Puck Daddy - NHL

Puck Daddy

Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:54 pm EDT

Eulogy: Remembering the 2007-08 Anaheim Ducks

By Greg Wyshynski

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we're bound to lose some friends along the journey. Gone but not forgotten, we've asked for these losers to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The fans who hated them the most. Here's Alanah McGinley from the Vancouver Canucks blog Canucks and Beyond, fondly recalling the soon to be former Stanley Cup champion Ducks.

Time for an autopsy.

Sunday, April 20th. A sad day. A tragic day. The day the Ducks died.

I'm not sure I'm the perfect person to eulogize the Anaheim Ducks with snarky little cracks -- after all, I'm a Vancouver Canucks fan, and clearly Canucks' fans have no business trashing anyone these days.  But I can still enjoy their demise just a little bit (err... a lot) and Ducks fans can take heart by just reminding me how your guys dismantled my team a year ago, alrighty? Alright then.

Meanwhile, let's consider the question of the hour: What happened to those once-great waterfowl? The reigning Stanley Cup champions which inspired so many other rosters after they took home the Cup home last summer? Who single-handedly killed off the Disney jokes that were once such a fond past-time for us all?

The answers (at least a couple) would be: Scott Niedermayer happened. Teemu Selanne happened. Chris Pronger happened. And Andy McDonald didn't happen.

Does that about sum it up?

Two players who needed half a season (and more) to decide if  they even wanted to be part of the team; one guy who's three bricks shy of reaching the lofty plateau of "freakin' head-case" on his best day; and another -- the Stanley Cup Champion's leading scorer from 2007 -- shipped out of town like so much dead weight. 

About Niedermayer & Selanne: I like the guys fine, but c'mon. As Bob McKenzie remarked on Monday, "let me pull out a hanky for how poor Scott Niedermayer has been treated." Yes, let's. And Selanne? At least Nieds seemed to want to play hockey this season; Selanne could barely get a heartbeat going at the idea of playing this year. With all his humming and hawing, why did the Ducks even want him back?

Does that mess with team chemistry? Well no kidding. You have a roster full of talented, hard-working players, whose very identity celebrates that work ethic above all else. But then two guys arrive at the party late, and everything is adjusted to them.  Not a big deal if it happened a couple weeks into the season, but by December and into the new year, it's got to have been a problem. 

And then there's Pronger. No matter where he plays, fans of his teams always like to say "But you'd love him if he played for you!" Uh, no. Pronger is a tool; even I can't be polite about Pronger.  The image of him sitting in the penalty box as the empty net goal sealed the deal is the stuff poetry should be written about.

About McDonald, yes I can do the math. I understand Brian Burke couldn't afford his entire roster while bringing his wayward superstars back into the lineup. But wasn't this situation sorta predictable? I always thought Burke was reasonably competent at using a calculator back in his Vancouver Canucks days...

(And if you want to ponder the salary cap crunch even further, start wondering about Todd Bertuzzi. Somehow it seemed like a good idea to sign the Watuzzi [audio link] for $4 million, and not just for one season, but for two?)

I'm one of the people that actually likes Bertuzzi -- and Burke, for that matter -- but even I thought that deal was half-cracked.

So ultimately, why the early exit at the hands of the Turco Stars?

Well, perhaps Thugs-R-Us hockey has its limits. Or maybe it's just that karma is a dog.  Or maybe, just maybe, if you plan on taking a whack-load of penalties every night, you might want to have a defensive plan to deal with them first.

The Ducks didn't play like a team, they played like a speeding train looking for a wall to crash into. Penalties, turnover, penalties... and kaboom.

But take heart, Ducks fans, there are plenty of things lovable about your team. (I'm a big fan of the fighting majors, for one thing.)  And if my little autopsy on the corpse of the Ducks isn't 100% accurate, I'm sure you'll correct me.

Even better, just tell me what in God's name happened to your team this year. Perhaps you've got some entirely different theories than my own.

Regardless, don't take it all too personally: we never hate teams we beat, only the ones that kick our butts. 

And on that note, hopefully I'll hate you a lot less next year. :)

Related: Stanley Cup Playoffs

digg delicious
more

25 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. DucksFan
    1. Posted by DucksFan Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:28 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    so much truth in your post and so much overreaction. i agree that selanne should have stayed retired, niedermayer should have returned earlier, pronger has a screw loose and the team takes too many penalties. i just think that after a long season last year, a short summer full of stanley cup marketing and parties, and an early start to this year due to the awful idea of a london trip, the team lost their drive. the bruising style of the ducks requires desire and heart and it was not consistent. there was one or two players who stepped up each night and they weren't always the same players, causing carlyle to shuffle lines often and disrupt chemistry.
  2. Danette
    2. Posted by Danette Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:22 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I am a Ducks fan.
    And I agree with most of what you had to say.
    Mostly you were right on!
    When the Ducks signed Bertuzzi for that ridiculous amount I knew they were done for. Burke has tried to blame the Andy McDonald trade on Neidermeyer and Selanne's return, but, as you pointed out, that would have been a moot point if not for that gawd awful $4mil a year for a guy who had back surgery, hasn't played well since Steve Moore and etc. etc.
    BTW, they re-signed Brad May for $2mil. It is a well known fact that Bertuzzi and May are good buds with Burke. But he should forget the buds and just manage the team.
    However, speaking about Selanne ... the Ducks wouldn't have even made the playoffs if he had not come back. When the Ducks signed Pronger, Selanne was not exactly ecstatic. He and Prongs had, let's just say, history. But he dealt with that.
    Then the Ducks sign Bertuzzi!! Selanne was playing for the Avs when the whole Steve Moore thing went down. You gotta wonder if Selanne waiting so long to make up his mind had something to do with that. "Can I actually play a game on the ice with BOTH of these cheap shot, goons?" I think there was a lot of begging and pleading behind the scenes to get Selanne back. Getzlaf, Perry, Kunitz, etc probably called him 10 times a day.
    Anyway, even though the Ducks were the defending Stanley Cup Champs, this was NOT the Stanley Cup TEAM that won last year.
  3. Jeff
    3. Posted by Jeff Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:01 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    That last game in Dallas they were flat-footed. They weren't playing like they wanted to win. It reminded me of game 7 against the Devils in the Cup Finals a few years ago.
    I think Getzlaf got his bell rung when he got checked face-first into the glass; he played like he was shell-shocked the rest of the game. Missing his spark and energy was a big reason why the Ducks lost that decisive game.
    Questioning the roster seems a bit silly : they went over 100 points during the regular season. That's nothing to sneeze at. The playoff collapse wasn't a roster problem at all; they were playing as if they didn't want to play anymore. The "I'd rather be golfing" license plate frame on the team bus was a dead giveaway.
  4. lithium_withdrawal
    4. Posted by lithium_withdrawal Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:54 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    nice.... totally agree with everything, except for the liking Bertuzzi thing. =)
  5. BryanF
    5. Posted by BryanF Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:08 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Burke made a bunch of mistakes during the offseason and season, signing Bertuzzi being the biggest. That kind of Bertuzzi karma is too much to overcome. Pronger did not play like a top 3 Dman in the league. Pahlson did not have an amazing playoffs like last year. So to put it on Selanne and Niedermayer is pretty ignorant. Selanne and Niedermayer are the only reason this team was competitive. And Dallas was a scary first round team. I think the Ducks should have won the way they played the season, but they were nothing like the team that won last year.
  6. Mike W
    6. Posted by Mike W Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:20 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    you fought a good battle,but it's just too damn hard to repeat. I respect several of the ducks players but they were overmatched in the series.
  7. A B
    7. Posted by A B Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    bertuzzi should have been banned from hockey after the steve moore attack!!
  8. A B
    8. Posted by A B Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    bertuzzi should have been banned from hockey after the steve moore attack!!
  9. J T
    9. Posted by J T Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:00 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Number of Stanley Cups won by the Ducks: 1
    Number of Stanley Cups won by the Canucks: 0
    For this reason you can not make fun of the Ducks. However you may say a few nice words regarding the Los Angeles Kings if you feel the need to make fun of a dead hockey team in California.
  10. Andrew
    10. Posted by Andrew Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:40 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Great post. I have been a Ducks fan since the beginning. Sadly, I agree with 95% of what you said. I am happy to see that you made the perfect point without really pointing it out: The Ducks played like crap! It's not that Dallas is the better team.
  11. ECHO
    11. Posted by ECHO Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:51 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    "...just tell me what in God's name happened to your team this year."
    You sound as if we had a forgettable season this year. Despite all the distractions with the holdouts and possible retirements, starting the season early in London, and having to deal with the league labeling the team as a "goon squad" (which warrants more calls by the refs in some cases), I'd say finishing 4th in the West (3rd points-wise) isn't too bad at all.
    Sure we took a disappointing early exit in the first round to an unworthy Dallas team, but we sure had a better season than your Canucks.
    Btw. This is a retarded column heading. Team eulogies? Did I miss something? Is this the last NHL season ever to be played?
  12. Jason A
    12. Posted by Jason A Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:29 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I agree with a lot of what you said except for a fact that keeps getting repeated regarding Teemu's return...the Ducks would have not made the playoffs without him....Bertuzzi is the main reason Anaheim did not have enough offense and speed to counter Dallas....AndyMac was definitely missed....and so was Penner....even Lupul would have helped this team....but Burke made some bad calls in the off season...let's hope he fixes this and re-signs Perry and gets us more offense...It is bumming me out that we never got a shot at San Jose...but Dallas/San Jose should be extremely entertaining.
  13. ok
    13. Posted by ok Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Thank you for the informative comments, everyone. Some very good points.
    I wasn't very clear in the post, but I want to say that my remarks about Niedermayer and Selanne weren't meant to be personal criticisms of the players or their talents. My only intent was to say that I think the situation itself couldn't have helped the cohesion of the team. Just a difficult situation in my opinion. Regardless, a 102 point season is nothing to sneeze at, it's just too bad that playoffs ended so quickly given the accomplishments last year.
    But at least your team made the playoffs -- I promise you, missing the post-season altogether is much worse. :-)
  14. gbrobagelman
    14. Posted by gbrobagelman Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:06 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    lithium withdrawal??????? God, I've always worried about that.......... (more prozac please)
  15. riversideducksfan
    15. Posted by riversideducksfan Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:42 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    i agree on everything too but you forgot about a really big waste and his name is doug weight. we might as well of keeped andy .i love the ducks for life but damn doug weight for andy .come on.
  16. Walter
    16. Posted by Walter Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:43 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    The Ducks won last year because the NHL had anointed them in December and encouraged their goon tactics. This year they tried to take the intimidation to another level and it backfired. Chris Pronger is a goon, has always been a goon, and always will be a goon. If he weren't 6'6", he wouldn't be in the league. The Ducks shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Pens, Habs, or Wings.
  17. Randy R
    17. Posted by Randy R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:53 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I, also a ducks fan, have to agree with the eulogy. You build a team, you expect players to play. That means showing up to camp ready to go and playing until the last game of the season. When Niedermayer and Selanne did not show up, the ducks had to do what was best for their survival. When the two of them decided they wanted to play again, Burke was in a jam. Unfortunately he unloaded the guy that got the ducks to where they were at that point. As for "the ducks wouldn't have made the playoffs with their returns," that's all speculation. The only thing we do know is they got outplayed in all but two games of the series and they're done. How many good years do Niedermayer and Selanne in them? Andy was young and the future guy the ducks could have used. Instead the ducks opted to let the two guys that have maybe 1 or 2 years left, if that come in split the team up. Guys like Niedermayer and Selanne make their money in big games when they are needed most.
  18. Randy R
    18. Posted by Randy R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:53 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Bertuzzi....how many more instances of under performance do we need to see from him before teams realize that he is done. He reminds me of the Eric Lindros...Don't do anything but still get big contracts. At least Lindros could blame his lack of performance on concussions. I'm glad the ducks are stuck with him for another year. I'm sure everyone in that organization is glad they sent McDonald packing while Bertuzzi will be back next year to not perform.
    The epitome of the under performance was the 9 shots on goal the ducks took into the third period. I'm no expert but few teams are going to outscore opponents with 9 shots on goal.
    Lastly, could the ducks have been any more relaxed during the game 6 defeat. At no point did they look like a team that wanted to play hockey, never mind win a game.
    I don't buy off on the summer activities made them tired excuse. They get paid to play hockey. They play for the ability to lift that cup and take it to their home towns to show it off. Ask any player if he'd rather spend the summer celebrating the cup or have a few extra weeks of rest and you know what they would say. That's like saying you wouldn't want to win the lottery because you would have to spend too much time counting your money. Any player would kill to spend time with the cup during the summer.
  19. DucksFan
    19. Posted by DucksFan Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:28 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Randy R - Spending the summer with the Cup is everyone's dream, but it does not make the offseason the recuperating time that many players need after that long of a battle. That is why they say that tomorrow is the golf course, so that the players can take their mind off of the game for a while, reset and regain their enthusiasm. I think that having to always be thinking of the past season makes it harder to get ready for the next. That is a big reason why teams do not repeat, regardless of talent levels.
  20. G
    20. Posted by G Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:24 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    SCR Ducks: There have been teams than have repeated wins. There have even been teams that came close, going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Stars in 2000 went to the finals and lost to New Jersey. How was that even possible if all their players were tired from the celebrating? Its a BS excuse to blame the celebrating.
  21. Randy R
    21. Posted by Randy R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:53 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I respect your opinion but I disagree again. We act like if the team does not win the cup, they hibernate and do nothing all summer. Then if they win, they spend 12 hours a day celebrating. A for repeating, I think its more of the fact that the odds are stacked against you. For the team that wins, so may things have to go right, to include having a little luck here or there. To ask for everything to go right the following year and to have a little luck go your way is simply unlikely.
  22. John O
    22. Posted by John O Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:36 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I have never liked the ducks since they were playing in Detroit on the night Steve Yzerman's jersey was retired and management had the team sit in the locker room through the whole ceremony. To show that kind of disrespect for a classy player like Yzerman is just beyond comprehension. Besides that it pisses me off when teams, like the ducks try to buy their way to the Stanley Cup.
  23. onecreed31
    23. Posted by onecreed31 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:45 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    you're a redwings fan and you are pissed off when teams "buy their way to Stanley Cups"? that is an oxymoron- that's EXACTLY how the wings got their most recent cups. Go whine about something else like throwing octopi
  24. Pronger is the Man
    24. Posted by Pronger is the Man Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:26 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    A canuck fan get a life. Maybe you should worry about your own team and not the Ducks. By the way what the hell is a canuck anyways? And Detroit sucks too. They buy the cup every year. Enjoy the snow while i enjoy the sun in anaheim!

Puck Daddy

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Greg Wyshynski

Puck Daddy is an NHL blog edited by Greg Wyshynski. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Contributors:
Sean Leahy, Ross McKeon, Matt Romig, Dmitry Chesnokov, Ryan Lambert, Dobber, Scott Pianowski,

Teams

Customize to follow news and rumors on your favorite teams. [ Sign in ]

Related Photo Gallery

More NHL Photos »

Y! Sports Blogs

Puck Daddy Recent Readers

(provided by MyBlogLog)

Watch Live Hockey Online with GameCenter Live™