Ducks Gameday—Burke Week #4: GM Lessons from a Cup Champ

Anaheim Ducks (10-8-2, 7th in west) at St. Louis Blues (6-8-2, 15th in west)
Ducks had better have a better start or somebody's going to the dentist!

So for Part IV of this series, I thought I'd take a look at some of the ways that Burke was a very good general manager -- things that worked for the Ducks not only on their Cup run but also looking forward. Think of these as a bit of a primer for good ol' Bob Murray, or more accurately, Part IV: What I like about Burke the roster-builder.

Lesson One: If you want depth, don't acquire depth players; instead insert talent at the top of your roster.

While I've stated before that I’m not overly impressed that Burke had the "wisdom" to acquire Niedermayer, Selanne, or Pronger, I don’t want to take away from the fact that Burke knew what he was going after – a superstar. His focus wasn’t on filling in his roster with supplementary depth players, though he certainly put those pieces in place as well; he was looking to acquire top-flight players for the top end of his roster and let his existing roster form the depth. Not only was a superstar able to drop players down to more manageable roles, but Carlyle could even form a legitimate pairing with Scott Niedermayer and a league-minimum Francois Beauchemin, for example, and further benefit from an all-star's abilities. In a nutshell, if you ask me how Burke was able to build a cup winner, the answer is that he took a franchise with a lot of supporting parts and inserted talent at the top. By doing so, he made everyone more effective.

Lesson Two: Shelter your kids – It’s good for them and it’s good for you.

I think the way Getzlaf and Perry were brought into the league was phenomenal. Their rookie year they were played as fourth-liners, with Todd Fedoruk watching their backs – a very no-pressure environment to learn the ropes of the NHL. To effectively remove them from Calder consideration, they were even demoted for a month or so to the AHL Pirates, but played together throughout. Their sophomore year they moved up to second-liners, still sheltered from top defenders (Selanne drew those matchups) and top scorers (Pahlsson of course got those). That year was of course the cup year, so needless to say it worked out well. Then finally last year, their contract year, they were given responsibilities as top-liners, and having been groomed for the role they delivered. The payoff to the Ducks was two well-prepared top-liners who not only proved their abilities but also signed at reasonable rates ($5.6 million apiece, which certainly could have been worse). That salary in part has to do with their limited time on the top line – by holding them back not only were they better prepared but also had less career points come contract time. This also holds true for Bobby Ryan, who I can only speculate on his worth, but will certainly have limited NHL exposure come contract time two summers from now. It will be interesting to see how good Bobby Ryan becomes, or how prepared for NHL duty he is, and how much his sheltering pays off in his next contract for Anaheim.

Lesson Three: Be true to your players and they’ll be true to you.

I can't think of one time Brian Burke didn’t righteously stand up for one of his players in Anaheim – no matter how stupid or how idiotic it was. It’s one reason Brian Burke is as hated as he is by rival fans, but probably one reason why players seem so loyal to him. Whether it’s Bertuzzi’s suckerpunch, Pronger’s elbows or skateblade, Selanneidermayer’s semi-retirements, or even softer stuff like Giguere dealing with his baby’s health – Burke is front-and-center deflecting criticism and supporting his guys. He’s done seemingly honorable things in waiving Bryzgalov and proving Giguere with a no-movement clause, and I think there's payoff to those moves -- I know players are loathe to say anything controversial, but I haven't heard any player critical of Burke, even guys who have left under tough circumstances (Penner, McDonald, Schneider, Bertuzzi). Whether or not fans like or dislike what Brian Burke has to say, it does seem that players do respond favorably to it, and I think that perception is helpful in luring free agents to sign or players to re-sign.

Lesson Four: No Long-Term Deals ... Flexibility = Positivity!

This is a big one for me, too. Brian Burke has committed to two 5-year deals (Getzlaf and Perry), four 4-year deals (both Niedermayers, Kunitz, and Giguere), and only a few 3-year deals (McDonald and Carter, notably). He’s also acquired two deals with 4 years remaining (Marchant and Pronger). He’s stayed away from mammoth-year contracts, though, and I’m glad he’s done so. Burke hasn’t crippled rosters seven or eight years from now, and that has to be the wise move -- with a changing NHL landscape and a newly-implemented salary cap, it's tough to foresee what player values will be five years down the road. Now don't get me wrong -- I'm not against all long-term deals (I once advocated a fifteen-year deal for Getzlaf), but I'm glad it's not a crutch that Burke used to lure players to Anaheim. I think GMs who do that are selfish -- they are trying to win now while risking their franchise's ability to win in the future (partially it's because of mixed motivations -- the roster seven years from now is likely going to be a replacement GM's problem). So while many like to say that Burke has ruined the Ducks, it doesn't seem a long-term problem; in two or three years there will hardly be any Burke contracts on the books at all.

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So that's some of the positive GM lessons that Burke has demonstrated; if you feel like I've missed anything, feel free to add your own lesson from Burke in the comments. Part V I'll try to do a wrap-up; some GM lessons I didn't like, what I'll miss most and least about the guy (first in both categories: his mouth), and a conclusion.

Prediction: Bob Murray's Ducks 5, Andy Murray's Blues 2. Goals by Perry, Ryan, Morrison, Pahlsson, and Montador.

Go Ducks.

Brian Burke Week Part III: Nothing but shout-outs

Time to take a break from my normally scheduled Burke Week -- tomorrow I'll get to the positive GM lessons we can learn from the Burke. Today instead I'm just going to toss a few links and call it a day (partially because I feel bad just tossing these at the end of a long post; mostly because I'm lazy).

First off, in keeping with Burke-themed tradition, I was a guest again on The Rink Podcast this week to talk about what the Burke departure means for Anaheim. I'm the first of three guests in a virtual All-Star Game of blog guests -- Steve Lepore of Puck the Media also talks about Versus ratings, and Alanah McGinley of Canucks and Beyond talks about Roberto Luongo's shutout streak. Not my strongest work, but then again, podcasting ain't my forte.

Secondly, I wanted to give an update on the guy sometimes known as Kyle J and sometimes known as "the Swede" -- our mysterious comic book contributor here at BoC (Episode 1: Toronto, Episode II: Detroit). Well since his BoC debut, Comic Book Guy has taken the new name "Good Kyle", and has started his own multi-faceted blog: Good Kyle Versus Evil Kyle. I've added the link under "Hockey + Cartoons = Awesome", even though hockey cartoons seems to be a small portion of what that blog is offering. Good Kyle assures me that there's more hockey-themed artwork coming, though, and sent this image as a token of good positivity:

Why so sad?
And lastly and leastly, I also stayed Burke-themed on today's PuckToon. It was a rush-job, no doubt, but I'm not dissatisfied with the result. Enjoy!

Bobby Ryan = Positivity! Go Ducks.

BoC Gameday—Prelude to Burke Week

Los Angeles Kings (7-7-2, t-11th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (9-7-2, 5th in west)
That strange silence you're hearing is a quiet general manager.

Over the next week, I will be writing a series of posts looking back on the legacy of Brian Burke in Anaheim -- moves I liked, moves I didn't like, plus some general observations -- so yeah, look forward to that. For now, though, all I'll say is that I'm fine with the timing of the move, as there's not a lot of GMing that can really be done with the rest this year's roster. The Ducks are so close to the cap ceiling that there's not much to do except (a) promote Bobby Ryan and (b) re-sign some key players before next summer.

We'll get to (a) in a second, but really the re-signing aspect is the key one: once Burke turned down a contract extension, next year's roster became Bob Murray's concern, and better to put that person in charge now than to wait until the offseason. Incidentally, I don't expect to learn very much about Bob Murray's GM tendencies until next summer; for now it's still pretty much Burke's team, and the only clues we'll have about Murray in the coming months will likely be in the form of which UFAs get re-signed and which do not.

Ah, this PuckToon I drew last June seems appropriate.
(It's not as if I've never stolen from work before.)
I missed Friday's game against the Predators, so I was caught off-guard by the announcement that Frenchie Beauchemin will be out six months with a torn ACL. The ramifications of this seem to be twofold: (a) Bobby Ryan and Ryan Festerling got promoted from the AHL under long-term-injury cap relief, and (b) Scott Niedermayer will be getting a new minute-eating defense partner. I hesitate to say who will be getting the promotion, but I think I'd give Steve Montador a shot at some top-four duty -- he's a guy who's been impressing me with his overall game and could play anchor to Niedermayer's roamer game.

As for Bobby Ryan, now's the opportunity for the kid to step up to the big leagues -- on paper, he potentially gives the Ducks a set of six legitimate top-six forwards (sorry Marchant, one of the requirements is "hands") for the first time this season. Between Kunitz-Getzlaf-Perry and Ryan-Morrison-Selanne, I'll be interested to see how the Ducks' offense operates. It may just provide the positivity to offset the downside of losing Beauchemin.

Prediction: Tonight Sleek's lucky green shirt is going up to the Honda Center rafters (translation: I'll be sitting in the nosebleeds), as some hockey-playing friends of mine have taken advantage of a Ducks promotion -- sell enough upper deck seats and they get to play a short beer league-style game on Honda Center ice after the Ducks and Kings end. So if you see a green shirt during the game in Section 430, Row J, feel free to say hi, or if you're bored after the game and want to see some amateurs play, I'll be in the lower bowl for that. Ducks 4, Kings 2. Goals by Ryan (x2), Pahlsson, and Getzlaf.

Go Ducks.

Barnyard Miracles! Bobby Ryan turns from a Duck to a Pig

Poor Bobby Ryan. The kid picked one slot behind Sidney Crosby hasn't had much opportunity to shine on an NHL stage. He played in his first 25 NHL games last year, including 2 in the Dallas series, and after a strong camp this season, was demoted yesterday to the AHL Chops mainly for salary cap reasons.

This is a situation that it's a bit tough to write about, because there's several unknowns at work here: (a) Bobby Ryan's bonus clauses -- thanks to NHL secrecy, I have no idea what Ryan would need to do in order to earn his $1.1 M in bonuses, though I'd guess they pertain to NHL-level achievements. If Ryan started on the Ducks, though, the $1.1 M would count against the cap as potential achievements, and I can't say at what point these bonuses become unachievable. (b) Bobby Ryan's potential -- I've liked what I've seen out of the kid in limited exposure thus far, but Ryan's played most of his hockey completely off my radar. I assume the kid is good, because of draft position and all, but really it's all question marks until it happens on NHL ice. (c) the Anaheim Ducks' need -- This is a biggie -- the Ducks will have Getzlaf-Perry and Morrison-Selanne on their top two lines, and Chris Kunitz will definitely get one of the open wing spots. There's plenty of bodies for the bottom lines also -- Pahlsson-Moen-Niedermayer + Sutherby-Marchant-Carter + Parros-Ebbett-May. Assuming somebody can handle a cushy promotion, I'm not that worried about forward depth this year. There's no Doug Weights or Todd Bertuzzis that need to be hidden in the top lines, at least.

On July 1st, when Corey Perry signed his 5-year contract, I wrote a post looking at how various wingers did next to Getzlaf-and-Perry. It wasn't a fabulous study, but it did show a trend how a "banger" like Brian Sutherby, Brad May, or Jason King got better results than a "scorer" like Kunitz or Bertuzzi. Getzlaf and Perry have always thrived with a Fedoruk-type on their wing, and perhaps that will be the forward solution this year; last night Travis Moen got an audition on the top line (and congrats to Teemu on the hat trick -- fucking awesome). Anyways, forwards can be a discussion for another day, but I don't get the sense that the Ducks need Ryan desperately to become any NHL-level hero just yet.

And that's probably why I shrug at the news that Ryan has to wait his turn to make an NHL impact. I'm always a guy who's in favor of over-sheltering young talent, for maturity reasons and for salary-impact reasons. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry can be a quick example here. When they were brought up to the NHL, it was in a no-pressure situation: 4th line minutes with Fedoruk watching their back, and not a ton of scoring was needed out of them. Even when they got sent down to the AHL for a month or so that first year, that lowered the pressure even further -- they weren't in any Calder Trophy race, for reasons outside their control. Year Two was stepped up a notch -- they were in cushy 2nd-line spots but more scoring was expected (and delivered) that year. And now they're affordable NHL stars.

If Bobby Ryan is really a future cornerstone of this franchise, what's not important to me is the NHL impact he makes in the next two years; he probably needs to do enough to demonstrate he's on the right path, but it's important to remember -- the more NHL achievements he gets, the more expensive his next contract becomes. I don't want him winning any Calder Trophy (which is safe anyways, since he plays on the west coast), and I'd rather not see any 90-point years just yet. I know it's twisted in a way, but holding back Ryan is probably good for the kid and good for the franchise. And I am kind of encouraged by this Bobby Ryan quote about the downside of contract bonuses:

"You just want to warn guys that it could be something that comes back to bite you. I'd waive 'em in a heartbeat if I could – take it down to the league minimum or whatever it would be. When it's right there in front of your face and it's a couple hundred thousand dollars that's hurting you, it's tough."

If this kid can somehow get that team-friendly-contract notion in his head now, I'm feeling pretty optimistic. Now don't get me wrong -- I'm hoping Ryan kicks ass in the AHL and forces Burke to put him in the big leagues a la Be a Pro; I expect he'll be easier to promote later in the season when bonuses become unattainable anyway. If he plays well enough, Bobby Ryan can be this year's trade deadline day pickup, and hopefully enjoy a relatively pressure-free transition into this league, just like Getzlaf and Perry did before him.

Color me an optimist; Go Ducks.

Bobby Ryan Looks To Show He's The Right Man For The Job in Anaheim

Recently within the Anaheim Ducks organization Bobby Ryan has begun to catch a lot of attention. It originally began with the free agent market with those analyzing the Ducks depth chart began to expect Ryan to be placed in the lineup full time this year, rather than have him split time between the Ducks and minor leagues.

Until lately I was pleased with the slow going development of Bobby Ryan, until Kevin Lowe made comments about the young Duck recently as a jab at getting a rise out of Ducks GM Brian Burke.

Lowe said that Ryan was a “questionable pick”, but my question is why does he even care? That is for the Ducks to worry about, and the Ducks organization seems happy with Ryan’s development.

Personally, I’m very pleased with Bobby Ryan’s development. I don’t believe in putting a rookie, regardless of his talent, instantly in the lineup. That’s a lot of pressure. Ryan has developed enough with split time between Portland and Anaheim to do well enough to be expected to pull a regular shift on the second line.

Not bad for a questionable pick if you ask me.

I am not writing this article to shake up more issues regarding Lowe’s comments, but instead to raise knowledge of the 2005 second overall draft choice.

The 21 year old, 6’1” 218-pound Right Wing was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and was drafted out of Owen Sound of the OHL in 2005, right behind Sidney Crosby. Regardless of who you are that’s hard company to keep.

Brian Burke believes in development of draft picks, much like I do, and even with a pick such as Crosby would have probably made him find his way in the minor leagues. Ryan did exactly what Burke and the organization have asked of him, split your time, produce, and grow as a player.

Well Bobby Ryan, now is your time.

With a second line spot open for Ryan on the depth chart he will look to capitalize on the great year he had last year. Ryan appeared in 23 games, scoring five goals, (three power play) and five assists for 10 points. Ryan also recorded six penalty minutes in those 23 games.

During the playoffs Ryan found himself back in Portland with the Pirates who themselves were chasing a championship. In 16 AHL playoff appearances Ryan led the Pirates in points with 20.

For Bobby, he finds himself with a spot with his name on it on the depth chart. Not many guys heading into camp who spent half the year in the minors ever get to say that, and far fewer see their name on the second line.

There are extremely high expectations for Bobby, with Lowe having called him out now would be the perfect time for Ryan to show the Ducks, and the rest of the NHL what he is really made of. With the youth movement in the forward lines in Anaheim it’s a great time to be a Duck fan.

Image: Courtesy of CBC

Anaheim Ducks News Bits

According to the O.C. Register, The Ducks are going to place Bobby Ryan at a second line wing position this season, and let him fumble through becoming an NHL regular (as they should have done last season). The move is smart and will allow Ryan to become the great Ducks player he was drafted to be.

Signing Teemu Selanne is still up in the air... PLEASE TEEMU COME BACK!!!!
In the article Burkie also discussed getting rid of someone to free up space to go after Teemu and get under the cap.

"...Burke admitted the Ducks still need to rid themselves of a defenseman(nice way of saying
Mathieu Schneider) and said that it was possible that they’d get a winger in return", as quoted from the O.C. Register article above.

“It would have to come from outside,” Burke said. “We’re not going to force a young guy into that position.”

Burke is making moves (it appears) that look like Teemu's gone, so this sort of confuses me. Only time will tell, there's still a lot of offseason to be had.

Ducks Gameday—Sleek gets long-winded

Anaheim Ducks (27-21-7, 5th in west) at Philadelphia Flyers (28-17-5, 3rd in east)

(Note: Rudy and guest contributor Steve Lepore have info on the Kings-Devils below--make sure to check those out!)

Well, another set of back-to-back games for the Ducks, despite still having played more games than anyone. And while the losing streak (0-4-1 since I skipped a GDP against Dallas) and pitiful offense continue (5 goals scored scored in the last 5 games, which is two less than Ovechkin has scored in his last 5), there is a bit of hope: perhaps the Ducks might find some offense in the goal-loving Eastern Conference.

Teemu Selanne spent a bit of 3rd period time in the announcer's booth last night in St. Louis, and somehow managed to speak positively while his team scored absolutely nothing. He indicated he hoped to play sometime next week, but if I'm Carlyle, he's got to get into the lineup ASAP. Last year in 10 regular season games against eastern teams, Teemu scored 8 goals and 4 assists to lead the team (also point-a-game? Niedermayer and Pronger). Heck, even Sammy Pahlsson chipped in 4 goals during those games.

Still, the more the Ducks struggle in the offensive end (and I'm glaring straight at you, Getzlaf-Perry-Bertuzzi, who consistently tried to out-cute the Blues' defense last night), the more I start believing the need for Burke to start pursuing a mortgage-the-future deal at the trade deadline, not even to push this team over the top, but just to push their first-round exit to a semi-respectable six games. While I'll offer nothing but praise for guys like Mats Sundin or Marian Hossa, I tell you: if it costs the Ducks Bobby Ryan and the Oilers pick to get it done, I will be pissed off quite a bit. These two assets represent possibly the highest two draft picks in Anaheim's history, and to sell them for a few weeks of a pending UFA that we can't afford to re-sign, it's almost a sure-fire disaster (see: last year).

Maybe I need to clarify a bit: the Ducks have a lot of money tied up in very few players next year -- Niedermayer, Pronger, Giguere, Getzlaf, Schneider, Perry, and Bertuzzi will all be making a lot of coin. It's going to be paramount for this club to be competitive to get some cheap production, and while the Oil pick won't be ready to jump in right away (I'll assume), Bobby Ryan I think needs to be in next year's blueprint. Now some will tell you not to worry; Niedermayer's retirement is a sure thing next summer and will free up some spending money, but I refuse to believe it. I'm sorry, but here's a guy who contemplated retirement for six months and couldn't pull the trigger; what about that indecision suggests that he'll retire on his contract at the drop of the hat in July?

So I'm really hoping that Burke keeps a level head -- the only way getting a Sundin or Hossa at the deadline makes sense is if the Ducks are already playing like a cup contender, not if they're struggling. And perhaps, the ship will right itself and this will be the case. But I get a bit worried; I trust that Burke is as pissed off as I am about the current results and in a fit of anger may pull a hasty save-face, big-headline, break-the-bank move. Trust me: I understand that selling the future is acceptable to win a cup now, but if a deal like that gets done, anything short of Stanley is a swift kick to the franchise's nuts.

In my ideal finish, the Ducks stand pat at the deadline, just like last year, though I won't mind if Burke plays like he's active and drives up deadline prices. And really, I won't mind terribly if the team starts playing lights-out and then decides to add a superstar to an already-working lineup. What will drive me up the wall, though, is if the team continues to struggle and a deal is made out of desperation (Save us, Sundin!); that has "failure" written all over it, and will sting for years to come.

End rant.

Prediction: By my recollection, the Flyers last season gave the Ducks their third-most-painful loss of the year. First would be the 5-0 loss to Detroit in G3 of the WCF (especially bitter because I was in attendance). Second I think is the 4-3 loss to Columbus in January, where the Ducks led 3-0 with 10:02 left in regulation and failed to even get a standings point. And third, then, was the 7-4 loss to last-place Philly, where the Ducks outshot the Flyers 41-16 and didn't even record a 3rd period save. The Ducks have already exacted revenge for the first two results; time to make up for that third one. Ducks 4, Flyers 1. Goals by Bochenski, Bertuzzi, Marchant, and Parros (if Selanne plays, though, he scores 'em all).

Go Ducks.