Silver Lining, Anaheim Edition
Hey, Ducks fans. Tough break, huh? I honestly thought you guys would win fairly easily against Dallas, but it looks like the Stars has a little magic left in them yet.* I know the last thing you want to read is gloating from Kings fan (I'll try to keep it to a minimum), but I thought I'd try to cheer you up. Here's why it's a good thing you guys lost.
*Seriously, how the fuck are they good? They have Turco, Zubov and shit. They lose their 2nd best defenseman and get better??? I suspect that Dave Tippett may just be a wizard.
1) It repudiates your "style" of play. Now, I'm not talking about your actual style of play (the one built on 2 scoring lines and a shutdown line), I'm talking about the one made up by idiots and commentators. (But I repeat myself! See what I did there?) This cult that has been built up around Anaheim was getting ridiculous. The Ducks didn't win the Stanley Cup because they fought a lot. They won because they had great goaltending and Sammy Pahlsson. Still, normally reasonable people argued that this was the cause of Anaheim's success and it led to ridiculous sights like Minnesota's infamous Boogaard-Fedoruk-Simon line. People who argued that the Ducks won their Stanley Cup because George Parros fought a lot probably feel like idiots right now, and I'm fucking glad for that.
2) You didn't lose because Selanne and Niedermayer took time off. Those 2 guys were the best 2 players on the ice in that series. Selanne was particularly fucking amazing. Honestly, I was surprised; I don't remember him playing that well since the Paul Kariya days. And honestly, I'm a little saddened that the Ducks lost so early just because we now miss out on Scott Niedermayer's epic beard.
Anyway, now you know that those 2 can still play and you can count on them if they want to come back next year. If those 2 come back you only have to fix 1 thing...
3) You need secondary scoring. The trade of Andy MacDonald really hurt you guys. He hasn't been that great with St. Louis but he and Selanne really clicked for some reason. Why is this supposed to make you feel better? Because I think it's relatively easy to fix. Maxim Afinogenov could probably be had for the Edmonton first-round pick and he would fit perfectly with Selanne. Put Kunitz on that line, Ryan with Getzlaf, and you're set! Of course, maybe you're a Ducks fan who feels the team is fatally flawed. No worries, sugar tits...
4) Edmonton did you a favor. Look ahead to 2011: you have Getzlaf, Kunitz, and Giguere all locked up. You'll probably have Pronger, Perry, Hiller, and Ryan locked up as well. Trade Schneider for some thing, draft wisely this year and you'll be all set to challenge for another Cup in 4 years. Meanwhile, Edmonton fans will be arguing that Penner's career-high 30 goal season was totally worth those 3 picks.
5) Francois Beauchemin isn't that good. Okay, this won't really make you feel better, but I just though it had to be said.
So buck up, pussies. You're not doomed, and you'll probably be pretty good next year. Besides, it could be worse: you could be a Kings fan.
17 comments:
I see your "Beauchemin isn't that good" and raise you a "He's rated 82 Overall in NHL 08"
@ brokeyard: brilliance. god i love nhl 08, does anyone here have xbox 360? lets get a league set up. rudy and earl, shoot me an email if youre interested, lets get this thing going.
Thanks for keeping the gloves on, Rudy. I'll be putting together a little bit of a recap/silver lining tomorrow or something, but yeah, the sky hasn't fallen.
I'll reiterate for pessimistic Duck fans: even if you think the Ducks are flawed and salary-trapped next year, there are only five Ducks signed beyond next year (Giguere, Pronger, Getzlaf, Kunitz, & Ryan), so there's still a lot of maneuverability coming.
Beauchemin may not be very good, but he did extend the 2006 playoff run for two rounds. He gets a lot of leeway for that.
Francois Beauchemin isn't that good
I noticed this for the first time this season. I don't know if it was Scott's layoff or what.
Maybe we should trade him while he is a little over valued, before everyone figures out what RK has.
god i love nhl 08, does anyone here have xbox 360?
Actually, both O'Brien and I have 360s and have been lamely attempting to get an online game going, but we haven't been successful yet (my 360 is online probably once a month tops).
Still, if we picked a time (and somebody talked me through how to engage others online), I'd be in.
Code name: earlsleek77
*Seriously, how the fuck are they good? They have Turco, Zubov and shit. They lose their 2nd best defenseman and get better??? I suspect that Dave Tippett may just be a wizard.
Zubov was out the whole series, so Dallas was without their #1 and #2 defensemen for part of the series. Due to superb rookie play out of Fistric, Grossman, and with Niskanen and Robidas stepping up, though, it didn't matter.
Getting Richards at the trade deadline means Dallas can score from any line it wants - including the checking line centered by Modano. Anyone who predicted Ribiero would choke in the playoffs after a solid season has been proven wrong.
People didn't see this coming because Dallas stunk it up in March. They probably would've been favored by more people if they had played leading into the playoffs like they did all season.
Anyway, good series. If nothing else happens in the offseason, cutting Bertuzzi will make the Ducks better.
If nothing else happens in the offseason, cutting Bertuzzi will make the Ducks better.
I second that. Get rid of him and Weight, they both suck ass.
Time to do a quick revamp and build a new team around Getz, Perry & Ryan. Hopefully a team thats a little less physical (just a hair) and much quicker.
Signing Bertuzzi and doing nothing at the trade deadline I thought were the biggest problems. Both of those fall into the secondary scoring issue. Especially since the first round pick is not worth what it was at the trade deadline.
I'm not exactly thrilled about Giguere being locked up for 3 more years. Mainly because I think the Ducks chose the wrong goaltender over the offseason. But thats a whole nother issue.
And I didn't think Niedermayer played particularly well, I thought he was about as invisible as Pronger, though with less penalties. I can't say that any defenseman played well. Beachemin and Odonnell had 2 huge turnovers that resulted in goals.
And Kariya and McDonald clicked very well immediately after the trade.
I second that. Get rid of [Bertuzzi] and Weight, they both suck ass.
Weight's definitely gone from the Ducks, if not the league. I'm not so sure with Bertuzzi; who's going to take him? And is it really worth doing a buy-out?
Bertuzzi's definitely overpaid at $4M, but I don't know, maybe he's overpaid by $2M? I think it's probably the case that the Ducks suck it up and pay/play him another year.
He had moments of usability, but it pretty much had to be on Getzlaf & Perry's coattails. I suspect it will probably be the same next year.
I'm not exactly thrilled about Giguere being locked up for 3 more years. Mainly because I think the Ducks chose the wrong goaltender over the offseason.
Giguere was my biggest worry going into this year; I didn't think he could be worth $6M. It's still going to be a year-to-year battle, but I think he came about as close as we could expect. I'm less worried than I was last summer.
And Kariya and McDonald clicked very well immediately after the trade.
Well, maybe to the eyes. After the trade, the Blues won with less frequency and scored with less frequency than pre-trade.
And Kariya and McDonald clicked very well immediately after the trade.
They clicked right away, but then struggled. I think the feeling in St. Louis is: that did not work out like expected. Kariya had the worst year of his career 16 goals / 65 points, and they are giving him in the 7 mil range.
I agree with everything, except maybe the goalie thing. Jiggy is better, and Briz has a huge weakness on wrap arounds.
But they could have kept Briz until the deadline and got huge value for him then. That was dumb.
I don't count 03, when I measure how good Giguere is because that Giguere is long gone. Post lockout, I think Bryzgalov is the better goaltender.
Bryzgalov and Giguere had basically equal stats this year. Unless you are going to tell me that Phoenix had a better defense than the Ducks.
Kariya had the worst year of his career 16 goals / 65 points, and they are giving him in the 7 mil range.
Slightly off topic here, but boy has Kariya's stock tumbled, eh? I don't know whether it was his play (concussion problems?) or his business sense (signing with Nashville, then St. Louis), but he sure didn't turn out to be the superstar he looked like in the '90s.
He was a gamer back when he was with the Ducks (and before the concussions), and I say that as a Sharks fan. I remember him getting a good number of his teeth knocked out by a high stick, and coming back from being patched up to score a couple goals for the win. Now, he's a decent 2nd line winger who stays to the perimeter.
Bryzgalov and Giguere had basically equal stats this year. Unless you are going to tell me that Phoenix had a better defense than the Ducks.
I won't say that the Desert Dogs have a better defense than the Ducks, but I won't say that they had equal stats this year, either.
After Bryzgalov got waived:
Giguere: 2.01 GAA, .927 sv%
Breezy: 2.42 GAA, .921 sv%
I'm not going to knock on Brzygalov, though. He is a quality netminder, and he's won several playoff series for us.
I would have kept him considering the price, but I'm not going to send Giguere up the river either. He's put up quality numbers for Anaheim even post-2003.
Part time lurker first time poster;
After the trade, the Blues won with less frequency and scored with less frequency than pre-trade.
Is it just me, or did the Blues get the ol' Andy Murray two step: come out fast 'cause you're coached up and in better shape and then fade in the stretch 'cause you're over practiced and the rest of the league catches up. Any King fan opinion?
I was looking at Giguere's season stats as .922 and 2.12. And Bryzgalov's as 2.44 and .920. Save pct being the most important stat of course.
I'm just saying Giguere gives up about 1 bad goal a game, and I think the Ducks do an excellent job clearing out the rebounds which Giguere is slow to react to. From watching them play, I just think Bryzgalov is a better goalie.
I was looking at Giguere's season stats as .922 and 2.12. And Bryzgalov's as 2.44 and .920. Save pct being the most important stat of course.
I'm just saying Giguere gives up about 1 bad goal a game, and I think the Ducks do an excellent job clearing out the rebounds which Giguere is slow to react to. From watching them play, I just think Bryzgalov is a better goalie.
To be fair, both stats suck. We just use them because we don't have anything better.
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