There have been no 11th-hour deals by the Ducks (a la the Kings trading Lubomir Viznofsky last night to the Oilers) on the eve of the NHL free agency period. But since free agency begins at midnight, we haven’t technically hit the 11th hour yet, have we?
Continue reading “The Ducks’ free-agent front: ‘No news’ is ‘no news.’” »
Monthly Archives: June 2008
Ducks buy out Bertuzzi’s contract.
Todd Bertuzzi is no longer a Duck.
More Scott Niedermayer.
The highlights of Scott Niedermayer’s conference call with the national media today…
Continue reading “More Scott Niedermayer.” »
Scott Niedermayer is returning.
Henry Samueli suspended indefinitely.
Because Henry Samueli admitted in federal court Monday to participating in the illegal backdating of stock options with Broadcom Corp., Gary Bettman suspended the Ducks’ owner indefinitely today.
Brian Burke’s Straight-Talk Express
Ducks GM Brian Burke spoke with season-ticket holders at Honda Center after the draft and apparently was asked about the Toronto Maple Leafs rumors. His response, which I believe is the most concrete response he’s given yet: “It comes down to what’s best for his family.”
And the Ducks’ 2nd first-round pick is…
…traded. To Phoenix.
An interview with Jake Gardiner can be found here.
Jake Gardiner, the newest Duck.
Ducks take Jake Gardiner, a converted 6-foot, 173-pound defenseman, with the 17th pick. Central scouting had him at No. 23, so you could consider him a bit of a reach, but here’s the scouting reports:
NHL Central Scouting’s Jack Barzee “Jake’s biggest attribute is that he might be one of the best skaters in the draft – he is just a pure skater. He used to be a forward and they made him a defensemen a few years ago and he loves being a defenseman. He is smart with the puck, unselfish and he’s careful. He is another one that has grown all year, I had him measured at 6’0″ – he might be almost 6’2″ and that’s been not even a year. He’s a greyhound right now, wiry, but he’ll fill out. He is dynamic when he grabs the puck and goes. He has a very quick dangerous wrist shot – he gets it away like Joe Sakic does. The dimension of his quickness fools goalies. I liken him to Brett Hedican when he was in high school but maybe a little more polished. He’s an easy player to like.” “Making the switch from playing forward to defenseman really helped Jake improve as a player. He makes a better defenseman because of his experience playing as a forward. Jake has an uncanny ability to read plays and this helps him see the ice in a different way.” |
Ducks, Kings make a trade.
From cbc.ca: Calgary gets Mike Mike Cammalleri from the Kings, Calgary gets the Ducks’ 12th overall pick and the Ducks pick up the 17th selection from the Flames and the 28th from the Kings.Five first-round picks are in: Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay), Drew Doughty (L.A.), Zach Bogosian (Atlanta), Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis) and Luke Schenn (Toronto).
Scott Niedermayer update
Brian Burke said Scott Niedermayer HAS NOT been given a deadline of tomorrow to decide whether or not he’s retiring. Niedermayer’s wife is close to giving birth, Burke said, and for that reason he’s willing to extend the deadline past the draft and into next week, to let Niedermayer concentrate on his family.
No news will be good news IF Niedermayer decides to come back … whenever he eventually decides.
No news from Teemu, either.
Check out tomorrow’s editions for what Burke had to say about the Ducks’ No. 12 overall pick.