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Friday, December 14, 2007

The Weight For Scott is Over? Andy Mac to Blues

(See what I did there? The "Weight?" GET IT???)

I guess Earl is gone for the weekend, so I thought I'd go ahead and put this up for you guys to talk about: Andy McDonald has supposedly been traded to the Blues for Doug Weight.

This frees up room for Scott Niedermayer to come back, as Weight's contract is up after this year. Andy never could really get it going this season without Teemu Selanne; he had 16 points in 33 games this year. Doug Weight gives the Ducks another big, slow, plodding forward, which I guess they're hoping they can form into some sort of super-forward. Whatever, neither guy is as important as the person they're making room for.

So, Ducks fans, any memories of Andy McDonald that you want to talk about? I always kinda liked him because he went from being undrafted to being a star. Who's going center the 2nd line now?

Update: Confirmed by TSN, whose title was "Ducks Put on Weight." I like my title more.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

i just want to say "i told u sooo!" mac wasnt a burke type of forward..and having the best defensive core for at least one season made burke panties to wet to pass up....told u soo mang!!!

the only question now does scotty play tonite?

Bryan said...

I'm not a big fan of this trade. If Niedermayer doesn't play tonight I will be annoyed with Burke for rushing to make this deal.

McDonald is a great player and considering he has been playing with some combination of Marchant, Miller, Bertuzzi and Kunitz (but not as much as the other 3), I do not blame him for his lower rate of production. You also have to remember that McDonald has never gotten a good amount of PP time, (even last year he was on the 2nd PP unit.) Don't forget that he ended up leading the Ducks in post season goals last year.

Weight brings leadership and grit which the Ducks already have plenty of. And he is not the point producer he once was.

But I also can understand that Burke was not in a position to get a good return for whoever he traded away. Everyone knew the Ducks were looking to deal someone. McDonald is just one of the last people I would want to see go.

RudyKelly said...

Like you said, Bryan, Burke was not in a position to get a good return. Andy was probably the only guy (well, besides someone young like Getzlaf) that he was going to get ANY return for. By getting Weight, they get Niedermayer back without hurting their offense this year too much.

I just don't really know who is on that 2nd line now. Maybe they're planning on having Kunitz/Getzlaf/Perry score goals and then just beat everyone else into submission with their other 3 lines.

Bryan said...

Let me also clarify on McDonald that mop up duty is not good quality PP time, but theres no stat to measure you quality of PP time. It doesn't hurt the offense super significantly now but it could affect Selanne if he comes back. But yeah Ducks lines suck after the first line and stopper line. At least the Ducks have the best defense ever.

Anonymous said...

Those headlines are all minor league compared to this one.

Stand in awe.

DW said...

I gotta say, I don't get this one. To me, McDonald holds more trade value than Marleau and if this is all Burke could get for him - then Marleau isn't going anywhere. I know Burke was bent over the barrel having to make a move, but giving away McDonald a guy who might score 45 points? I wouldn't exactly call Weight "slow and plodding" but Bertuzzi/Weight is a severe downgrade from McDonald/Penner.

Unknown said...

No offense, but there is no way in hell Andy McDonald holds more trade value than Patrick Marleau. He actually got pretty good return since he got anything at all.

Shane Giroux said...

"more trade value than Marleau" followed up with "a guy who might score 45 points"

Just to check, you have seen what Marleau's career high numbers are haven't you?

Anonymous said...

McDonald is two years older than Marleau, has played 350 fewer games than Marleau (due to injuries, it looks like), and only twice exceeded 30 points in a year, those being the last two years, when he scored 85 in 2005-6 and 78 in 2006-7. He's scored at a 0.66 pts/game average over his career.

Marleau has scored at a similar 0.68 pts/game clip over his career, but he's proven to be a much more durable player. He plays 75-82 games a year, while McDonald has only played a full season three times previously. Patty's scored over 20 goals 7 times, over 30 twice. McDonald has exceeded 20 goals twice, 30 goals once.

Marleau is 35 pounds heavier, and 3 inches taller than McDonald, which should translate into a longer career, as smaller players tend to break down sooner, but that's speculation. Nonetheless, his size gives Marleau an advantage both offensively and defensively, and adds a dimension to his game that McDonald lacks--at least Patty can bang some bodies if called on.

Marleau's career numbers indicate exactly how miserable, and anomalous, a year it's been for him. He's worn the C, he creates more offense by himself, he's been, and in all likelihood will be, more durable over his career, and earned a reputation (prior to the Wings series) of being a clutch playoff scorer. There's no way McDonald--a fine player, don't get me wrong, and a guy with a lot of upside to a team if he can stay healthy--is worth more.