| DUCKS
REPORT 5/05/07
Edmonton deals a “Lowe” blow.
By: Shellymarie C. Lucas
As the post season winds down and the new 2007-2008
hockey season moves closer, few Unrestricted
Free Agents (UFA’s) and Restricted Free
Agents (RFA’s) remain. On the 2nd of August
the number of remaining RFA’s diminished
by one, as former Anaheim Ducks left wing, Dustin
Penner, became the newest member of the Edmonton
Oilers.
Last Thursday on July 26, Oilers GM Kevin Lowe
pulled yet another interesting move in this
post season by offering Penner a five year contract
worth $21.25 million dollars, or roughly just
over $4 million a year. The 24 year old Winkler,
Manitoba native, who had a career year in his
first full season in Anaheim, scored 29 goals,
tallied 16 assists for a total of 45 points
in 82 games. Penner also made his mark in the
post season, picking up 5 assists and three
goals, including a game winner, in 21 games.
As Anaheim did last year with Joffrey Lupul,
the Ducks lost a young player with star potential,
but at what cost? Last year Ducks GM Brian Burke
added key defenseman Chris Pronger by trading
Joffrey Lupul and minor league player Ladislav
Smid. That trade turned out to be the right
move as Anaheim found the answer to the previous
years playoff exit after the second round, going
on to win the coveted Stanley Cup in the 2006-2007
season with their missing link, Pronger. Lupul
didn’t fare so well in Edmonton, posting
only 28 total points, down 25 points from the
previous year, as well as finishing the season
with a -29, but the right wing will not reunite
with his former teammate, as he has since moved
on to the Philadelphia Flyers where I am more
than sure he will reignite his career.
Since the Ducks did not match the offer tendered
to Dustin Penner, who turns 25 in September,
the Ducks will receive Edmonton’s 1st,
2nd and 3rd pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft.
This could also prove to be a good move for
Anaheim as they will more than likely be negotiating
soon with Wingers Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry
whose contracts expire at the end of the coming
season. Signing Penner for $4 million a year
could have meant losing one or both of the young
star players. Ducks fans are no stranger to
Burke’s GM tactics, as many have seen
Burke successfully dangle draft picks in front
of teams who desperately need them, trading
the picks or packaging them with another player
as he wheels and deals for good solid talent.
Last Friday, a day after the offer was made,
Brian Burke scheduled a conference call from
Penticton, British Columbia where he was being
inducted in the British Columbia Hall of Fame.
It was clear he was not impressed with Lowe’s
tactics, calling him “gutless.”
Since the two used to talk quite a bit, Burke’s
response could be a knee jerk reaction to an
offer that he had only found out about when
Dustin’s agent faxed him the offer sheet.
Although Lowe was not obligated to tell Burke
of his intentions, you would assume that Lowe
might have given Burke a courtesy warning (though
that also might have meant Burke acting quickly
to keep Penner), given that the two seemed to
be friends who also set up last season’s
blockbuster trade. This was the same move made
by Lowe which cost the Buffalo Sabres $50 million
dollars to keep 23 year old left wing Thomas
Vanek in the fold after he too was tendered
an offer sheet by Kevin Lowe.
The if’s, and’s or but’s are
all present, but it’s no secret what many
are thinking when it comes to Kevin Lowe saying
it is “an act of desperation by a man
trying to keep his job.” He blew it with
Ryan Smyth, lost his bid for Vanek and got Dustin
Penner for what may end up being too much money,
though I hope that is not the case. It has been
a busy 2007 for Mr. Lowe and I am sure everyone’s
waiting to see what he does next.
To Dustin, good luck and thank you for all you
did in Anaheim.
That’s my opinion and I am sticking to
it. Until next time, this is Shellymarie signing
off.
Waiting is no easy task.
By: Shellymarie C. Lucas
As the post season winds down and the new 2007-2008
hockey season moves closer, few Unrestricted
Free Agents (UFA’s) and Restricted Free
Agents (RFA’s) remain. On the 2nd of August
the number of remaining RFA’s diminished
by one, as former Anaheim Ducks left wing, Dustin
Penner, became the newest member of the Edmonton
Oilers.
Last Thursday on July 26, Oilers GM Kevin Lowe
pulled yet another interesting move in this
post season by offering Penner a five year contract
worth $21.25 million dollars, or roughly just
over $4 million a year. The 24 year old Winkler,
Manitoba native, who had a career year in his
first full season in Anaheim, scored 29 goals,
tallied 16 assists for a total of 45 points
in 82 games. Penner also made his mark in the
post season, picking up 5 assists and three
goals, including a game winner, in 21 games.
As Anaheim did last year with Joffrey Lupul,
the Ducks lost a young player with star potential,
but at what cost? Last year Ducks GM Brian Burke
added key defenseman Chris Pronger by trading
Joffrey Lupul and minor league player Ladislav
Smid. That trade turned out to be the right
move as Anaheim found the answer to the previous
years playoff exit after the second round, going
on to win the coveted Stanley Cup in the 2006-2007
season with their missing link, Pronger. Lupul
didn’t fare so well in Edmonton, posting
only 28 total points, down 25 points from the
previous year, as well as finishing the season
with a -29, but the right wing will not reunite
with his former teammate, as he has since moved
on to the Philadelphia Flyers where I am more
than sure he will reignite his career.
Since the Ducks did not match the offer tendered
to Dustin Penner, who turns 25 in September,
the Ducks will receive Edmonton’s 1st,
2nd and 3rd pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft.
This could also prove to be a good move for
Anaheim as they will more than likely be negotiating
soon with Wingers Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry
whose contracts expire at the end of the coming
season. Signing Penner for $4 million a year
could have meant losing one or both of the young
star players. Ducks fans are no stranger to
Burke’s GM tactics, as many have seen
Burke successfully dangle draft picks in front
of teams who desperately need them, trading
the picks or packaging them with another player
as he wheels and deals for good solid talent.
Last Friday, a day after the offer was made,
Brian Burke scheduled a conference call from
Penticton, British Columbia where he was being
inducted in the British Columbia Hall of Fame.
It was clear he was not impressed with Lowe’s
tactics, calling him “gutless.”
Since the two used to talk quite a bit, Burke’s
response could be a knee jerk reaction to an
offer that he had only found out about when
Dustin’s agent faxed him the offer sheet.
Although Lowe was not obligated to tell Burke
of his intentions, you would assume that Lowe
might have given Burke a courtesy warning (though
that also might have meant Burke acting quickly
to keep Penner), given that the two seemed to
be friends who also set up last season’s
blockbuster trade. This was the same move made
by Lowe which cost the Buffalo Sabres $50 million
dollars to keep 23 year old left wing Thomas
Vanek in the fold after he too was tendered
an offer sheet by Kevin Lowe.
The if’s, and’s or but’s are
all present, but it’s no secret what many
are thinking when it comes to Kevin Lowe saying
it is “an act of desperation by a man
trying to keep his job.” He blew it with
Ryan Smyth, lost his bid for Vanek and got Dustin
Penner for what may end up being too much money,
though I hope that is not the case. It has been
a busy 2007 for Mr. Lowe and I am sure everyone’s
waiting to see what he does next.
To Dustin, good luck and thank you for all you
did in Anaheim.
That’s my opinion and I am sticking to
it. Until next time, this is Shellymarie signing
off.
=======================================
April 2007
Despite starting their last long home stand
with an impressive win against the San Jose
Sharks and winning six of their eight games,
the Ducks shouldn’t be celebrating too
hard. Both losses came at the hand of two non
playoff contending teams, freeway rivals, the
Los Angeles Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Don’t get me wrong, there is incredible
talent on both of the latter mentioned teams,
but after watching the Ducks’ amazing
success this season, it is easy to tell when
they lose playing hard and when they lose because
they forgot to show up. For these two games,
though no win is ever guaranteed, they definitely
forgot to bring their “A” game to
the ice.
The Blue Jackets once again managed to best
the Anaheim Ducks on their own ice, winning
a five round shootout dual for a final score
of 5-4 last Wednesday night. The Ducks came
out flat and didn’t look ready to play.
They continuously turned over the puck and looked
as if they thought that perhaps they could beat
the boys from Ohio by just skating onto the
ice. It was apparent that they did not come
mentally prepared for either game and nothing
was more evident than their 5-3 loss to the
Kings.
By the start of the third period of Sunday’s
game, the Ducks had already managed to turn
the puck over 44 times, giving the Kings opportunity
after opportunity to score. LA capitalized several
times on Ducks miscues, leading to their win
and to a harsh practice Monday for the Anaheim
Ducks. Carlyle had considered bringing several
players in one by one for talks, but decided
to make them work on their skills instead. I
wasn’t there, but I am guessing that the
talks would have been preferred.
All in all, the Ducks seemed to show up for
the big teams, San Jose, Vancouver and Nashville,
but now that they are on the winning side of
the standings, some of the Ducks remaining from
the “slim” years seemed to have
forgotten what it was like to play against the
teams who skated into Anaheim assuming they
would win. Simply put, they need to show up
for the “little” games, as well
as the big games. They’re a well put together
team, who manages every so often to not just
slip up, but fall flat on their face. They need
to stick with their “A” game, pretend
that every team is ahead of them in the standings
and to steal from the fighting Irish, “Play
like a Champion”.
That said….on to Phoenix!
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