Quacked » Transactions

Meanwhile, on Earth…

Patrick — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:55:25 +0000

(IMAGE)

The true beauty of blogging is not found in garnering the recognition and rewards that conventional journalism offers, but in being easily forgotten. It sounds contradictory to the mandate of good business (and website) ownership to wish your project an inconsequential existence, but in this case I think it’s entirely appropriate.

As of this posting, it has been slightly over five weeks since the last post on Quacked — but no need to fret, the season hasn’t kicked off yet and the games are not for keeps. Though it is true that the off-season brings with it very little of the excitement of the regular season and playoffs, to suggest that the last month has been uneventful would be patently absurd. The upshot for Ducks fans is that their team has been relatively unaffected by the maelstrom of recent activity. For better or for worse, Bob Murray took care of business early and things have remained relatively status quo ever since.

What is news for Anaheim fans, aside from that which concerns the Ducks, is that the San Jose Sharks organization has added the “missing piece” to its Stanley Cup puzzle… again. Dany Heatley is the newest Shark, and should subsequently become a new target of derision at the Honda Center. It remains to be seen how long it will take him to develop chemistry on one of the most offensively gifted top lines in hockey alongside Joe Thornton and Devin Setoguchi, but it is safe to say that goal scoring should not be a problem in San Jose this season.

I’m going to fire off the rest of this post in point form due in part to the fact that none of it is new news, and has been covered ad nauseam by the mainstream media already:

The results of the Ducks nascent preseason have been mixed thus far, churning out a 3-2 shootout win over the Coyotes, followed by a listless 3-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Canucks, and last night another overtime win against Phoenix, this time being outshot 46-21 and coming from 3-0 down to take it 4-3. The past week has seen the Ducks debut of Justin Pogge, Saku Koivu and Mark Bell (here on a tryout basis).
Quick props to Bobby Ryan for his two goal (plus shootout) effort in the inaugural preseason tilt with Phoenix, and to Joffrey Lupul for potting two last night against the same Phoenix squad.
Captain Hook, aka Rob Niedermayer, is on the verge of signing with a KHL if he doesn’t get a knockout offer from an NHL team this week. Another victim of the league-wide salary cap crunch?
Speaking of financial debacles, how about the ongoing saga concerning the struggle for ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes? The case has much intrigue, but has gone on for so long now that many people must just be praying for it to be over. With RIM (via Jim Balsillie) potentially laying claim to an NHL franchise, how long will it take for Steve Jobs to want in on the action? The Seattle Snow Leopards has a certain ring to it…
Continuing in the vein of the new NHL economics, the Phil Kessel circus came to an end today with Boston shipping the unsigned forward to Toronto, where Brian Burke promptly signed him to a new, long-term contract. Once again, Burke saw a piece he wanted on his team and paid the price to get it. It remains to be seen whether his rebuild in Toronto turns out the same success as the one in Anaheim.
Theo Fleury is on the comeback trail, and wouldn’t you know it, he scored a shootout winner in his first game back. Talk about a blast from the past: the last time Fleury suited up for an NHL team was before the shootout had been implemented. Now that Theo is back, he’ll have to take the “other Fleury” billing as Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre is unquestionably the more celebrated of the two, having just backstopped the Pens to a Stanley Cup.
Finally, no synopsis of the past month’s goings on in the NHL would be complete without a major thumbs down to the NHLPA for another executive director disaster. Following the Ted Saskin debacle, you would think both sides had learned a valuable lesson in choosing the right person for the job. Guess not.

Cheers for now. Hopefully the next update won’t be five weeks in the making. With the start of real hockey just around the corner, that shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

Miller Time is Over

Patrick — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:30:35 +0000

Miller was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the sixth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, 186th overall.
(LAYNE MURDOCH/GETTY IMAGES)

The Anaheim Ducks addressed a need for size at the forward position today by dealing Drew Miller and a 2010 3rd round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Evgeny Artyukhin. Standing 6-foot-5 and tipping the scales at 224 pounds, Artyukhin could slot into a position on coach Randy Carlyle’s checking line (although he has plenty of competition for a spot there).

Anaheim Ducks General Manager Bob Murray offered up the following thoughts (quoted from the OC Register article linked below):

“We had gotten a bit more skill and moved a few things around. In doing so, we lost a little bit of our size, sandpaper or grit. We have been trying to find a way to patch that for a little while.”

Apparently, this is not the first (or even the second) time the Ducks have tried to deal for the big forward. The article mentions previous attempts made by Murray at last season’s trading deadline and the entry draft in June. It is not clear what packages were offered at those times, or if the Ducks had to bulk up their offer (spoken ironically, of course, as Miller drew the antipathy of many Anaheim fans for his lack of bulk).

For his part, Murray also added that he felt Miller probably did not get a fair shake with the Ducks.

“He had a good run here with us,” Murray said. “He was a little bit like Bobby Ryan. He was an easy guy to move down (to the minors) and it was a bit unfair to Drew. He handled it well and he played well for us.”

Though the words are flattering, one wonders if Murray is simply being diplomatic in this case.

LINKS

“Murray addresses size with Artyukhin” (ducks.freedomblogging.com)

Pogge to Ducks Imminent

Patrick — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:25:36 +0000

Pogge was named CHL goaltender of the year in 2006. (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)

UPDATE (8/10/2009, 12:30PM PT): It’s official – Justin Pogge to the Ducks for a conditional 2011 draft pick.

Darren Dreger is reporting on TSN.ca that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks are about to complete a deal that would send Justin Pogge to Anaheim for a conditional draft pick (based on Pogge’s post-trade performance). It is expected that the trade will be completed today (8/10).

Pogge posted a record of 26-21-5 with a .895% save percentage and 2.70 goals against average for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL last season. He also had a brief, 7-game stint in the NHL with the Maple Leafs where he went 1-4-1 with a .844% save percentage and 4.36 goals against average.