwards. Scotty and Beach do a fine job and Getzy was good during the regular season on the point. If we can get Blake for cheap I'd go after him but I imagine he'll get big money thrown at him from a number of places.

I dont know if this was mentioned before..

"I'm going to give [Selanne] seven days and then I'll be calling him," Burke told the Times.

Meanwhile, according to the Times, the Ducks might not bring back Ruslan Salei, which could prompt them into pursuing a top defenseman from an all-star class of Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Ed Jovanovski and Rob Blake.

Salei and the Ducks are far apart in contract negotiations, with the defenseman seeking a long-term deal.

"He said he would not accept anything less than a three-year contract," Burke said. "I told Rusty, 'He's not getting that from me.'"

I dont know if this was mentioned before..

"I'm going to give [Selanne] seven days and then I'll be calling him," Burke told the Times.

Meanwhile, according to the Times, the Ducks might not bring back Ruslan Salei, which could prompt them into pursuing a top defenseman from an all-star class of Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Ed Jovanovski and Rob Blake.

Salei and the Ducks are far apart in contract negotiations, with the defenseman seeking a long-term deal.

"He said he would not accept anything less than a three-year contract," Burke said. "I told Rusty, 'He's not getting that from me.'"

I've been away from this board for the past three days and so I had to wade my way through this entire thread. Finally, somebody posted what I had seen over the weekend. Burke isn't bluffing. If Rusty wants a three-year deal, it'll be somewhere else.

While I'm not anxious to get rid of Salei, I'm intrigued by the possibility of adding a high-calibre d-man. MacDonald (the poster) is extremely credible. I think Chara would be a great addition. I think Ottawa may have some salary issues and, ultimately, will opt to part with Chara or Redden. I'd take either of them, but Chara is an absolute monster who'd look good in Eggplant and Teal, Orange and Black or whatever the h*ll colors we'll be wearing next year.

In the register article yesterday, it said something to the effect that Burke would like to keep both goalies, but both were worthy of being a No. 1 and he doubted either would settle for not being top dog. If I recall correctly, he said he thought that one or the other probably would be traded by the end of training camp.

As to who can go, Friesen is expendable, Rusty is gone if he insists upon, and gets, a three-year deal, the likelihood of Hedstrom returning is about the same as that of either Patrick Kjellberg or Patrick Carnback returning to the Ducks and Moen situation is tenuous.

For those of you who have advocated moving Todd Marchant, I suggest you take a closer look at his work in the playoffs. I'm doing this from memory, but I believe he had the best plus-minus on the Ducks and was second in total points. He's a solid, two-way center with speed and an excellent PK guy. Keep him.

As for Chistov, I'll take the proverbial bag of pucks for the guy. He's lazy.

My two cents worth: Move Giguere to Toronto and make sure Justin Pogge comes this way. Let Salei walk. Use the money saved to bring in Zdeno Chara.

I think thats a great assessment.

Also, for those who think Vish can never be a top 4, well if you never give a kid an opportunity to grow, how will he learn? You notice that Getzlaf has taken much more strides than Perry? Well Getzlaf has been a fixture on 1st and 2nd power play unit where Perry is struggling to get past the 4th line. It makes a big difference in devlopment.

We've seen flashes of him being able to do more than just hit, but his defensive positioning has always been his flaw. Challeng him to bulk up in the offseason then focus on him a half-season before writing him off as a carear 3rd line pairing. I think we'll all be suprised.

Chicken vs. egg syndrome.

Has Vish shown enough to get more icetime or has Vish gotten enough icetime to show more?

Chicken vs. egg syndrome.

Has Vish shown enough to get more icetime or has Vish gotten enough icetime to show more?

No, Yes. He is a nice 3rd pairing d-man because he can intimidate, that is what he will be and is currently.

Spectors posted about the Chara thing...I would much rather have him than Redden whom I feel is vastly overrated and is always the one being beaten during a crucial goal it seems, he is a good PP guy but is way way overrated defensively. I agree with Kick Save's assessment...although I want a decent return for Giguere which I feel can be accomplished in a very demanding goalie market currently, I imagine Burke would concur (conquer).

For those of you who have advocated moving Todd Marchant, I suggest you take a closer look at his work in the playoffs. I'm doing this from memory, but I believe he had the best plus-minus on the Ducks and was second in total points. He's a solid, two-way center with speed and an excellent PK guy. Keep him.


Best plus-minus in the playoffs of all teams! Tied with Tallinder, +14

Best plus-minus in the playoffs of all teams! Tied with Tallinder, +14

Why we would trade Todd and keep God is a mystery to me. Marchant is the perfect 3rd line center IMO.

Why we would trade Todd and keep God is a mystery to me. Marchant is the perfect 3rd line center IMO.
what?

Pahlsson is one of the best defensive forwards in the league, and makes about 1/4 of what Marchant makes.

Why we would trade Todd and keep God is a mystery to me. Marchant is the perfect 3rd line center IMO.


sami is god, nobody can trade god :)

We've seen flashes of him being able to do more than just hit, but his defensive positioning has always been his flaw. Challeng him to bulk up in the offseason then focus on him a half-season before writing him off as a carear 3rd line pairing. I think we'll all be suprised.

He's had six seasons already. Why would next season be any different?

Well you can make case for keeping both of them or trading either one of them.

Pahlsson has much cheaper contract, Marchant has more grit & offense, defensively quite close (edge Pahlsson maybe).

Decisions, decisions...

uhm... anyone think maybe we can keep both, possibly put 1 on the wing or 4th line. I mean its a terrible thing to have 2 shutdown centers especially when playing on the road...

If i also remember, pahlson was our best faceoff guy in playoffs.

I'd say grit is pretty close. Wasn't Pahlsson 2nd on the team in hits this year? He really impressed me this year by his willingness to throw the body around. He wasn't running around like an idiot hitting people, but he knew where to pick his spots and usually took offensive players off the puck. Good at finishing his checks as well. When comparing them in that department, didn't seem to be a difference except in the Edmonton series where Marchant bumped Roloson.

This is off topic from the whole Pahlsson/Marchant debate, but why the need for huge changes?

Part of what was great about this team was that for once they all seemed to like one another. The chemistry is unmatched by any other season in history IMO.

Do we need upgrades? Sure, but some of you want to see 5 or 6 players moved. To me that sets us back rather than pushes us forward.

To me you make 3 moves really. Sign a solid PP d-man, Kubina comes to mind(I beleive he is a UFA) let one of the young guys have a shot as the 6th d-man(Shane O'Brien is my pick). And consider dealing off Giguere only if you can get a scoring LW in his prime and a solid backup goalie.

Any other question marks, you let the young guys work it out at training camp. I personally would love to see Konopka and Parenteau given an opportunity to make an impact along with O'Brien.

Too me there can be a problem with too many changes in one offseason.

but why the need for huge changes?
I agree with you prof.

Center - McDonald, Getzlaf, Pahlsson, Marchant, Konopka

RW - Selanne, Lupul, Perry, R. Neids, Melin

LW - UFA, Penner, Kunitz, Chistov, Fedoruk,

Glencross, Brent, Paranteau.

D - Nieds, Beauch, O'Donnel, Vish, UFA , DiPenta, O'Brien/Smid

We are almost 5 deep in each forward position, pending Chistov and Melin are over, plus a possible top6 LW. Our D we have to upgrade Salei, possibly let Dipenta walk, who knows. No need to get rid of Marchant or Pahlsson.

I'd say grit is pretty close. Wasn't Pahlsson 2nd on the team in hits this year? He really impressed me this year by his willingness to throw the body around. He wasn't running around like an idiot hitting people, but he knew where to pick his spots and usually took offensive players off the puck. Good at finishing his checks as well.
Don't try telling Pepper that Pahlsson knows how to hit and is great on the fore-check, there is no point.

I'd say grit is pretty close. Wasn't Pahlsson 2nd on the team in hits this year? He really impressed me this year by his willingness to throw the body around. He wasn't running around like an idiot hitting people, but he knew where to pick his spots and usually took offensive players off the puck. Good at finishing his checks as well. When comparing them in that department, didn't seem to be a difference except in the Edmonton series where Marchant bumped Roloson.

We don't call Pahlsson God for nothing.

While a PP QB would be great, I'd be more interested in getting a matchup defenseman so that Niedermayer could focus on being a PP/1st line defenseman and used as a matchup defenseman only once we establish a lead... we just use him too much in too many situations...

While a PP QB would be great, I'd be more interested in getting a matchup defenseman so that Niedermayer could focus on being a PP/1st line defenseman and used as a matchup defenseman only once we establish a lead... we just use him too much in too many situations...

What's more important? A pp specialist or a lockdown Dman? If I was the ducks, I go for the pp specialist. Our pp was horrible against the Oilers and lost that series because of special teams.

What's more important? A pp specialist or a lockdown Dman? If I was the ducks, I go for the pp specialist. Our pp was horrible against the Oilers and lost that series because of special teams.
Go for Chara or Blake..kill two birds with one stone. We need to have another guy that can play in big situations other than Scotty and his partner.

I agree with you prof.

Center - McDonald, Getzlaf, Pahlsson, Marchant, Konopka

RW - Selanne, Lupul, Perry, R. Neids, Melin

LW - UFA, Penner, Kunitz, Chistov, Fedoruk,

Glencross, Brent, Paranteau.

D - Nieds, Beauch, O'Donnel, Vish, UFA , DiPenta, O'Brien/Smid

We are almost 5 deep in each forward position, pending Chistov and Melin are over, plus a possible top6 LW. Our D we have to upgrade Salei, possibly let Dipenta walk, who knows. No need to get rid of Marchant or Pahlsson.

Which of those centers gets 2nd line time though? If its Getzlaf then either Lupul's time gets reduced becuase both he and Perry play RW, or you can play Getzlaf with Lupul and sacrafice the chemistry Perry and Getzlaf have. Either one needs to learn how to play LW or they arent going to see as much time as they could.

If not Getzlaf, I really dont like Marchant getting 2nd line minutes. Move him to the wing and sign Arnott and Kubina.

Penner-Mac-Selanne
Kunitz-Arnott-Lupul
Marchant-Getzlaf-Perry
Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Niedermayer

Nieds-Beauch
OD-Kubina
Vish-Smid/O'Brien

After doing a little thinking, I've changed my plan quite a bit:

1.Trade JS Giguere and 06 first rounder to Tampa Bay for Frederik Modin, Sean Burke and their 06 first rounder. Draft Bobby Sanguinetti or Ty Wishat with the pick.

2.Trade Stanislav Chistov and Chris Kunitz to Phoenix for Mike Comrie(Gretzky and Barnett might not do it, but I think that the package might interest him enough). Re-sign him to a 3-year, $7.5 million contract

3.(This is first priority, but happens at about this time)Re-sign Teemu Selanne to a 1-year, $4 million contract, Andy McDonald to a 2-year, $6 million contract, and Joffrey Lupul to a 3-year, $7.5 million contract.

4.Sign Ed Jovanovski to a 3-year, $12 million contract.


Line-up:

Modin(2.204)-McDonald(3)-Selanne(4)
Penner(.5)-Comrie(2.5)-Lupul(2.5)
Marchant(2.47)-Pahlsson(.625)-Niedermayer(2)
Fedoruk(.45)-Getzlaf(.8816)-Perry(.684)
Moen(.45), Minimum salary fill-in

Niedermayer(6.75)-Beauchemin(.5)
Jovanovski(4)-Vishnevski(1.35)
O'Donnell(1.748)-Smid(.855)
DiPenta(.45)

Bryzgalov(1.5)
Burke(1.6)


Total Salary: $41,467,600



Some might not like bringing in Comrie, but I think he's got the natural passing ability that is needed to help Lupul, and his size shouldn't be a problem. I think he'd work well here, then again, I always do. I also think that Jovo would be a huge addition, as he'll be cheaper than Chara but will be arguably the best #2 defenseman in the league. He's also a better long-term solution than Rob Blake. As for Modin, it's obvious why I want him. It's be sad to see Jiggy go, but Modin is worth it, and Bryz can be our starter next year. If Bryz can be a good starter in this league(and I'm sure he can), those kinds of additions could make this team into a top team in the league, and we'd still be a couple million under the salary cap. I don't what you all think, but I like it.

Goaltending sucks. Sean Burke once stopped a young Methuselah on a breakaway.

Goaltending sucks. Sean Burke once stopped a young Methuselah on a breakaway.

If Tampa would somehow do that deal without Burke, and we then use that money to sign a better back-up goaltender, I'm all for it. But I don't think they add any more salary as it is.

2.Trade Stanislav Chistov and Chris Kunitz to Phoenix for Mike Comrie(Gretzky and Barnett might not do it, but I think that the package might interest him enough). Re-sign him to a 3-year, $7.5 million contract




pass...Andy Mac is the same player except faster...we don't need another midget center.

3.(This is first priority, but happens at about this time)Re-sign Teemu Selanne to a 1-year, $4 million contract, Andy McDonald to a 2-year, $6 million contract, and Joffrey Lupul to a 3-year, $7.5 million contract.



the McDonald contract looks about right, though I'd like him locked up for 3-4 years at that price. Selanne I could see at a little less..maybe 3 million...the Lupul contract is too much for a young player...his qualifying offer is under a million that is a big jump to 2.5 a year.

#1 PP QB, a top-6 to top-3 LW, and we're gold. Let everybody fight it out for ice time.

#1 PP QB, a top-6 to top-3 LW, and we're gold. Let everybody fight it out for ice time.

Agreed, our PP is the reason we're now following the Portland Pirates and that must be our main off season priority.

Keep Todd Marchant, what a great playoff leader he was! :handclap:

#1 PP QB, a top-6 to top-3 LW, and we're gold. Let everybody fight it out for ice time.

#1 PP QB? What do you call Scott Niedermayer? The D on our PP is not the problem, it's the man in front of the net. This job was Lupul's and I love the guy but he's no Ryan Smyth in front of the net. Also, we've got Beachy will his canon so if anything we need a d-man that's a capable PP point man. Jovo is more than capable but to have to trade Jiggy to get him bothers me. I'm not sold on Bryz as our starter yet, he has to earn it. With each new goalie contract signed, Jiggy becomes a better bargin.

Also, I feel it's not so much our PP was horrible against Edmonton so much as their PK was unbelievible. I've never seen so many blocked passes and shots in a five game series in my life. When we had Getzy on the point our PP went on fire. Give him more time to mature with his backchecking and our PP should be loads better.

#1 PP QB? What do you call Scott Niedermayer? The D on our PP is not the problem, it's the man in front of the net. This job was Lupul's and I love the guy but he's no Ryan Smyth in front of the net. Also, we've got Beachy will his canon so if anything we need a d-man that's a capable PP point man. Jovo is more than capable but to have to trade Jiggy to get him bothers me. I'm not sold on Bryz as our starter yet, he has to earn it. With each new goalie contract signed, Jiggy becomes a better bargin.

Also, I feel it's not so much our PP was horrible against Edmonton so much as their PK was unbelievible. I've never seen so many blocked passes and shots in a five game series in my life. When we had Getzy on the point our PP went on fire. Give him more time to mature with his backchecking and our PP should be loads better.

The D on the ppl is a big problem. There are only two guys on the blueline that even resemble ppl players, and that is Beauch and Nieds. Even if Niedermayer is double shifted who are you going to put on there with him? Getzlaf? In the third period of a 1 goal game do you really want him on the point? There isnt anyone else. Salei is a poor ppl player and that is no fault of his own, he just isnt that type of playmaker.

.

Penner-Mac-Selanne
Kunitz-Arnott-Lupul
Marchant-Getzlaf-Perry
Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Niedermayer

Nieds-Beauch
OD-Kubina
Vish-Smid/O'Brien
Am I the only one that gets less impressed with our team everytime I see Kunitz? seriously he had a nice year but if he has to be sacrificed to get a top six forward, so be it. Arnott would not be my first choice, he had his best year in a contract year and it's entirely possible Getzlaf produces the same as he does next year.

I'd rather see Chistov get a crack at top six time than Kunitz again.

#1 PP QB? What do you call Scott Niedermayer?

Scotty Nieds is a good pointman but not a specialist. Brian Rafalski was in Jersey.

Am I the only one that gets less impressed with our team everytime I see Kunitz? seriously he had a nice year but if he has to be sacrificed to get a top six forward, so be it. Arnott would not be my first choice, he had his best year in a contract year and it's entirely possible Getzlaf produces the same as he does next year.

I'd rather see Chistov get a crack at top six time than Kunitz again.

Who do you put in the 2nd line LW spot then? Penner? Then who is on the 1st line? Either Perry or Lupul need to be able top play there...Chistov is a stretch. No one knows what he is going to bring, and they wont know until training camp at which time it will be too late to bring a LW in via free agency or likely to make a trade, if Chistov isnt worth putting there.

As for Arnott, he has size and hands, and about the contract you could say the same about McDonald. Maybe the "new" NHL helped him somehow as well? Getzlaf may put up those numbers but only if he gets a shot at the 2nd line center position. Marchant has no business there no matter what he did this postseason, but if Getzlaf falters who do you put there?

#1 PP QB? What do you call Scott Niedermayer? The D on our PP is not the problem, it's the man in front of the net. This job was Lupul's and I love the guy but he's no Ryan Smyth in front of the net. Also, we've got Beachy will his canon so if anything we need a d-man that's a capable PP point man. Jovo is more than capable but to have to trade Jiggy to get him bothers me. I'm not sold on Bryz as our starter yet, he has to earn it. With each new goalie contract signed, Jiggy becomes a better bargin.

Also, I feel it's not so much our PP was horrible against Edmonton so much as their PK was unbelievible. I've never seen so many blocked passes and shots in a five game series in my life. When we had Getzy on the point our PP went on fire. Give him more time to mature with his backchecking and our PP should be loads better.
I don't know what to call Niedermayer. Not a #1 power play QB. He mostly roamed around, trying to create havoc by confusing the D or drawing them out of position. I don't have a problem with him but he wasn't running the unit. Beachemin, Getzlaf, and Salei were our QBs. I think Getzlaf did the best job of them, but I'd prefer the big bodies be down by the net while the guys with big brains and the big accurate shots man the points.

You think it was just Edmonton shutting us down? We were 13th out of the 16 playoff teams. We were 15th in the regular season. Our power play was nothing special at best, and a hindrance at it's worst. We need a guy who can call the shots, run the show, and make the plays. Once we get that, our offense will jump off the charts, even if we don't get the LW I covet.

Regarding goalies, I don't believe we're a team that needs to rely on goalies to win games anymore, but they need to be solid. Giguere/Bryzgalov is a very solid tandem. Not elite, but more than good enough. Bryzgalov/backup is a shaky, dangerous tandem that I want no part of. Our goaltending is cheap and effective. Let's fix what's broke instead.

Which of those centers gets 2nd line time though? If its Getzlaf then either Lupul's time gets reduced becuase both he and Perry play RW, or you can play Getzlaf with Lupul and sacrafice the chemistry Perry and Getzlaf have. Either one needs to learn how to play LW or they arent going to see as much time as they could.

If not Getzlaf, I really dont like Marchant getting 2nd line minutes. Move him to the wing and sign Arnott and Kubina.
Fans like to label lines 1 through 4 but after watching this season, we didn't have that type of system. Yea McDonald/Selanne was the "1st line" but often they wouldn't play the most minutes. Getzlaf played 25 mins in our last playoff game, he is going to get his share of mins next year. That doesn't have to much to do with Perry/Lupul. Getzlaf/Pahlsson/Marchant will get PK time. Also, players like Pahlsson and Marchant can play 10 minutes or 20 on any given night and still be effective in those minutes. None of our centers will complain about ice time, when you look at their position and character.

I see no problem keeping our centers as McDonald, Getzlaf, Pahlsson and Marchant. Its solid one through four, with Konopka available if needed.

I don't know what to call Niedermayer. Not a #1 power play QB. He mostly roamed around, trying to create havoc by confusing the D or drawing them out of position. I don't have a problem with him but he wasn't running the unit. Beachemin, Getzlaf, and Salei were our QBs. I think Getzlaf did the best job of them, but I'd prefer the big bodies be down by the net while the guys with big brains and the big accurate shots man the points.

You think it was just Edmonton shutting us down? We were 13th out of the 16 playoff teams. We were 15th in the regular season. Our power play was nothing special at best, and a hindrance at it's worst. We need a guy who can call the shots, run the show, and make the plays. Once we get that, our offense will jump off the charts, even if we don't get the LW I covet.

Regarding goalies, I don't believe we're a team that needs to rely on goalies to win games anymore, but they need to be solid. Giguere/Bryzgalov is a very solid tandem. Not elite, but more than good enough. Bryzgalov/backup is a shaky, dangerous tandem that I want no part of. Our goaltending is cheap and effective. Let's fix what's broke instead.
Great post CFOB

Scott's shot alone stops him from being the QB.

Fans like to label lines 1 through 4 but after watching this season, we didn't have that type of system. Yea McDonald/Selanne was the "1st line" but often they wouldn't play the most minutes. Getzlaf played 25 mins in our last playoff game, he is going to get his share of mins next year. That doesn't have to much to do with Perry/Lupul. Getzlaf/Pahlsson/Marchant will get PK time. Also, players like Pahlsson and Marchant can play 10 minutes or 20 on any given night and still be effective in those minutes. None of our centers will complain about ice time, when you look at their position and character.

I see no problem keeping our centers as McDonald, Getzlaf, Pahlsson and Marchant. Its solid one through four, with Konopka available if needed.

I realise that, but players that should be contributing offensive numbers will still be playing with those centers, namely Marchant. If Lupul and him can sustain the chemistry they had in the playoffs at times it shouldnt be that big of a problem, but if not does Lupul flounder on a checking line? Then people will ***** about him not producing. Marchant would be just as effective as a winger if another *more offensively gifted* center was brought in.

I don't know what to call Niedermayer. Not a #1 power play QB. He mostly roamed around, trying to create havoc by confusing the D or drawing them out of position. I don't have a problem with him but he wasn't running the unit. Beachemin, Getzlaf, and Salei were our QBs. I think Getzlaf did the best job of them, but I'd prefer the big bodies be down by the net while the guys with big brains and the big accurate shots man the points.

You think it was just Edmonton shutting us down? We were 13th out of the 16 playoff teams. We were 15th in the regular season. Our power play was nothing special at best, and a hindrance at it's worst. We need a guy who can call the shots, run the show, and make the plays. Once we get that, our offense will jump off the charts, even if we don't get the LW I covet.

Regarding goalies, I don't believe we're a team that needs to rely on goalies to win games anymore, but they need to be solid. Giguere/Bryzgalov is a very solid tandem. Not elite, but more than good enough. Bryzgalov/backup is a shaky, dangerous tandem that I want no part of. Our goaltending is cheap and effective. Let's fix what's broke instead.

Let's clerify one thing: I assume the consenus definition of a PP QB is a d-man with a huge shot/assist machine? Much like Pronger or Jovonovski. For me when I hear QB, I'm thinking the guy who is running the offense and Scotty does just that but I do realize the importance of the guy with the big shot. Now we can all agree that Beachy has that role on the first unit but the thing with the second unit is they were a completely different system.

With the first unit it's all about setting up Beachy or getting it to Teemu off the half-wall or Lupes right in front. Getting Frankie the puck for a one-timer was usually the number one option. But with the second unit you had Getzy and Robbie out there and the focus was more on the cycle and getting the puck to the net. Rusty and OD were on there to keep the puck in which is just as important as having a big shot. Now with amount of big bodies we have I think our focus on the PP next year should be to get pucks to net and move the puck down low. Perry and Lupes still have more weight they can put on and should be better around the net. Dustin Penner should be front and center for each of our PP next year. So I don't think another big shot is necessary so much as we need someone whose good at holding the line as Rusty was.

Also, if Bryz gets a modest contract I really don't think Jiggy will be traded unless a deal that's so sweet comes along. I really don't think Burke is going be actively trying to move him. Remember it was McClain that offered Beach, Wright and Marchant to Burke for Sergei. Having two solid goalies is far from a bad thing.

Fans like to label lines 1 through 4 but after watching this season, we didn't have that type of system. Yea McDonald/Selanne was the "1st line" but often they wouldn't play the most minutes. Getzlaf played 25 mins in our last playoff game, he is going to get his share of mins next year. That doesn't have to much to do with Perry/Lupul. Getzlaf/Pahlsson/Marchant will get PK time. Also, players like Pahlsson and Marchant can play 10 minutes or 20 on any given night and still be effective in those minutes. None of our centers will complain about ice time, when you look at their position and character.

I see no problem keeping our centers as McDonald, Getzlaf, Pahlsson and Marchant. Its solid one through four, with Konopka available if needed.

Rolling four lines is what made us a great team this year. This is the makeup for the new NHL. Look at the East Finals whom the winner will win the Cup, those teams roll four lines and six D-men. The freshest legs wins the race. Having 20 guys that all contribute make for a more complete team. This is why I feel we should only fill spots that are vacant because of free agency. I think Rusty is gone and Friesen is gone as well unless he takes a big pay cut. But I think we need to fill the roles that they played. Getting someone like Chara, although it would be a big upgrade, isn't a priority. A Willie Mitchell or Filip Kuba or Karlis Skrastins would be great fits. As well we need someone like Friesen who plays a strong two-way game, great skater and has a scoring tough. I like Langenbrunner for that spot but someone like Mike Grier can suffice as well.

Maybe with your great future players coming up, your management will say "hey forget that Gabe Gauthier guy, we don't need him!"

Thats all I want to happen :P

Maybe with your great future players coming up, your management will say "hey forget that Gabe Gauthier guy, we don't need him!"

Thats all I want to happen :P

:D That is going to be difficult with our amazing college scout David Mcnab certainly going after this guy... :D

Is there any recent news circulating about him? I am quite curious... :badidea:

Who do you put in the 2nd line LW spot then? Penner? Then who is on the 1st line? Either Perry or Lupul need to be able top play there...Chistov is a stretch. No one knows what he is going to bring, and they wont know until training camp at which time it will be too late to bring a LW in via free agency or likely to make a trade, if Chistov isnt worth putting there.

As for Arnott, he has size and hands, and about the contract you could say the same about McDonald. Maybe the "new" NHL helped him somehow as well? Getzlaf may put up those numbers but only if he gets a shot at the 2nd line center position. Marchant has no business there no matter what he did this postseason, but if Getzlaf falters who do you put there?
Thats why you sign or trade for a guy, Kunitz is not fit to play on the top 2 lines. He's a good 3rd liner who can see spot duty up there but that should be it. I'd like to see Lupul with Getzlaf, McDonald or Penner at all times if possible.

Burkes got his hands full.

Everyone has there own opinion on Kunitz and that's fine, we're all entitled to that. But the one who's opinion matters the most is Randy Carlyle and he thinks Kunitz is a damn good hockey player. He didn't put him on the first line because he felt he had to, he did because he deserved it that's why he stayed there for so long and it's not a coincedence that we did so well in that time. If Penner improves his skating this summer and Burke signs a free agent the likes of Langenbrunner (or someone like him, he's just the one I want) than yes Kunie will be relegated to the third line but you guys act like he's worthless. He scored 19 goals and most of those were in the second half of the season so it's quite possible that he will have 25-30 goals next year. Mac, Teemu and Scotty are the only guys on this team that skate better than Kunie and this team is built on speed.

Let's clerify one thing: I assume the consenus definition of a PP QB is a d-man with a huge shot/assist machine? Much like Pronger or Jovonovski. For me when I hear QB, I'm thinking the guy who is running the offense and Scotty does just that but I do realize the importance of the guy with the big shot. Now we can all agree that Beachy has that role on the first unit but the thing with the second unit is they were a completely different system.

A true power play QB IMO knows when to pass, when to shoot, has the shooting skill to place a hard accurate shot on net, or place a shot for a redirect, and the passing skills to create those fleeting outnumbered situations down low that can get goalies out of position. Niedermayer does not do that. He is generally a decoy, a secondary shooting option from the slot and the wing. When he's wide open, he'll walk down low and shoot, but he's not the number one guy.

Beauchemin has the shot and the confidence, but he lacks the vision and the subtlety to be a great QB. If he's running our 2nd unit because someone better is on the 1st, we'll be okay.

Salei has a cannon, but he's an idiot, god love him. Getzlaf is still learning and could be the guy, but he's a ways away still.

Back to Niedermayer briefly: I think he's the best "reactor" in the league. He can assess options and make consistently great decisions in a defensive role at lightning speed that not only keep us out of trouble, but usually trap a forechecker or two and set up an opportunity at center to attack the enemy with speed. I think it's the single biggest reason why we spent so little time in our own zone this season. But in the offensive zone, when trying to set up plays, I don't think Scott has that "see three steps ahead"-type vision that would make him an elite QB. He has vision no doubt, and the hands to make the plays he sees, but I don't think he sees the best plays all the time.

...Now with amount of big bodies we have I think our focus on the PP next year should be to get pucks to net and move the puck down low. Perry and Lupes still have more weight they can put on and should be better around the net. Dustin Penner should be front and center for each of our PP next year. So I don't think another big shot is necessary so much as we need someone whose good at holding the line as Rusty was.

I agree that we need the bodies in front of the net, though I don't think Lupul will ever do it. He's afraid. I want that to not be true, I still have hope for him, but I'm afraid he's a hockey coward like Sykora. I think Perry will be there, Penner was born there, etc.

But if all our guys are crashing the net then our puck movement necessarily must happen at the point, and must necessarily be directed from there. We will need shooters who can get their shots through, and who know when the right screen has been set. We don't have that yet. If we have just a bunch of crease-crashers then our pointmen will become even more important.

Kunitz can play on our third line, thats where he belongs. Salei is overrated and should be shipped out and replaced by a tougher Dman who can help on the PP.

Marchant should stay, Pahlsson is not as good as Todd, besides the money factor why should God get the nod over Todd? :dunno:

Marchant is probably better, but money is definitely the main factor because the cap is a huge factor in building a roster now. So is Marchant that much better then Pahlsson? I don't think so. I'll take Pahlsson with his contract rather then Marchant with his.

I want somebody, be it via free agency or trade, that makes our powerplay better. That was our downfall vs. the Oilers. And it was middle of the pack all season, at best.

I would prefer to see Salei stay. I've always liked him, and think he brings a lot to the team.

I would love to see Salei stay as well, but I don't see him staying and getting another Dmen as well. After watching the playoffs, I'm convinced this team needs another top dmen so Beauchemin and Scotty don't have to do it all. If salei needs to go in order to get another offensive defensemen, then salei needs to go.

I think a defenseman that would make our PP unit better offensive wise is Blake. He'd bring experience and produce lots of offense, not only scoring but also setting up fowards, he'd also make the Ducks a way more physical team. I think Jovo is a good choice as well, but he doesn't bring that offensive power. As far as Chara goes I think he is too expensive for what he is really worth and he wouldn't fit well in the Ducks' system.

I don't want to see Friesen in Ducks next year, not even if he plays for free. I hate that piece of ****.

I want to see Fedoruk and Konopka on our 4th line, preferably with Moen. That would be a great energy/punishment line. I could see Moen replaced with Kunitz, he has enough grit to play on that line. Or Pahlsson.

Penner - AndyMac - Selanne
? - Getzlaf - Perry
Nieds - Marchant - Lupul
Fedoruk - Pahlsson - Konopka
Kunitz as the 13th forward.

Boy it's hard...

Here is how I would line them up.

Penner-Mac-Selanne
Chistov-Getzlaf-Lupul (with the new NHL and Chistov's passing skills, this line would do well)
Niedermayer-Marchant-Perry
Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Konopka

Kunitz

Neids-Beauchemin
UFA-Vishnevski
Smid-O'Donnell
DiPenta

Giguere
Bryzgalov (who isn't ready to be a starter this season)

Here is how I would line them up.

Penner-Mac-Selanne
Chistov-Getzlaf-Lupul (with the new NHL and Chistov's passing skills, this line would do well)
Niedermayer-Marchant-Perry
Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Konopka

Kunitz

Neids-Beauchemin
UFA-Vishnevski
Smid-O'Donnell
DiPenta

Giguere
Bryzgalov (who isn't ready to be a starter this season)

My favorite line up in this thread so far, I too wish salie would stay, I like him over odonnell. I was hoping we could land a ufa up front but when you break it down we really dont have spots, were having problems filling in our lines with all the guys we have now. I like the 2nd like the most and also think kunitz has to be the odd man out.

Marchant is probably better, but money is definitely the main factor because the cap is a huge factor in building a roster now. So is Marchant that much better then Pahlsson? I don't think so. I'll take Pahlsson with his contract rather then Marchant with his.

Marchant provides better offense, is just as good defensivly and gives us playoff experience and leadership. He was one of the few Ducks who got in Roloson's face in the finals.
Todd is better than God and is worth the extra dough if we are serious about winning a championship.

Marchant provides better offense, is just as good defensivly and gives us playoff experience and leadership. He was one of the few Ducks who got in Roloson's face in the finals.
Todd is better than God and is worth the extra dough if we are serious about winning a championship.

If we are serious about a championship, I don't understand why everyone is so quick to throw away a checking center. True, we have two who are in their own ways outstanding. Is that a huge problem?

Had we faced the Sharks and had the dual problem of Thornton and Marleau, wouldn't this luxury of shut-down centers be exactly what we need? Or suppose we faced Modano-Arnott?

If we are not pressed by cap issues (and with these guys, I don't think we are), I say keep them both. Versatility and replaceability are not bad things for a serious championship contender.

My favorite line up in this thread so far, I too wish salie would stay, I like him over odonnell. I was hoping we could land a ufa up front but when you break it down we really dont have spots, were having problems filling in our lines with all the guys we have now. I like the 2nd like the most and also think kunitz has to be the odd man out.

Perry with Nieds and Marchant though....that and I dont like Konopka in over Kunitz. Chistov on the 2nd line is a stretch like I said before. I dont want Burke relying on Chistov being his 2nd line LW going into camp, there are just way too many questions about him.

man line with fedoruk-konopka-moen would be fantastic :)

Marchant being close to Sammy in grit or defense is like Pepper being close to me in fact-checking. And, as already stated, Sammy makes hella less. I like Marchant and have no problem with him on the team, but the salary is way out of whack, and unless it's part of a package of some sort, we're not going to find any other team to take it.

I'm going to wade in a bit with my evaluations, without getting too detailed with the salaries.

Our UFA's:
Teemu Selanne: I don't see what the big deal is with this guy. I don't think he adds a thing to the lineup, and if he's looking for anything more than last year, I say let him walk.

Ruslan Salei: I do like him, but judging by the language from both him and Burke, I see very little chance that he's brought back. There are plenty of UFA d-men who would be upgrades on Rusty, and fit our need on the pp.

Jason Marshall: Thanks for the effort. Good luck...

Aaron Gavey: Gone

Zenon Konopka: Don't care too much either way. Fine as a 4th line/reserve guy. If he's not too demanding, give him a chance to win a roster spot out of camp. Otherwise, we have too many forwards to worry too much.

Joe DiPenta: Perfect 6th/7th d-man. Bring him back.

Bruno St. Jacques: Bruno St. Gone

Kip Brennan: Kip St. Gone

Jeff Friesen: Gave a whole lot more than I expected in the playoffs. However, doesn't provide enough throughout the season to take up a roster spot from a youngster. Let him go, but he earned back some respect lost in his first time around.

Jani Hurme: What? Gone!

BTW, just kidding 'bout Teemu. Bring him back, asap.

And now, UFA's that I think could be attainable, and that could help us...

Mike Grier: Big, tough grinder with good hands. I think he'd be an upgrade on Friesen's position, and help provide a bit more jam that we were missing in the final round.

Zdeno Chara: I originally thought he'd be too expensive for us to chase, but it sounds like Burke's going to be in the running. He's the missing piece right now, money aside, the best fit for this club. Perfect contrast to Niedermayer, similar to the 1-2 Ottawa had with Redden, only Scotty's better.

Bryan McCabe: A flawed all-star who would help the pp considerably. Gets bashed regularly on these boards, but his talent is undeniable. He'd be third or fourth option, but his big shot would be a huge plus.

Jamie Langenbrunner: Its a weak forward crop this off-season, but I see this guy as being one of the better all-around forwards. Would look good on the first line in Kunitz's spot. Knows what it takes in the playoffs as well.

Brendan Shanahan: Of all the forwards, I think he'd be the best fit for our top 6. Seems highly, highly unlikely he's going anywhere though.

Rob Blake: He'd certainly be a good fit. Somehow I don't really see him leaving Colorado, and on the back-end of his career, I wonder how much he'll cost.

Ed Jovanovski: Another d-man who's been absolutely hammered on these boards. Burke is certainly very familiar with him, and I think he'd also be a good fit. Tough, good skater, good offensively, big shot, would definitely help the pp, and may be more in his element not having to play number 1 or 2 minutes.

Jason Arnott: Would definitely add the size-toughness to the top 6 forwards. His age will probably make him a highly sought-after commodity, and I'm not sure I wouldn't rather have Getzlaf see the minutes Arnott would get.

Mark Parrish: A more affordable option, good offensive skills and good size. Don't know that much about the guy, so I can't say much.

Geoff Sanderson: An affordable option for the top-six. Would look good on the top line, or with Lupul.



Re. Marchant: He's expsensive, but we're not cap pressured right now. He's decent during the regular season, and very good in the playoffs. Good as a checking center, and very versitile. Keep him.

Re. Chistov: It all depends on his camp. If he comes motivated to make the team, I think he can. I'm not terribly anxious to give up on him.

Re. Smid/OBrien: There is little pressure to force either one into the lineup. A spot is there for the taking. Both these kids can come to camp, compete, and we'll see if either one deserves it. I do expect both of them will see time on the team through the course of the season though.

Re. Giggy: If what Burke is saying is true, then it definitely appears that he's on his way out. I'm inclined to think that it will be for picks and prospects, which would sting. Not 100% sold on Bryz, but he's a pretty good option.

My projected lineup...I'm not terribly concerned with the lines, since they're bound to change 15 times during the season. Just the possible shape of the lineup...

UFA/Trade/Penner-Andy-Teemu

I was hoping Penner would get slotted on the top line mid-way through the Oilers series, of course not expecting to see Andy and Teemu split. I'm somewhat concerned Penner may not have the footspeed to keep up with these two, but the comparison to a PK-Rucchin-TS line is tempting.

It is also a potential upgrade position through a free agent acquisition, or a trade (Giggy). We do need more offense, and it comes down to whether or not you look for it internally or externally.

Chistov/Niedermayer-Marchant-Lupul

Here is where it really gets dicey. The next 6 forwards are extremely interchangable. One thing that's for sure...Lupul needs someone who has some creativity and can feed him. I'm not as down on him as some others are. He's still quite young, and still learning what it takes to be a reliable top-liner in this league. However, I don't see him ever being a guy who creates for himself. I do see the potential for him to be one of the league's top finishers, however. Any of the above guys are pass-first types who either are extremely skilled (Chistov), or very good with puck control and digging it out of corners (the other two).

Penner-Getzlaf-Perry/Niedermayer

I enjoy the idea of a kid line. It helps that all three of these kids' seem to fit with each other so well. I like the idea of putting a vet like Nieds with them as well to help provide some stability. As I said, I'm not terribly concerned about line combinations, but I'd like to see all of these guys get a fair amount of ice time.

Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Kunitz

Fedoruk is a perfect 4th liner. Pahlsson and Kunitz both deserve better fates, will see lots of time on the pk, and with injuries will no doubt get opportunities in more offensive roles. Its a testament to the depth of the team that two players this solid barely crack the lineup. However, we all know how valuable Pahlsson is, and Kunitz has proven to be a dependable NHL forward.

Konopka-Who?

Konopka is a favorite, and he does have a lot of qualities. I'm not ready to hand him a roster spot just yet, but he seems like the type to earn it. Lets see if he gets resigned. Besides him, there's always someone that comes out of nowhere to steal a roster spot. We'll see who it is this year.


Scotty-Beach

Great combo. Beachimen will improve, and seal up some of the defensive lapses we saw. Still, he's proven to be a solid top-4 d-man, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

UFA-O'Donnell

OD scares me, and I have to say I miss Carney back there, but its neither here nor there. He's a solid option, and he can play a decent amount of minutes. I'd love to see us pick up a Jovo-type of dman, and OD would be a responsible partner for him.

Smid/OBrien/Dipenta-Vishnevski

I think Vish got a little carried away in the playoffs looking for the big hit, but I definitely don't think he's a dumb hockey player, as some suggest. I would say that he's still developing, even at his age, and the he could still become a top-4 guy. Even as a 5-6, he's very solid. There will be a lot of competition for the 6-7 spot, though I'd rather see the young guys get more icetime in the A, than sitting the the press box.

As for the pp, Chock's 100% right. Scotty is an absolute force on the pp, and given how he does distribute the puck, you could call him a qb if you want. But, we were missing that traditional power play terror on the blue line. That Pronger, Blake, Phaneuf sort of guy who makes good decisions with the puck, and absolutely bombs it. Beach has a good shot, but he's not cut out for that role. Getzlaf did look very good in that role, but we also need bodies and hands like his down low. Without a true threat back there, Scotty's less dangerous sneaking around, Selanne's less dangerous on the half-wall, and Lupul's less dangerous around the crease and slot. Jovo's available, Blake's available, McCabe's available, Chara's available...all of these guys would be expensive, but also would help fill this role.

Booger, salient analysis of Niedermayer on the PP. I agree.

As for assigning forwards to specific lines, have you guys been watching the team the past three months? We don't have numbered lines. The ice time is divided up pretty evenly. If we acquire a LW strictly to play with McDonald and Selanne, that's a limited investment. The way things go during an NHL season, players change linemates quite frequently. Some scoring help up front would be nice, but whomever comes to this team has to be versatile enough to work with whomever he lines up alongside. Speed is an absolute necessity, and a little grit is required as well. No more Sykoras.

In any case, with Getz, Perry and Penner around for a full year (and assuming we re-sign or adequately replace Teemu) I think our forwards are fine.

I think Vish got a little carried away in the playoffs looking for the big hit, but I definitely don't think he's a dumb hockey player, as some suggest. I would say that he's still developing, even at his age, and the he could still become a top-4 guy. Even as a 5-6, he's very solid.

Let's not forget that Vishnevski was born in 1980. Even though he's played 400-plus games for the Ducks, he is very young.

Younger than Kunitz, and younger than Dipenta. Only three months older than Beauchemin.

BTW, that was a great post. I was relieved that you like Teemu.

Booger, salient analysis of Niedermayer on the PP. I agree.

As for assigning forwards to specific lines, have you guys been watching the team the past three months? We don't have numbered lines. The ice time is divided up pretty evenly. If we acquire a LW strictly to play with McDonald and Selanne, that's a limited investment. The way things go during an NHL season, players change linemates quite frequently. Some scoring help up front would be nice, but whomever comes to this team has to be versatile enough to work with whomever he lines up alongside. Speed is an absolute necessity, and a little grit is required as well. No more Sykoras.

In any case, with Getz, Perry and Penner around for a full year (and assuming we re-sign or adequately replace Teemu) I think our forwards are fine.

You're absolutely right about the forward lines. I still think that we need to find a way to generate more depenable production from someone other than the "top" line. It can come either from the development of the young guys, or the acquisition of someone. Definitely don't need to break the bank to bring in a hired gun.

Let's not forget that Vishnevski was born in 1980. Even though he's played 400-plus games for the Ducks, he is very young.

Younger than Kunitz, and younger than Dipenta. Only three months older than Beauchemin.

BTW, that was a great post. I was relieved that you like Teemu.

Thanks man. It won't take too long to see that I'm about as big a Selanne fan-boy as there is around here. I try to hide it as much as possible, but guys like Booger and MoneyP can tell you that I don't do a very good job of hiding it much of the time :).

Everyone knows that d-men take longer to develop than forwards. Vish is still a kid by defensive-standards. He's made the transition from a novelty, big hitter, to a defense-first type, and is now trying to put it all together. The next two seasons will go a long way to determining if he's a top-4 guy or not.

You're absolutely right about the forward lines. I still think that we need to find a way to generate more depenable production from someone other than the "top" line. It can come either from the development of the young guys, or the acquisition of someone. Definitely don't need to break the bank to bring in a hired gun.

I remain convinced the best bet at forward is to go with the youngsters + status quo, and put the primary UFA focus on getting one more high-quality defenseman.

Marchant being close to Sammy in grit or defense is like Pepper being close to me in fact-checking.

:biglaugh:

Somebody's still awfully bitter about getting the numbers right but the general idea wrong.

Comeon moneyp, why can't you just admit that you were wrong about the rule changes? I already admitted that I had the wrong numbers.

Btw, anyone who claims that Marchant is not even close to Pahlsson in defense or grit really shouldn't be telling others to check the facts.

:biglaugh:

Somebody's still awfully bitter about getting the numbers right but the general idea wrong.

Comeon moneyp, why can't you just admit that you were wrong about the rule changes?

If I thought i was wrong, I'd admit it, but so far all the evidence is in my favor. Conference winners: Detroit (6 fighting majors), Ottawa (42 fighting majors). Both bombed in the playoffs, both accused of having no heart. So what difference did McGrattan make?

Btw, anyone who claims that Marchant is not even close to Pahlsson in defense or grit really shouldn't be telling others to check the facts.

Marchant is semi-gritty, and plays decent defense. He's not Doug Jarvis back there. Pahlsson was getting some praise as a potential future Selke candidate from the announcers by the end of the Edmonton series, which everyone who actually watches him frequently (and doesn't have a blind spot) already knew. Or at least they were able to realise that Zenon-freakin'-Konopka wasn't going to be taking his spot.

Our UFA's:
Teemu Selanne: I don't see what the big deal is with this guy. I don't think he adds a thing to the lineup, and if he's looking for anything more than last year, I say let him walk.


you are not serious right?
40+50 is nothing?
we need veteran help for our rookies and teemu is the right person, he's great guy, anaheim best forward in history, most popular person in Anaheim, important person for marketing...

i hope he will sign 3-4y and he will retire here...

you are not serious right?
40+50 is nothing?
we need veteran help for our rookies and teemu is the right person, he's great guy, anaheim best forward in history, most popular person in Anaheim, important person for marketing...

i hope he will sign 3-4y and he will retire here...

Read his whole post, he is being silly on Selanne.

you are not serious right?
40+50 is nothing?
we need veteran help for our rookies and teemu is the right person, he's great guy, anaheim best forward in history, most popular person in Anaheim, important person for marketing...

i hope he will sign 3-4y and he will retire here...

Gotta read the entire post my friend to be respected around here. I suggest you do that in the future before posting.

If I thought i was wrong, I'd admit it, but so far all the evidence is in my favor. Conference winners: Detroit (6 fighting majors), Ottawa (42 fighting majors). Both bombed in the playoffs, both accused of having no heart. So what difference did McGrattan make?

You're actually making somekind of conclusions based on that??

Good lord.

But since you brought it up, Detroit was bounced on first round while Ottawa made it to 2nd round.

Marchant is semi-gritty, and plays decent defense. He's not Doug Jarvis back there. Pahlsson was getting some praise as a potential future Selke candidate from the announcers by the end of the Edmonton series, which everyone who actually watches him frequently (and doesn't have a blind spot) already knew. Or at least they were able to realise that Zenon-freakin'-Konopka wasn't going to be taking his spot.

Wow, just wow. Marchant is semi-gritty compared to Pahlsson who's full-gritty, is that what you're trying to say??

Btw, Marchant has been in top10 of Selke voting (7th) already. Has Pahlsson ever done that? (I can't remember him being there so far).

Btw, why did you bring Konopka in to this argument?? Still feeling bitter?

Just give it up, go outside and take a deep breath, maybe you'll feel better after that.

Gotta read the entire post my friend to be respected around here. I suggest you do that in the future before posting.

Come on, it was such a long post and the 'just kidding' -part was hidden in the middle of the post.

No need to be a jerk about it.

ok i take it back, coz i had to go...
sorry that i didnt read it whole... :shakehead

Come on, it was such a long post and the 'just kidding' -part was hidden in the middle of the post.

No need to be a jerk about it.


good answer :)

#1 PP QB? What do you call Scott Niedermayer? The D on our PP is not the problem, it's the man in front of the net. This job was Lupul's and I love the guy but he's no Ryan Smyth in front of the net. Also, we've got Beachy will his canon so if anything we need a d-man that's a capable PP point man. Jovo is more than capable but to have to trade Jiggy to get him bothers me. I'm not sold on Bryz as our starter yet, he has to earn it. With each new goalie contract signed, Jiggy becomes a better bargin.

Also, I feel it's not so much our PP was horrible against Edmonton so much as their PK was unbelievible. I've never seen so many blocked passes and shots in a five game series in my life. When we had Getzy on the point our PP went on fire. Give him more time to mature with his backchecking and our PP should be loads better.

I disagree. If you watched the last game of the season (and I watched it again last night... call me a massichist), you would have seen that our guys were screening in front of the net, but our point men couldn't get the puck through.

I don't think this means their not capable. Niedermayer doesn't have a tough shot, but he can sake and create a shooting lane. Beauchamein and Getzlaf are rookies and will improve over time.

However what I noticed near the end of the game was how tired Beachumein and Niedermayer were. They were exhausted giving everything they could.

Its just not healthy to play a guy 30 minutes and expect them to match up against the opposition's top line, the PK, and PP.

Management needs to get a 2nd unit that Carlyle can use in every situation. You have 4 defenseman you can rely on on the powerplay and another 4 you can rely on the PK. I think this, beyond anything will improve our team... We should utilize all 6 positions, not just 2 or 4.

Ideally we'd add another PP QB and shut down defenseman.

I think a top 6 LW or C would be nice, but not the core problem.

The D on the ppl is a big problem. There are only two guys on the blueline that even resemble ppl players, and that is Beauch and Nieds. Even if Niedermayer is double shifted who are you going to put on there with him? Getzlaf? In the third period of a 1 goal game do you really want him on the point? There isnt anyone else. Salei is a poor ppl player and that is no fault of his own, he just isnt that type of playmaker.

exactly

Everyone knows that d-men take longer to develop than forwards. Vish is still a kid by defensive-standards.

No, not really. The league has plenty of top 4 guys born from 79 to 83. While Vish might be a slow developer, he might also just be a mediocre player.

I'm really curious to see what Burke does with him in terms of a contract this summer, both in length and salary. That should be a pretty good indication of which way the organization sees him.

He's made the transition from a novelty, big hitter, to a defense-first type, and is now trying to put it all together.

When did he make that transition? I missed it.

No, not really. The league has plenty of top 4 guys born from 79 to 83. While Vish might be a slow developer, he might also just be a mediocre player.

I'm really curious to see what Burke does with him in terms of a contract this summer, both in length and salary. That should be a pretty good indication of which way the organization sees him.

Yes, but like Vish, many have the downside of being young. Defensemen developing into more reliable players later in their careers is not new, nor is is surprising. I think Vish has a lot of upside to come.

When did he make that transition? I missed it.

Yup. You did.

ok i take it back, coz i had to go...
sorry that i didnt read it whole... :shakehead

It's my bad, the punchline should have been a little easier to pick up on amongst the typed-diarrhea that was my post.

No, not really. The league has plenty of top 4 guys born from 79 to 83. While Vish might be a slow developer, he might also just be a mediocre player.

I'm really curious to see what Burke does with him in terms of a contract this summer, both in length and salary. That should be a pretty good indication of which way the organization sees him.



When did he make that transition? I missed it.

The season before this one I remember him being far less aggressive in seeking out the big hit, with Babcock getting him to focus on developing his play in his own end. Granted I wasn't able to watch every game that season like I was this year, thanks to my lack of Center Ice, so I'm basing my assessment off my faulty memory of second-hand reports. I could be off-base.

However, while there are certainly some top-4 guys in that age bracket, is quite common for a d-man to develop late in his 20's. There's a chance he could never rise above what he is now, which I don't think is all that bad.

Come on, it was such a long post and the 'just kidding' -part was hidden in the middle of the post.

No need to be a jerk about it.

I don't think its unfair to to ask someone to read an entire post before he makes a comment.

And if I wasn't a jerk I wouldn't be me....

I don't think its unfair to to ask someone to read an entire post before he makes a comment.

And if I wasn't a jerk I wouldn't be me....

Hey I have absolutely no problem if you're being a jerk to me or some other regular but you're talking to a newish poster who might just feel unwelcome enough to post less just because of that.

One could expect a moderator to have a little higher standards than that.

I would have most likely missed that comment as well but I started looking for it knowing that the poster who wrote it was a huge Jets/Teemu fan so it looked so out of place there.

I don't think its unfair to to ask someone to read an entire post before he makes a comment.

And if I wasn't a jerk I wouldn't be me....

Hey, I thought I had monopolized all the jerky in this board.

The season before this one I remember him being far less aggressive in seeking out the big hit, with Babcock getting him to focus on developing his play in his own end.

He was less agressive and no better defensively... that was an improvement over what we saw this season and in the playoffs? Especially the playoffs, where he did NOTHING but look for hits.

However, while there are certainly some top-4 guys in that age bracket, is quite common for a d-man to develop late in his 20's. There's a chance he could never rise above what he is now, which I don't think is all that bad.

Oh sure he could still win a Norris. But I don't buy the logic that all young players get better. They don't.

The problem with what he is now is that the Ducks deperately need two top 4 defensemen with the departures of Salei (a given IMO) and Carney. Paying Vishnevski 1.2+ million and O'Donnell 1.6 million pretty much guarantees only one will get added and then we'll get to 'make do' with that.

Some of you guys really need to watch defensive-defensmen play so you can understand how good OD and Vish are. They aren't the best d-men on our team they are totally solid. Ever notice how we seem to be in the opponents zone a lot more then our own? And how whenever Vish goes for a big hit he either takes the man and makes him lose the puck? These two guys are great and it bothers me that some of you guys can't see it. OD plays D just as solidly as Carney did, except OD is grittier and Keith was a better puck mover.

There's one big factor that you guys are missing with signing guys like Chara, Blake and Jovonoski. Niclas Lidstrom is also a UFA and widely considered the best d-man in the league and his contract will be the measuring stick for the others to follow. You know he'll get at least what he made this year (7.6 mil) and could easily get 9 mil out of Kenny Holland. If that happens, Chara will get 7-8 mil, no problem. We can't afford that. Jovo and Blake will probably be in the 5-6 mil range and we can't afford that either. I feel we will be in the market for a 2-3 mil a year d-man like a Pavel Kubina, Filip Kuba or Willie Mitchell.

Chistov won't come here without a one-way deal and Burke would be crazy to give him a one-way. Am I the only one who thinks he was a one-hit wonder? His rookie year wasn't even that good. Lupes, Kunie, Getzy and Perry all had much better rookie years. I liked Cheesy but an awful sophmore year and mediocre year in the minors sealed his fate for me. IF he even gets a contract he has to fight for his spot. No way in hell he is better than Kunitz nor will he take his spot.

Oh and why do you guys think Marchants contract is so obtuse? He maks 2.4 mil, it's not like he's Alexei Yashin or anything. For how well he was in the regular season with face offs and the PK and how big he was in the playoffs, he was worth every penny.

One more thing too. All these big free agent d-men you guys want are going to want long term deals too. This won't work because guys like Penner, Beach and Pahlsson's contract will be up next season and Getz and Perry the year after. Meaning, they should/will get significant raises as well. We can't let our payroll bloat with long term deals because it can stunt our future.

As for our top 4 d-man needs, has anyone mentioned the name "Bryan McCabe" or "Willie Mitchell" yet?

Some of you guys really need to watch defensive-defensmen play so you can understand how good OD and Vish are.

You need to re-watch the Calgary series and pay attention to Andrew Ferrence. As a 5th/6th defenseman he skated circles around Vishnevski.

Agreed, Ference was 10x better than Vish in the play-offs.

I feel Chistov has no future in Anaheim because we already have lots of young players and I don't think Burke likes Chistov too much (attitude, nationality, style etc).

Package him with Giguere.

You need to re-watch the Calgary series and pay attention to Andrew Ferrence. As a 5th/6th defenseman he skated circles around Vishnevski.

I'm talking about the whole year, not one series.

Agreed, Ference was 10x better than Vish in the play-offs.


Sure we could have a defense like Calgary, we just need to condense our offense into one player.

I like our balance better. It isn't quite fair to compare Vish to Ference just because both are 5/6 on their rosters; these teams are quite differently built.

We can throw out McCabe out of the discussion, Leafs signed him up for 5 years at 25 mil. You can bet Chara will want a lot more than that.

We can throw out McCabe out of the discussion, Leafs signed him up for 5 years at 25 mil. You can bet Chara will want a lot more than that.

They did??? I thought they re-signed Kaberle, not McCabe.

Vishnievski is ok as a 3rd pairing guy but he repeatedly moves out of position looking for a big hit and that can really kill you in a big spot. Willie Mitchell would be a tremendous acquisition although Dallas will do it's very best to retain his services I believe, he is a very very good defensive leader in this league.

Mitchell's looking for 2.5M year atleast...Rather Mitchell than Salei, that's for sure.

Vishnievski is ok as a 3rd pairing guy but he repeatedly moves out of position looking for a big hit and that can really kill you in a big spot. Willie Mitchell would be a tremendous acquisition although Dallas will do it's very best to retain his services I believe, he is a very very good defensive leader in this league.

See thing is the Ducks system totally allows Vish to throw that big hit. Every time he goes for the hit, a forward is there to cover his spot and he rarely gets out of position that way and usually takes the man. He's also great on the PK which I think is a credit to our team at all six of our d-men play the PK.

See thing is the Ducks system totally allows Vish to throw that big hit. Every time he goes for the hit, a forward is there to cover his spot and he rarely gets out of position that way and usually takes the man. He's also great on the PK which I think is a credit to our team at all six of our d-men play the PK.

I don't recall the specific examples but I can remember more than a fair share of times he left his man/position to come across the ice to make a hit and it led to an opposition goal or great scoring chance. He can be frustrating for sure. He also is infatuated with boarding.

See thing is the Ducks system totally allows Vish to throw that big hit. Every time he goes for the hit, a forward is there to cover his spot and he rarely gets out of position that way and usually takes the man.

I beg to differ - especially if the forward line out there is Andy-Teemu-Lupul or something.

I don't recall the specific examples but I can remember more than a fair share of times he left his man/position to come across the ice to make a hit and it led to an opposition goal or great scoring chance. He can be frustrating for sure. He also is infatuated with boarding.

I think the main point here is that though he is NHL-experienced, Vish-dog is very young. Some argue that we have seen Vish's best, some say that we haven't.

Blue-line bodychecking is important, and I think Vish has improved so that he is less out-of-position than he used to be.

I don't think we are overreliant on Vish as a good 5/6 guy, nor do I think his salary or our salary position demands that he be moved. He is among the popular Ducks in Anaheim (partially since he is one of 5 players to be in both playoff runs), and I don't understand why he is suddenly under criticism.

Can we win with Vish-dog, even if he never improves? Yes. Can we upgrade from Vish-dog? Sure. Can we do it under budget? It gets tougher, especially if Vish-dog decides to (gasp) improve. Which defenseman has the gall to improve at 26?

We can throw out McCabe out of the discussion, Leafs signed him up for 5 years at 25 mil. You can bet Chara will want a lot more than that.

Just saw they re-signed him...hmmm...that's a lot of money to tie up in 2 Powerplay heavy d-men who have had their fair sure of bad defensive lapses.

Sure we could have a defense like Calgary, we just need to condense our offense into one player.

Our offense is already better than Calgary's, why would improving the defense change that?

I like our balance better. It isn't quite fair to compare Vish to Ference just because both are 5/6 on their rosters; these teams are quite differently built.

Sure its fair. Ference as our 5th defender would be an improvement.

I think the main point here is that though he is NHL-experienced, Vish-dog is very young.

Get over this, its just not true. Smid or Mikkelson are very young.

Vishnevski has already played out half (almost) of his career.

I beg to differ - especially if the forward line out there is Andy-Teemu-Lupul or something.

I'm telling you, our forwards do an amazing job to cover his checks, especially in the playoffs. Also, Vish and Joey were usually out there with Robbie and Friesen or Fridge and Getzy.


Get over this, its just not true. Smid or Mikkelson are very young.

Vishnevski has already played out half (almost) of his career.

He's 26, he could easily play another 10 years. He gets better every year, although he'll never be a top paring guy he's still very effective in his role and is cheap.

All in all our D is great and all we have to do is replace Rusty with Willie Mitchell or Filip Kuba and let Smid come up. Scotty and Beach will prove to be the best D paring in the league next year and we will be well-rounded with a top-4 guy that we will be getting.

Oh and to throw some more stats on Chistov. He scored 11 goals in Russia which is okay, considering Malkin only got 21. But he got 95 PMs in 50 games following something like 145 in Cincy last year. That won't fly on this team. Taking too many penalties was probably our biggest problem in the regular season. If Cheesy decides to take a two-way deal and works his butt off the next three months than maybe he can steal a spot. But based on what his done the last THREE years, he's done with this team.

While watching the replay last night I noticed one other thing.

Did anyone but me see that McDonald had his ice time cut dramatically in game 7. I know they switched Selanne and Lupul on Marchan'ts line but McDonald got like 0 ice time.

I wonder if that will play out in contract negotiations and the team's overall impression of him. I mean if you don't trust the guy in an elimination game, what does that say about him overall in the future...

I don't want to see Friesen in Ducks next year, not even if he plays for free. I hate that piece of ****.

I want to see Fedoruk and Konopka on our 4th line, preferably with Moen. That would be a great energy/punishment line. I could see Moen replaced with Kunitz, he has enough grit to play on that line. Or Pahlsson.

Penner - AndyMac - Selanne
? - Getzlaf - Perry
Nieds - Marchant - Lupul
Fedoruk - Pahlsson - Konopka
Kunitz as the 13th forward.

Boy it's hard...

Unfortunately I think Carlyle is higher on Kunitz then we are. No way will he be our 13th forward, as much as I'd like to see him there. Also, this whole year the team has had a "shutdown" line and Pahlsson has always been on it, I don't think that will change. Therefore, even though I love your lines, no way do they happen IMO. Even though this might not be how I want our lines to look, I think this is how they will end up.

Penner-Andymac-Selanne
Chistov/kunitz-Getzlaf-Perry
Fedoruk-Marchant-Lupul
Nieds-Pahlsson-Konopka
Moen

Beauchemin-Niedermayer
UFA-O'Donnell
Smid/O'Brien-Vish
Dipenta

How I want them to be:
Penner-Andymac-Selanne
Chistov-Getzlaf-Lupul
Nieds-Marchant-Perry
Fedoruk-Pahlsson-Konopka
extras: Kunitz, Moen

Beauchemin-Niedermayer
UFA-Vish
Smid/O'Brien-O'Donnell
Dipenta

Come on, it was such a long post and the 'just kidding' -part was hidden in the middle of the post.

No need to be a jerk about it.

no *****. That post was way to long. I stopped reading it about half way through it.

no *****. That post was way to long. I stopped reading it about half way through it.

Another reason why Ken is one of my favorite posters. He cuts the wheat from the chaff. Well done, man.

Hey I have absolutely no problem if you're being a jerk to me or some other regular but you're talking to a newish poster who might just feel unwelcome enough to post less just because of that.

One could expect a moderator to have a little higher standards than that.

I would have most likely missed that comment as well but I started looking for it knowing that the poster who wrote it was a huge Jets/Teemu fan so it looked so out of place there.

I was joking around Pepper, do you constantly have to try and start worthless arguments?

I would keep both Bryz and Jiggy. We can live with the "controversy" until a clear solution emerges, or unless Jiggy is a necessary element in a big trade.

I would be cautious about a long and expensive contract for Teemu. He seemed to be showing the wear from a long and compressed schedule and will be 36 in July.

I attended all the playoff games at the Pond, and was surprised at how many times during PPs Scotty simply passed to a vacant spot on the ice or let the puck get away when it was kicked back to the point. He added a lot when he went down low, but a QB? No. He also needs relief by adding the top-4 defenseman.

Perry and Kunitz need something to get them going. Maybe just more time.

(newpowerforward)-McDonald-Selanne
Penner-Getzlaf-Lupul
Marchant-Pahlsson-Niedermayer
Fedoruk-Konopka-Perry-Moen-Kunitz combined as needed

Niedermayer-Beauchemin
(newdefenseman)-Vishnevski
O’Donnell-Smid/O'Brien
DiPenta

Giguere or ?
Bryzgalov

Some of you guys really need to watch defensive-defensmen play so you can understand how good OD and Vish are. They aren't the best d-men on our team they are totally solid. Ever notice how we seem to be in the opponents zone a lot more then our own? And how whenever Vish goes for a big hit he either takes the man and makes him lose the puck? These two guys are great and it bothers me that some of you guys can't see it. OD plays D just as solidly as Carney did, except OD is grittier and Keith was a better puck mover.

There's one big factor that you guys are missing with signing guys like Chara, Blake and Jovonoski. Niclas Lidstrom is also a UFA and widely considered the best d-man in the league and his contract will be the measuring stick for the others to follow. You know he'll get at least what he made this year (7.6 mil) and could easily get 9 mil out of Kenny Holland. If that happens, Chara will get 7-8 mil, no problem. We can't afford that. Jovo and Blake will probably be in the 5-6 mil range and we can't afford that either. I feel we will be in the market for a 2-3 mil a year d-man like a Pavel Kubina, Filip Kuba or Willie Mitchell.

Chistov won't come here without a one-way deal and Burke would be crazy to give him a one-way. Am I the only one who thinks he was a one-hit wonder? His rookie year wasn't even that good. Lupes, Kunie, Getzy and Perry all had much better rookie years. I liked Cheesy but an awful sophmore year and mediocre year in the minors sealed his fate for me. IF he even gets a contract he has to fight for his spot. No way in hell he is better than Kunitz nor will he take his spot.

Oh and why do you guys think Marchants contract is so obtuse? He maks 2.4 mil, it's not like he's Alexei Yashin or anything. For how well he was in the regular season with face offs and the PK and how big he was in the playoffs, he was worth every penny.

One more thing too. All these big free agent d-men you guys want are going to want long term deals too. This won't work because guys like Penner, Beach and Pahlsson's contract will be up next season and Getz and Perry the year after. Meaning, they should/will get significant raises as well. We can't let our payroll bloat with long term deals because it can stunt our future.

You raise some interesting points. You and I agree about Todd Marchant. Although his salary goes up in small increments in each of the next two seasons, as soon as the new round of signings is completed, I'm sure that it will start to look a lot more reasonable---and even more reasonable the following year.

While you are right to mention that we have to keep an eye on the payroll so that we will be able sign guys like Penner, Beauchemin, Getlaf, et. al over the next two years, I disagree with you about signing Zdeno Chara.

The addition of Chara will give this team one of the most-formidable and most-fearsome defensive corps in the NHL. I'd rather give him a fat, multiyear deal and economize elsewhere. You can start that by shedding the salaries of Giguere and Salei.

BTW, do any of you think it would be possible to pry Justin Pogge out of the Leafs in a deal for Jiggy? I know that we have started the process of bolstering our netminding corp in the system (Hurme, McKee, Marsters, LeVasseur & LeBoutillier). However, Marsters may not be NHL material "LeBout" must be signed by tomorrow---I haven't checked various Ducks' sites to see if he has signed---or he'll go back into the draft and I don't think McKee is ready to go straight from Cornell to the NHL. I doubt that Hurme still has much of a future in the NHL.

OTOH, Pogge is talented and appears to be NHL-ready. Would the Leafs part with him in a deal for Jiggy?

I would keep both Bryz and Jiggy. We can live with the "controversy" until a clear solution emerges, or unless Jiggy is a necessary element in a big trade.

I would be cautious about a long and expensive contract for Teemu. He seemed to be showing the wear from a long and compressed schedule and will be 36 in July.

I attended all the playoff games at the Pond, and was surprised at how many times during PPs Scotty simply passed to a vacant spot on the ice or let the puck get away when it was kicked back to the point. He added a lot when he went down low, but a QB? No. He also needs relief by adding the top-4 defenseman.

Perry and Kunitz need something to get them going. Maybe just more time.

(newpowerforward)-McDonald-Selanne
Penner-Getzlaf-Lupul
Marchant-Pahlsson-Niedermayer
Fedoruk-Konopka-Perry-Moen-Kunitz combined as needed

Niedermayer-Beauchemin
(newdefenseman)-Vishnevski
O’Donnell-Smid/O'Brien
DiPenta

Giguere or ?
Bryzgalov

b/c: Are you saying that you don't buy Burke's statement that he doubts that either Bryz or Jiggy would be willing to be a backup and, therefore, he (Burke) probably will be forced to move one of them (at the latest by the end of training camp)?

BTW, how did you enjoy the 1950 Stanley Cup playoffs?

Get over this, its just not true. Smid or Mikkelson are very young.

Vishnevski has already played out half (almost) of his career.

Yup, you got me. There are younger people than Vishnevski.

Must make him an 'old' boy born in the 'early' 1980s. Should retirement be a concern?

You raise some interesting points. You and I agree about Todd Marchant. Although his salary goes up in small increments in each of the next two seasons, as soon as the new round of signings is completed, I'm sure that it will start to look a lot more reasonable---and even more reasonable the following year.

While you are right to mention that we have to keep an eye on the payroll so that we will be able sign guys like Penner, Beauchemin, Getlaf, et. al over the next two years, I disagree with you about signing Zdeno Chara.

The addition of Chara will give this team one of the most-formidable and most-fearsome defensive corps in the NHL. I'd rather give him a fat, multiyear deal and economize elsewhere. You can start that by shedding the salaries of Giguere and Salei.

BTW, do any of you think it would be possible to pry Justin Pogge out of the Leafs in a deal for Jiggy? I know that we have started the process of bolstering our netminding corp in the system (Hurme, McKee, Marsters, LeVasseur & LeBoutillier). However, Marsters may not be NHL material "LeBout" must be signed by tomorrow---I haven't checked various Ducks' sites to see if he has signed---or he'll go back into the draft and I don't think McKee is ready to go straight from Cornell to the NHL. I doubt that Hurme still has much of a future in the NHL.

OTOH, Pogge is talented and appears to be NHL-ready. Would the Leafs part with him in a deal for Jiggy?

When all our RFA's and Teemu resign our cap could be be anywhere from 35-40 (realling depending on what Teemu wants/takes) which leaves us with little room to sign a big free agent like Chara. Let me say this though, forgetting about the cap, I would LOVE to see Chara here. It's just I feel it'll cripple our payroll and if he's a bust with our team then we're screwed, for some time. Plus we also need a forward, preferrably a top-6. If Teemu doesn't take us to the cleaners than we should have room for about 5-6 on one d-man and one forward.

As for this Pogge kid. I'm just not sold on Bryz being a starter yet. He wasn't bad in the WCF but he didn't step up either. Plus he has made it obvious that hockey isn't the central concern in his life which will keep him from getting us to the Cup in my opinion. Jiggy is a gamer and is quickly becoming a bargin and having them compete for the #1 job is crucial I think. If Bryz gets a big contract, or we sign a Chara or Blake, than Jiggy will be moved. If not, we've got our selves probably the best goalie tandem in the league.

Chistov won't come here without a one-way deal and Burke would be crazy to give him a one-way. Am I the only one who thinks he was a one-hit wonder? His rookie year wasn't even that good. Lupes, Kunie, Getzy and Perry all had much better rookie years. I liked Cheesy but an awful sophmore year and mediocre year in the minors sealed his fate for me. IF he even gets a contract he has to fight for his spot. No way in hell he is better than Kunitz nor will he take his spot.
Lupul did not have a much better rookie year. He was as inconsistant as Chistov.
Kunitz is 26 what he is now is what he probably will be.

Oh and why do you guys think Marchants contract is so obtuse? He maks 2.4 mil, it's not like he's Alexei Yashin or anything. For how well he was in the regular season with face offs and the PK and how big he was in the playoffs, he was worth every penny.
i've got no problem as long as he's not on one of our top 2 lines and doesn't prevent signing a guy.

One more thing too. All these big free agent d-men you guys want are going to want long term deals too. This won't work because guys like Penner, Beach and Pahlsson's contract will be up next season and Getz and Perry the year after. Meaning, they should/will get significant raises as well. We can't let our payroll bloat with long term deals because it can stunt our future.
Blake will not command a long term deal.

b/c: Are you saying that you don't buy Burke's statement that he doubts that either Bryz or Jiggy would be willing to be a backup and, therefore, he (Burke) probably will be forced to move one of them (at the latest by the end of training camp)?

BTW, how did you enjoy the 1950 Stanley Cup playoffs?

Sometimes an offhand comment should not be taken as an ironclad proclamation. I think both Bryz and Jiggy are more flexible than the conventional wisdom would indicate. Maybe $5- to 6-million isn't too much for this combo of goalies.

For some reason, I didn't see that playoffs. Maybe WPIX in New York wasn't carrying it, and there weren't any national network contracts. My favorite player at the time, Edgar Laprade, did win the Lady Byng that year. But that far back is kinda fuzzy now . . .

Sometimes an offhand comment should not be taken as an ironclad proclamation. I think both Bryz and Jiggy are more flexible than the conventional wisdom would indicate. Maybe $5- to 6-million isn't too much for this combo of goalies.

For some reason, I didn't see that playoffs. Maybe WPIX in New York wasn't carrying it, and there weren't any national network contracts. My favorite player at the time, Edgar Laprade, did win the Lady Byng that year. But that far back is kinda fuzzy now . . .

Bravo! You weren't kidding about being an NHL fan for 56 years! I guess names like Lou Fontinato, Gump Worsley and Harry Howell ring a bell. Many knowledgeable, veteran hockey fans contend that Terry Sawchuck [sp?] was the best of them all. Was he?

Wow, just wow. Marchant is semi-gritty compared to Pahlsson who's full-gritty, is that what you're trying to say??

Btw, Marchant has been in top10 of Selke voting (7th) already. Has Pahlsson ever done that? (I can't remember him being there so far).

Btw, why did you bring Konopka in to this argument?? Still feeling bitter?

Just give it up, go outside and take a deep breath, maybe you'll feel better after that.

Ah, the old incredulity-as-argument tactic. This is my favorite one that you do.

Ah, the old incredulity-as-argument tactic. This is my favorite one that you do.

Lets stay on topic...

Well this deteriated quickly. Lets see who can piss the farthest eh?

Anyways, I think the "needs" have been narrowed down to a top 4 dman with or without Salei, and a top 6 LW. Other than that the roster is probably set.

EDIT: Let it be known that the dman that needs to be brought in MUST be able to run a PPL, be it with Nieds or on the 2nd unit.

Well this deteriated quickly. Lets see who can piss the farthest eh?

Anyways, I think the "needs" have been narrowed down to a top 4 dman with or without Salei, and a top 6 LW. Other than that the roster is probably set.

EDIT: Let it be known that the dman that needs to be brought in MUST be able to run a PPL, be it with Nieds or on the 2nd unit.

agreed. We definitely need another defender who can handle the situation. I'm tired of having to rely on Beauchemin and Niedermayer for everything. I would be happiest with Jovo or Blake. Chara would cripple our salary to much IMO.

I would keep both Bryz and Jiggy. We can live with the "controversy" until a clear solution emerges, or unless Jiggy is a necessary element in a big trade.

I would be cautious about a long and expensive contract for Teemu. He seemed to be showing the wear from a long and compressed schedule and will be 36 in July.

I attended all the playoff games at the Pond, and was surprised at how many times during PPs Scotty simply passed to a vacant spot on the ice or let the puck get away when it was kicked back to the point. He added a lot when he went down low, but a QB? No. He also needs relief by adding the top-4 defenseman.

Perry and Kunitz need something to get them going. Maybe just more time.

(newpowerforward)-McDonald-Selanne
Penner-Getzlaf-Lupul
Marchant-Pahlsson-Niedermayer
Fedoruk-Konopka-Perry-Moen-Kunitz combined as needed

Niedermayer-Beauchemin
(newdefenseman)-Vishnevski
O’Donnell-Smid/O'Brien
DiPenta

Giguere or ?
Bryzgalov

I agree with you about the goalie situation. No rush to trade either. However, I don't want to give Kunitz any more time. Give that time to Getzlaf and Perry. Kuntiz should be no higher then our 3rd line IMO. I don't understand though, you think Perry and Kunitz need more time and then you stick them on the 4th line?

If we are serious about a championship, I don't understand why everyone is so quick to throw away a checking center. True, we have two who are in their own ways outstanding. Is that a huge problem?

Had we faced the Sharks and had the dual problem of Thornton and Marleau, wouldn't this luxury of shut-down centers be exactly what we need? Or suppose we faced Modano-Arnott?

If we are not pressed by cap issues (and with these guys, I don't think we are), I say keep them both. Versatility and replaceability are not bad things for a serious championship contender.

I think the main problem with keeping them both is that it limits time for Getzlaf. I think Getzlaf would did great with more ice time and better linemates. I don't want to see him with Moen and Fedoruk again :shakehead . I hope he's paired with Lupul and hopefully Chistov. A lot of you may want to keep him with Perry, but I personally think Lupul is better. Now if Chistov doesn't hang around, I wouldn't mind seeing a Lupul-Getzlaf-Perry line. Bottom line though: I just hope Getzlaf gets more ice time.

I was joking around Pepper, do you constantly have to try and start worthless arguments?

I don't think he was trying to start an argument. Some people on this board do overreact to little things, and he didn't want that to happen. It didn't sound like you were joking at first, but now we know you are. No argument needed.

I don't think he was trying to start an argument. Some people on this board do overreact to little things, and he didn't want that to happen. It didn't sound like you were joking at first, but now we know you are. No argument needed.
I think we should discuss it some more.

Oh and to throw some more stats on Chistov. He scored 11 goals in Russia which is okay, considering Malkin only got 21. But he got 95 PMs in 50 games following something like 145 in Cincy last year. That won't fly on this team. Taking too many penalties was probably our biggest problem in the regular season. If Cheesy decides to take a two-way deal and works his butt off the next three months than maybe he can steal a spot. But based on what his done the last THREE years, he's done with this team.


Im tring to undertstand the happy medium, were we need more grit up front cause were full of players who wont scrap for the puck, Ive seen chitov in some russia games, he will fight for a puck and is pass first player we need to set up guys like lupal (ie:he was great in the pre-season with fedorov feeding him all game, but when feds got axed lupal went down hill) so I think a some what gritty player that can player make will be an upgrade over KUNITZ, I dont have a problem with him but he reminds me of sykora too much, was geat when getting a puck thrown at him by oates and kariya.

when they put him with mac and selanne granted not because of skill but because he was the only one who could keep up with them something chistov can do. I just dont think kunitz is gonna be any better and is more like a player we dont need then chistov is.

Alright my bad for getting this whole topic way off its original discussion.

So I will pose a question to something I have pondered for probably half the season now. To me If we could get a scoring young winger in return I would deal off Lupul in a heartbeat. Am I alone in this?

To me he may score 30 goals, but how many of those goals mean anything? Plus the guy can't create his own scoring chances. He HAS to be set up, I can't ever remember a time where I have seen him score a "hard working" goal. And with the seemingly endless cup of RW we have. I would say now is the time, if a great deal is out there" to deal him for a good young LW.

Just something I have been battling over since midseason.

So I will pose a question to something I have pondered for probably half the season now. To me If we could get a scoring young winger in return I would deal off Lupul in a heartbeat. Am I alone in this?

Isn't Lupul a young scoring winger?

Yes, there are cracks in his game, but they're mostly problems with effort, not talent. He's still young (23 in September). At age 23, both Sakic and Yzerman were thought to be a selfish players. I won't even go into where I was at age 23. Give him a few years to grow up.

Trade Lupul for a young scoring LW?

Where do I sign?

Besides which, if you had a young scoring winger without Lupul's flaws, why on earth would you trade him FOR Lupul?

Besides which, if you had a young scoring winger without Lupul's flaws, why on earth would you trade him FOR Lupul?

Well we can always sweeten the deal if necessary, we have assets like Giguere, 1st pick, Kunitz etc. who can be traded if needed.

Well we can always sweeten the deal if necessary, we have assets like Giguere, 1st pick, Kunitz etc. who can be traded if needed.

I think if you're talking about a fairly complete winger who can score like Lupul, that's probably a guy who's nearly untouchable for most teams. That sweetener will have to be significantly more than a late 1st round pick in a weak draft, etc.

It's like if someone came in and said we'll give you this young center who has as much offensive potential as Getzlaf, but he's softer and not as willing to play defense. What would you want "thrown in" to make that deal?

Just as aside....I read today that there is speculation that if the Sens don't re-sign Chara that the Rangers are prepared to offer upwards of 7 mil/per for his services. So much for the salary cap era of the "new NHL"...if they keep raising the ceiling that is.

I think if you're talking about a fairly complete winger who can score like Lupul, that's probably a guy who's nearly untouchable for most teams. That sweetener will have to be significantly more than a late 1st round pick in a weak draft, etc.

It's like if someone came in and said we'll give you this young center who has as much offensive potential as Getzlaf, but he's softer and not as willing to play defense. What would you want "thrown in" to make that deal?

Well are we looking for a player like that? If we can get "lupul" who plays LW it shouldn't take much more sweetening, no?

Just as aside....I read today that there is speculation that if the Sens don't re-sign Chara that the Rangers are prepared to offer upwards of 7 mil/per for his services. So much for the salary cap era of the "new NHL"...if they keep raising the ceiling that is.

The salaries in general won't rise much, just the few top players will keep getting megadeals.

3 years ago Rangers would have tried to sign Redden, Chara, McCabe etc etc just because they could have done it easily.

Rangers will have Jagr at what 8.4M and Chara at ~7.5M signed. That's 16M tied in 2 players.

Rangers will have Jagr at what 8.4M and Chara at ~7.5M signed. That's 16M tied in 2 players.

Aren't the Capitals still paying a lot of Jagr's salary? That was my impression.