After keeping both of his goalies over the summer, Bob Murray's plan to drive their market value up foundered. The string of events culminated in the departure of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Was it a zero-sum game from the start?
Are the Ducks quacked?
Forgiving all impertinence, it is d-day for the Ducks if the team has any hope of playing meaningful hockey in April.
Q27: A Career in Cards
Qwednesday the 27th is here, and it's time to dig into the shoebox under the bed! What did we find? Hockey cards! And we bet you've never seen them before.
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a new favorite team!
Anaheim’s Latest Moves
Chipchura is brought in, Mikkelson and Festerling trade places, and Christensen is claimed by the Rangers.
» New feature on Quacked today-- Net Losses: The Giguere Debacle http://bit.ly/a2fS8Y Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:50:33
After being a topic of great debate at the outset of the season, the Ducks ultimately made their choice in net. But was that choice the right one?
(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)
It is remarkably alarming how quickly prosperity and luxury wash away to become much more loathsome adjectives – inadequacy, incompetency, ineptitude. With a month left in the regular season, the Anaheim Ducks sit on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Entering the 2009-10 season, the Ducks looked to be a solid team on paper – not a frontline contender, but strong enough to be assured a playoff spot by almost every panelist and prognosticator attempting to divine the team’s fortunes. Scoring was expected to increase thanks to some shrewd off-season dealings by Bob Murray, the heir apparent to Brian Burke’s GM throne after the latter took his show to Toronto last season. The one glaring sore spot was an unfamiliar lack of superstars on the blueline, the ratio having been cut in half when Chris Pronger was traded to the Flyers.
Idealistic about the future after a surprising playoff run and with the team bearing the trademark resilience of one surviving well in a salary cap era, Murray had no reason to expect that the Ducks could not be fitted with the right parts and reinvent their style accordingly. Once equally feared and loathed, the team underwent a profound and almost immediate fundamental shift in paradigm from the defensive to the offensive. Its anchor and captain, Scott Niedermayer – comfortable and adept at both ends of the rink – no doubt helped facilitate the decision to retool on the fly.
The only potential area for concern (and one that perhaps should have raised a few more red flags) was coach Randy Carlyle, a retired Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, and his ability and willingness to tailor his existing coaching style to the new personnel.
Let me begin by begging your forgiveness for that awful pun, but let’s face facts: it was only a matter of time before that word got put to good use on this blog. The answer to that question in the context of the word “quacked” meaning “screwed” is not quite so simple.
Perhaps it’s too presumptuous and untoward to write off the Ducks’ season with a month remaining on the schedule. The numbers don’t paint the prettiest picture, but the simple fact is that the team is but a stone’s throw away from the playoffs – with just enough time to make up lost ground.
Do you recognize the kid in the above picture? Here are a few hints: 1) He’s a current Ducks player; 2) This picture is from 1996; 3) Just a guess, but he probably speaks a couple of languages. Still can’t figure it out? Click through and find out.
Oh, Westboro Baptist Church, you’re always out to top your last fit of insanity — and some would argue, inanity — aren’t you? But why go to such lengths when the world already recognizes your psychopathy and adores you for it (much in the same way it adores a sharp stick in the eye)? We will concede that Marty Turco’s play sometimes makes small children and certain Texan bloggers cry, but to denounce our favorite sport is an affront to all of its fans, rooting for the wrong team or otherwise.
In the interests of fair journalism, it wouldn’t be right to pass judgment before we hear from WBC on the matter:
God H8s Ur hockey! Valor Pl. & Olive St. WBC will picket your stupid, cold (you will truly pray for these days of being in the cold hockey games when you burn in hell for eternity) violent, time-wasting hockey game – your SPORT. You know there will be only a few more of these entertainment events before God lets Obama simply destroy this nation. God does not have anything good to say about your sport(s).
At this point it seems that no person, profession or faith is safe from the harsh (if uneducated) verbal barbs this organization uses to poison the world. Luckily for Turco, it seems he was already on WBC’s shitlist.
Rejoice, one and all, for it is again that magical time of the week — known to the rest of the world as Wednesday, or more colloquially, “hump day” — to rifle through the archives of NHL history for some good old-fashioned nostalgic treasures. (You’ll have to click through to get the good stuff.)
The subject at hand today is Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere. You may remember him from less acclaimed roles in Halifax, Hartford and Calgary (Mooseheads and Whalers and Flames, oh my!). His curriculum vitae prior to joining the Ducks franchise is thin — so thin, in fact, that he had only a scant 30 NHL games to his name upon arrival in June 2000. The collection of his hockey cards I have to show you chronicle that half-decade before he donned the eggplant and jade.
Not much is typically mentioned about Giguere’s brief stints in Hartford and Calgary, except as a point of contrast to emphasize the effect Francois Allaire’s teachings have had on his game. Often credited with saving Giguere’s career, Allaire helped hone the young goalie’s skills, adding focus and purpose to his play. The changes in his style are underscored in reading the various scouting reports on the cards pictured below. Giguere’s glove hand and athleticism received the bulk of the accolades throughout his junior career, and now the very notion of athleticism being a core tenet of his game seems preposterous. Instead, Allaire has instilled in him equal measures of confidence and discipline, both key ingredients that helped Giguere transcend his stereotype and become an iconoclast of the traditional Quebec-born goaltender: he became a puck blocker. No flash, no dash, but plenty of results.
Digging into the well of retro-reminiscence once more, this Qwednesday (still working on that name) please find enclosed a reminder of the way we were. You know, a team that needed sensational goaltending on a nightly basis because it couldn’t score to save its life. (It seems as though not much has changed it that department of late, although the goaltenders are not bailing the team out as frequently.)
If there exists a perfect counterpoint to Petr Sykora’s 5OT goal in the second round in the court of opinion regarding the defining moment of the Mighty Ducks’ 2003 playoff run, this moment would certainly be a contender for the title. Somewhat disappointingly, there does not seem to be a clip accompanied by Chris Cuthbert’s unforgettable cry of “how did that stay out?!” — a glib but accurate summation of Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s entire body of work that spring. The video drops in around the 2:30 mark, but Ducks fans will want to watch this one all the way through, even though the soundtrack isn’t English.
So now you decide: was the save complete and unmitigated luck? Or do you believe luck is just the residue of skill? No matter what the call, it’s clear that the video does not present a compelling case against over-sized shoulder pads.
Our comrade Greg Ezell from Something’s Bruin has composed a love letter of sorts to resident Ducks tough guy and 70s porn star doppelganger George Parros. We are more than inclined to agree with Ezell’s assessment of “The Stache” (referring in this case to the actual hair on Parros’ face), but offer a kindly dissenting opinion on his view of “The Stache” as a player. Giving props where they’re due, Ezell gets a bunch for his channeling of Family Guy with the use of the phrase “mustache aficionado”. Well played, sir.
Whether or not you’re a Ducks fan it’s a good read, so click through and check it out if you haven’t yet. Be sure to peruse the rest of the blog, too, which includes a preview of tonight’s Ducks/Bruins tilt. When you’re done reading, click on the top link of the NHL Blogroll (that’s us!) to come right back here.
Happy belated New Year, Ducks fans — we hope it’s been as prosperous for you as it has been for the Ducks to-date. Beginning today, we will use the occasional Wednesday to revel in the many quirky ways the world wide web bestows its splendors on all things Anaheim Ducks. The name Qwednesday owes its genesis to a complete lack of creativity, and to that end I am entirely open to suggestions for a better moniker.
Today’s find, while not entirely groundbreaking, does a perfunctory job serving that niche market of fans wanting new logos on old jerseys. It also portends a stern warning to those who think that any combination of opiates, sewing and purple fabric can produce marketable results. The complete lack of bidding on the product evidently reaffirms that notion.
Interestingly enough, the item’s condition is listed as “new”. I’m not sure if that indicates that the individual components used to create this horrific hybrid were all new or if the seller is coyly suggesting that this is a new style of Ducks jersey (which is itself a bastardized but still accurate version of the term).
Yesterday, I spoke about some great memories of the Ducks’ 2003 second round triumph over the Dallas Stars. True, these moments aren’t great for all involved, but irrespective of their emotional impact they are the stuff of which the hockey annals are made. It was after watching the clips that I began to wax nostalgic about the Ducks’ Disney days, and the realization of the holiday season dawned on me (the holidays are nothing if not a time to share stories).
Accordingly, I have decided to share my brief and extemporaneous recollection of that magical Stanley Cup spring, beginning today with the series — specifically game one — win over the Stars.
What would a great team be without its rivals as a measuring stick of success? Our friend Cole over at the other 6 seconds (warning: it’s a Stars blog) has paid tribute to perhaps the single greatest moment in Ducks franchise history that doesn’t involve any shiny silver trophies — Petr Sykora’s 5OT winner in Dallas during the 2003 playoffs. Coincidentally, it is Cole’s least favorite Stars-related moment, and he explains why:
To add insult to injury, the most melancholy I’ve ever felt as a Stars fan was during that post-series handshake. It was bad enough being eliminated by a low seeded division rival. It was also the final game that Derian Hatcher ever played in a Stars sweater.
Fittingly, Cole had listed the same moments when I asked him this summer to name his least favorite Ducks-Stars memory. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Dallas got a measure of revenge in the 2008 playoffs by eliminating (and thus dethroning) them swiftly in the opening round.
Hit the break to see clips of Sykora’s monumental goal and the final few minutes of the series. The videos are clad appropriately in eggplant and jade to celebrate the occasion. When you’re done, I suggest taking a peek at Cole’s blog to find the answers to life’s great questions (seriously, he has a page for that). While you’re there, don’t miss his insightful look at The 5 Biggest Myths in Hockey. Damn, he has one hell of a blog.
(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)
(STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES)
You know him well.
(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)
(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)
Eggplant is the new orange. Thanks eBay.
