AHL GM: Ducks wouldn’t be ‘a very good fit’ for Manitoba.

Craig Heisinger, the general manager of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, told the Winnipeg Sun that the Ducks aren’t a strong candidate to be a secondary NHL affiliate to the Vancouver Canucks in Winnipeg. Last season, the Dallas Stars had a secondary affiliation with the Moose, but will have their own primary affiliate in Texas this season.

“I think Anaheim, at the end of the day, is going to have their own team,” Heisinger told the paper. “The Dallas thing worked for different reasons and as much as think it would be a benefit to add some top prospects, I just don’t think the Anaheim situation would be a very good fit.”

The Ducks have a strong connection to the Moose: Randy Carlyle was their head coach before making the leap to the NHL with the Ducks in 2005.

Meanwhile, the Ducks’ AHL affiliate last season is up for sale and relocation, the Des Moines Register reports.

Bylsma: ‘I haven’t won a lot of things since I was in high school.’

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, reflecting on the circuitous path that led him to his first Stanley Cup championship as a player or coach, told the Grand Rapids Press “I haven’t won something other than my son in knee hockey in the basement. I haven’t won a lot of things since I was in high school.”


His path, of course, included the Mighty Ducks’ Game 7 loss to the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. A nice read if you generally root for underdogs.

Murray denies Pronger-to-Kings rumor

It took only a few hours to gain steam and lose it, but multiple sources are now reporting that the Kings and Ducks didn’t decide to swap Chris Pronger for Jack Johnson and a draft pick today.

At least two Web sites reported that the trade had been agreed to; however, teams can’t announce trades until after the Stanley Cup Finals are over. Representatives from both sides have since dismissed the deal as rumor.

Pronger’s status with the Ducks is constant grounds for outside speculation, so don’t expect any facts to get in the way of this rumor. However, the Ducks are unlikely to make an announcement about any defensemen not named Scott Niedermayer until Niedermayer makes an announcement about his own future.

Nathan Marsters, 1980-2009.

Hats off to fans who remember Nathan Marsters, a goaltender who served as the backup in one game for the Mighty Ducks against the Calgary Flames in April 2006. Marsters was killed Monday night when a deer crashed through the window of his pickup truck in Smithville, Ontario.


A minor-league journeyman, Marsters spent four seasons between the ECHL and AHL after being drafted by the Kings in 2001. The full obituary can be found over at NiagaraThisWeek.com.

Allaire reunites with Burke in Toronto.

Francois Allaire, the Ducks’ goaltending consultant who mentored Jean-Sebastien Giguere, recommended Jonas Hiller, and is credited with popularizing the butterfly goaltending style, is leaving for the Toronto Maple Leafs.


Allaire had worked part-time for the Ducks for more than a decade. But citing a desire to reduce travel from his home in Montreal, he was given permission from GM Bob Murray to talk to other teams.

Here’s the official release frommapleleafs.nhl.com:


Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Wednesday that Francois Allaire has joined the team. As Goaltending Consultant, Allaire will work extensively with the goaltenders at all levels of the Maple Leafs’ organization.
“We consider Francois to be one of the best in the world at his craft,” said Burke. “He brings a tremendous amount of experience and I know that he will make an immediate impact with our goalies. I would like to thank the Anaheim organization for making Francois available to us.”

Allaire, 53, spent the past 13 seasons as Anaheim’s Goaltending Consultant which included the 2007 Stanley Cup championship team. His background also includes a 12-year tenure with the Montreal Canadiens prior to joining the Ducks. As Montreal’s Goaltending Coach, he was instrumental in two Stanley Cup titles (1986 and 1993), working with Hall of Famer Patrick Roy from 1984 to 1996. Allaire’s efforts also helped Montreal earn the Harry ‘Hap’ Holmes Memorial Award (AHL team with the lowest G.A.A.) on four occasions and the ‘Baz’ Bastien Memorial Award (AHL’s best goaltender) three times.

Allaire is a graduate of the University of Sherbrooke with a degree in physical education. He has published four books on goaltending, pre-season physical preparation and sports psychology.