Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks made headlines back in November and early December when it was reported that Bobby Ryan was on the trade market. Word came out today that the young scoring forward is on the market once again.

 

Hearing ANA's Bobby Ryan is "available" again after being taken off trade market after Randy Carlyle's Duck departure.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 19, 2012

This news is important because of Columbus Blue Jacket Rick Nash and the trade rumors that surround him. Columbus general manager Scott Howson is asking for a fortune, and if Ryan—a young, cheaper and more consistent forward—is also up for grabs, Howson will have to lower his asking price.

It is quite possible that Ducks' GM Bob Murray is testing the market because of what teams were considering to part with for Nash. It would be a smart move because Anaheim could haul in a nice return that would strengthen its overall depth.

The Ducks are thin on forward depth outside of their big three, could stand to upgrade their defense and would love to strengthen their prospect pool.

Ryan is a three-time 30-goal scorer who has gradually improved each year. He is worth every penny because of his size, skill and cap-friendly contract. Ryan certainly will make things interesting considering the fact that the free agent market is slimming down as each day goes by.

It will be interesting to see how quickly talks progress considering the NHL Draft is on Friday night.

With a win Monday night in Game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, the Los Angeles Kings can claim their first-ever championship in a fairly efficient 20 playoff games.

They missed their chance last week to sweep the New Jersey Devils and match the 1988 Edmonton Oilers 16-2 run. But by finishing at 16-4 or even 16-5, the Kings can still make a case to one-up their regional rivals and claim a special spot among the champions of this century.

Over the last decade and dating as far back as 1999, only three NHL teams have garnered a championship without having to play a Game 7 in any of their four playoff rounds. Those were the 2007 Anaheim Ducks, the 2008 Detroit Red Wings and the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks.

Since 2003, Anaheim, the Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning have each gone a peerless 4-1 in closeout games during their respective championship campaigns.

But the Ducks have a slight, though decisive upper hand on the others in that they went 16-5 through their playoff run, the swiftest sprint by a Cup-winning team since Detroit (16-4) in 1997.

The adversary that gave Anaheim the most trouble was the top-seeded Red Wings. The two Western titans tangled in a conference final that would end in six games.

Although there has been no sweep of a Stanley Cup Finals since 1998, the Ducks are one of only two teams in that span to have vanquished their fellow finalist in five games. The other was a 2002 Detroit team that conquered Carolina, though not before requiring a rally from a 3-2 series deficit to dethrone the defending champions from Colorado.

Anaheim did trail the Red Wings, 1-0 and 2-1, in the 2007 Western Conference finals. But they won seven of their next eight games en route to the Cup while running up a 27-18 scoring differential against Detroit and Ottawa.

That late-stage hustle began with a 5-3 Game 4 victory over the potent Red Wings, who could not outscore an Anaheim team that was missing an injured Chris Pronger for the night. It ended with a 6-2 Game 5 Cup clincher over Ottawa, which ties Boston’s 4-0 shutout of Vancouver from last season for the most lopsided clinching victory in the last two decades.

The Senators’ top troika of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza split the postseason scoring lead with 22 points apiece over 20 games.

But in their five contests with Anaheim, only Alfredsson made a substantial impact with four goals and an assist. The opposing defense confined Heatley to a single goal, Spezza to two assists and the Senators as a whole to 11 goals.

The Ducks flexed more depth throughout the playoffs with six individuals finishing in a range between five and 10 goals in 21 outings. In the finals, Andy McDonald, Travis Moen, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry all tuned the mesh multiple times.

And on their first try to shut down the Senators, half of Anaheim’s 18 skaters appeared on the score sheet as part of the aforementioned 6-2 romp in Game 5. A most fitting exclamation point on the most dominant Stanley Cup odyssey this young century has seen.

This article wouldn't exist if it were at all likely that Ryan Murray would be available when the Ducks pick sixth in this years draft at Pittsburgh.

Murray is said to be the best available defender in a draft class that boasts an incredible amount of talent at the position, and will likely be gone by the time Anaheim is on the clock. Even so, the Ducks will still be looking to draft a blueliner. 

For an Anaheim Ducks team that still seems to be recovering from the loss of Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger, taking a defender at number six seems to be all but certain. Since Murray is almost guaranteed to go in the top five, the Ducks will look to grab Mathew Dumba from the Red Dear Rebels.

With Cam Fowler already making his presence felt in the Ducks lineup, adding Dumba's speed and physicality to an already offensive minded Fowler would give the Ducks two solid blueline prospects moving forward. While Dumba is small (6'2'', 172 lbs.), he's incredibly physical, making him the complete package on defense and an excellent complimentary piece for the less physical Fowler.

With veterans like Lubomir Visnovsky, Francois Beauchemin, and Toni Lydman already anchoring the Ducks' blueline, the addition of Dumba would all but complete Anaheim's defensive overhaul and would have the potential to make the days of Neidermayer and Pronger seem weak by comparison.

Of course, the possibility of Anaheim drafting a forward is always there. Nevertheless, the Ducks, who already have 5 million dollars in cap space, could be adding another 9.5 million if they don't bring back Teemu Selanne, Jason Blake, or Niklas Hagman.

With that kind of money to spend, expect GM Bob Murray to be much more active in free agency than he has been in recent years. Make no mistake, the Ducks need offense, but it's far more likely they'll be looking to obtain it via free agency.

A lot has been made about the Ducks' lack of defensive ability in recent years, and with a draft class so rich in defensive talent, it would be a bit of shock to see the Ducks pass up the chance to build around the steal that was Fowler. Adding Dumba to the mix will have the Ducks well on their way to completing their defensive rebuild.

The NHL boasts a very short offseason, ending in June and starting preseason games back up in September. This is exciting for hockey fans, especially for those of us standing by a non-playoff team. Once the Stanley Cup is raised we're only a short three months away from all 30 teams hitting the ice again with renewed hope and a clean slate.

The Anaheim Ducks are one of those non-playoff teams and have the potential of looking very different on opening night of the 2012-2013 season. With so much uncertainty surrounding this club, especially in regards to their second scoring line, it's certainly worth questioning: Who will be in their lineup come October?

The First Line

The 2012-2013 season will be the last of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry's contracts. How that effects their play remains to be seen, however we can certainly expect them to once again carry the load for Anaheim on their top line. The only question mark here continues to be who will play on this line's left wing.

Conventionally, this would be Bobby Ryan's spot on the depth chart. He is without a doubt the third best offensive player Anaheim has. However, he can play center, and Bruce Boudreau has utilized that versatility to move him around to other lines. It was Boudeau's short answer for trying to increase secondary scoring, which is something Anaheim struggled with all season long.

Without a single member of their second scoring line under the age of 37, expect Ryan to continue to be utilized below the first line. This will leave that spot open to a possible free agent signing or Medicine Hat sensation Emerson Etem, should he make the team out of training camp.

The Second Line

This is without a doubt the biggest question mark for Anaheim going into the offseason. Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Jason Blake are all at the end of their contracts and are on the verge of retirement. Anaheim management will have to wait on movement from at least two of these players to start making informed decisions about where their secondary scoring is going to come from going forward.

What makes things more complicated is that Selanne, despite his age, led the Ducks in points last season. His retirement won't just require some reshuffling but will negate a very high percentage of Anaheim's offensive production.

While the future Hall of Famer certainly can't be replaced, his offensive numbers will need to be picked up somewhere else, especially on a team that already struggles to produce points.

For the sake of argument we'll assume that Anaheim is going to lose two players to retirement, likely Selanne and Koivu. If the Ducks don't make a splash in free agency at center, expect the second line spot to go to either Ryan or Andrew Cogliano.

Cogliano is Anaheim's de facto third line center, though he has played virtually everywhere in their offense. He certainly has speed, and if Boudreau feels like Kyle Palmieri is ready to contribute more, we could see a second line of Ryan, Cogliano and Palmieri.

The Third and Fourth Lines

Here the Ducks once again face a pretty significant amount of uncertainty. Nick Bonino, Rod Pelley, Niklas Hagman and George Parros are all free agents and were all regulars on Anaheim's third and fourth last lines last season.

Depending on the movement of these forwards, Anaheim is probably going to need address to these areas via free agency.

Since the Samuel Pahlsson, Rob Neidermayer and Travis Moen years, the Ducks never really have been able to put together a successful and consistent checking line. Parros and Bonino are more likely to stay, and along with Devante Smith-Pelly will be familiar faces on Anaheim's bottom two lines.

Moving Forward

Anaheim's offensive lineup is certainly at a crossroads. With the Teemu Selanne era rapidly coming to a close, and the core group of Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan desperately needing support, the Ducks are going to have to bring in new personnel.

It's worth noting that the Ducks will pick no worse then sixth in this year's upcoming draft. However, this year's draft class is rich with talent at the defensive position and many mock drafts have Anaheim taking a defender first.

If the draft doesn't yield any immediate offensive help, Anaheim is likely to be more active in free agency this year then they have been in years past. Expect Anaheim to be in the mix for some of the bigger name free agent forwards out there. Come opening night we should see at least one or two spots being filled as a result.

All this being said, Anaheim's safest bet might just be on the Medicine Hat Tigers, where Etem lit up the scoreboard all season long with 61 goals and 107 point in 65 games. Among those who have been watching, there's no question that Etem is ripe for picking up a Ducks roster spot coming out of training camp.

If he were to do so, he could be the biggest acquisition of the Ducks offseason. Were Anaheim to lure a big name free agent like Zach Parise onto their roster and pair him with Ryan and a rising star like Etem, we could see a completely different Anaheim Ducks team next season.

Here's to hoping.

You might think Anaheim's right winger Bobby Ryan's favorite animal would be a duck, but as it turns out, he's actually a major cat person. Watch him spend time with his two Highland Lynx cats—Prince & Pelle—and teach them tricks like sit and 'reach for treats'.

The Players' PlayBook series profiles five top NHL players. Bobby Ryan, Joffrey Lupul, Martin Biron, Michael Grabner, and Scott Hartnell have each been given BlackBerry PlayBook tablets with a simple request: film everything. From family life to life on the road, from shopping trips to autograph sessions, all the action captured by players will be recorded in glorious HD and edited into program highlights. See all the Players' PlayBook videos here: http://playbook.nhlpa.com


Players' PlayBook
Check out these new behind the scenes videos created by your favourite NHL players:

Philadelphia Flyers Dads Visit Their Sons 

Lupul's Fourth Period Magazine Photoshoot

Lundqvist Shutout Wine Lottery

Let's be honest, other than Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, the NHL's upcoming free-agent class isn't very intriguing. But a prospect by the name of Justin Schultz may add a bit of spice for teams and fans come July 1.

On TSN's latest edition of "Insider Trading," hockey analyst Bob McKenzie speculated that Schultz, who was selected 43rd overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, has opted to become a UFA and explore his options.

McKenzie said:

Suter and Parise are unquestionably the top-two unrestricted free agents. I'm going out and suggesting very strongly that the third-biggest name in free agency this year will be Anaheim's second-round pick Justin Schultz.

He recently concluded his season with the University of Wisconsin and has the option to sign with the Ducks right now if he so chooses or go to unrestricted free agency on July 1, and I'm saying that because he has not signed with the Ducks at this point in time that there is every indication that Schultz is going to go to unrestricted free agency.

Think of Toronto Maple Leafs' rookie standout Jake Gardiner for a comparison. Similarly to Gardiner, Schultz plays with a high degree of hockey sense and has a puck-rushing, offensive flair to his game.

Unlike Gardiner, however, Schultz has the size to play a physical brand of effective, shut-down defense in his own end of the rink.

The 22-year-old native of West Kelowna, British Columbia, was recently named a finalist for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which is an honor given out annually to the top collegiate hockey player in the U.S.

He was also named the 2012 WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the 2012 All-WCHA First Team. It is the second year in a row that Schultz has been given all three honors.

As assistant captain this season, he tallied 16 goals, 28 assists and was plus-11 in just 37 games. It marked his third and final year with the UW Badgers.

Equally impressive are the facts that Schultz became the first UW defenseman in history to lead his team in goal scoring this season and finished his collegiate career with 40 goals and 73 assists, which is good enough to join Brian Rafalski as only the second Badger to surpass the 100-point career mark.

If you're not convinced yet, just take a quick look at this highlight reel and you'll realize that there will be no shortage of suitors for Schultz if he reaches free agency on July 1.

So if McKenzie is right (and he usually is), the loss of Schultz to unrestricted free agency will be a huge blow to Anaheim.

But it will also mean a huge opportunity for one of the many NHL clubs that need help on the back end—if this sounds like your team, start getting excited!

Follow @HockeyWise on Twitter for up-to-date NHL news and analysis.

 Where have the Ducks gone wrong since they won the Stanley Cup in 2007?

What appeared to be a solid playoff team at the start of the year is now in a desperate dogfight to make the playoffs.

They currently sit eight points back off the Colorado Avalanche with 13 games remaining in their season (one more than the Avalanche).

This season, the Ducks have a minus-22 goal differential. The 2010-2011 season saw this team finish fourth in the West with 99 points and a plus-four goal differential.

The 2009-2010 season saw them finish 11th in the West with 89 points and a minus-13 goal differential.

Also, in the 2008-2009 season they finished in eight in the West with 91 points and a plus-seven goal differential.

This team has not been past the Conference quarterfinals since the 2008-2009 NHL season.

Prior to that they were always a team that made noise and life difficult for others in the playoffs.

Granted the likes of Scott Niedermeyer and Chris Pronger no longer dominate their blue line, but they still have a solid core of players.

Their lineup strength shows that their group of wingers is actually 10 percent above the league average.

While their goaltending is a negligible three percent below the league average, largely due to a slow start by Jonas Hiller, the league average point shares at the goaltending position are 10.7. Hiller has been above that since the beginning of February, so he appears to have returned to his normal self.

On defence, the group of Francois Beauchemin, Toni Lydman, Lubomir Visnovsky, Cam Fowler, Luca Sbisa and Sheldon Brookbank are 13 percent below the league average.

A large part of this group is below league average which can be seen in the regression of both Visnovsky and Fowler’s point production this season.

Last season, Visnovsky put up 18 goals and 50 assists (including five power-play goals) and Fowler chipped in 10 goals and 30 assists (including six power-play goals).

So combined, they provided 28 goals and 80 assists (including 11 power-play goals).

This year, Visnovsky has five goals and 17 assists (including one power-play goal) and Fowler has provided three goals and 20 assists (including no power-play goals).

Combined they have produced 21 less goals, 43 less assists and 10 less power play goals.

This season, only 8.5 percent of their wins have come from power plays and their Special Teams index is at 44.5 percent, good for 19th in the league.

The largest area of weakness on their team this season has been at centre ice. Their line up strength down the middle is 37 percent lower than the league average.

This group includes Ryan Getzlaf, Saku Koivu, Nick Bonino, Rod Pelley, Norm Macenauer, Ben Maxwell and Ryan O’Marra.

A fair amount of the blame should be shouldered by Getzlaf as he has only nine goals and is a minus-14 this season with a shooting percentage of 5.9.

Last season, he had 19 goals, was a plus-14 and had a shooting percentage of 16.2. I expect him to bounce back next year.

Their second-line centre has an aging Saku Koivu, who has managed 11 goals and 21 assists this season.

There is very little production coming from their third- and fourth-line centres (Bonino, Pelley and Macenauer). They have combined for six goals and 12 assists this season.

There simply is not enough depth at centre ice for them to compete for a playoff spot this year.

Their group on the wings is fairly solid with Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Andrew Cogliano, Niklas Hagman, Devante Smith-Pelly, Matt Beleskey, Andrew Gordon, Jason Blake and George Parros.

Cogliano played some centre during his time in Edmonton so he may need to be shifted back to the third-line centre role. This would assist with their weakness down the middle.

There also does not appear to be many options via free agency. and the Ducks are hoping that the ageless Selanne comes back for another season, as replacing his production of 21 goals and 37 assists would be very difficult.

Some options via free agency that would help the Ducks down the middle could include: Zach Parise at a 3.4 (1.7 wins) point share (if the Devils are unable to get him to sign a new contract); Daymond Langkow at a 3 (1.5 wins) point share (probably a good fit in a third- or fourth- line centre role); Jarret Stoll at a 2.5 (1.25 wins) point share (a third-line centre who could potentially fill in on the second line); and Olli Jokinen at a 6 (3 wins) point share (whomever gets him this offseason will surely overpay because of the lack of scoring centres available).

Internally, the Ducks can hope that the 15th overall pick in 2009, Peter Holland, is ready to make a full time leap to the NHL as a second-line centre.

This season he has seen playing time mostly on the wing in four games. In those four games he has contributed one goal, along with four hits and one blocked shot.

In the AHL for the Syracuse Crunch this season, he has 21 goals, 26 assists and a plus-four rating (eight of his goals have come on the power play).    

Right now the Ducks are eight points—or four wins—back off a playoff spot.

Signing a second-line center such as Jokinen and seeing internal improvement from Cam Fowler (3.2 points or 1.6 wins in 2010-2011, and 4.8 points or 2.4 wins in 2011-2012) could lead them into a playoff spot next season.

This article is written with advanced statistics from Powerscouthockey.com, as well as standings and statistics from NHL.com

Follow @mikeburse on Twitter