Through the Television Glass...: Red Wings coach Mike Babcock's big plan for game four? Just watch the minutes for the Zetterberg line. There's not much news today since the NHL limited player access yesterday, making only four players from each team available. Drew Sharp...... , posted on May 30, 2008
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Manager: 'Puck! Where Are Those TPS Reports?': Mike Babcock was the first coach I ever heard use the term puck management. I heard it when he was coaching the Ducks. The idea behind Babcock's idea of puck management was controlling the puck. That can be puck possession,...... , posted on April 30, 2008
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Blame Schneider: Wow. Helene Elliott at the LA Times really came out swinging this morning, the day after Anaheim was bounced out of the first round of the playoffs: When [Scott] Niedermayer returned and General Manager Brian Burke had to make salary-cap...... , posted on April 21, 2008
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Goodbye, Mr. Smith: I understood why the Stars traded away goalie Mike Smith as part of the Brad Richards deal, but I was slightly concerned that trading away a potential franchise goalie would come back to bite Dallas. Stars goalie Marty Turco had...... , posted on April 18, 2008
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Stars: 'Don't Even Think About Winning.': Dallas has to be the big surprise of the playoffs so far. Who would have guessed they'd go up two games on the Ducks (on the road, no less)? How is Dallas doing it? The Ducks combination of a bad...... , posted on April 14, 2008
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Pronger Stomps Like an Angry First Baseman: I don't like when people from other sports drag hockey into their ugliness. Wednesday, during spring training no less, Shelley Duncan of the New York Yankees took a ridiculously late, high slide into Tampa second baseman Akinori Iwamura as payback...... , posted on March 14, 2008
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Huet Who?: OK. I think this is it for trade deadline stuff. I've just been slow going through all of it. Much like the rest of the hockey world, Caps goalie Olie Kolzig's agent is a little confused as to why the...... , posted on February 29, 2008
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Goalie-ality: Tim Panaccio says the NHL needs more exciting goaltenders like Ron Hextall (login info.). Hextall likes Miikka Kiprusoff, Robert Luongo, Martin Biron, Antero Niittymaki, and Martin Brodeur, in terms of excitement. I'd throw Rick DiPietro into the mix. He once...... , posted on February 11, 2008
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Quiet Captain: Here in New York, an interesting dynamic has developed, where it seems the fans have beef with the play of Jaromir Jagr and the beat writers are in love with him. A lot of the stories in yesterday's papers revolved...... , posted on February 06, 2008
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Losing Weight: This is a few days old, but shocking to me: Doug Weight wasn't happy being traded from the Blues. After he told the Blues he wouldn't waive his no-trade, they told him if he didn't, they would cut his minutes....... , posted on February 05, 2008
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Cap Decapitation: It's funny. When the NHL first started with its salary cap, it didn't seem like such a big deal, since everyone was starting from scratch. But now, a few years into it, you're starting to see the challenges and constraints...... , posted on December 17, 2007
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Not to keep harping on fighting in the NHL, but Tim Panaccio has a nice column looking at respect in the NHL (login info.). An interesting undercurrent to the column is the role of protective equipment in all of this....... , posted on December 10, 2007
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Fun With Owners: There's some cool NHL management stuff floating around the Internet this week. Boston magazine had an interesting piece on Charlie Jacobs, the man who runs the Boston Bruins for his father. The article doesn't say anything crazy. Basically that Jacobs...... , posted on November 30, 2007
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Stealing Goalies: I can't believe the Ducks couldn't find anyone to give up anything for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (login info.). GM Brian Burke said he was surprised, too. The Ducks waived Bryzgalov and the Coyotes claimed him. Then, Bryzgalov earned a shutout...... , posted on November 19, 2007
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Leashes and Uncles: This is interesting. The Dallas Stars are 6-1-3 when leading after two periods. It's interesting because Dallas basically stood pat at the end of last season, so while they didn't get better, they shouldn't have gotten worse. Mike Heika says...... , posted on November 12, 2007
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Isles: 'Don't Sign Here. Your Word Is Oak': Larry Brooks had a shockingly emotional reaction to Al Arbour's return behind the Islander bench. To compensate, he busted the Isles for not paying Neil Smith for the month and change he worked for them. Although Smith apparently never signed...... , posted on November 05, 2007
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Rafalski Shines: I'm not sure it was really talked about a ton this summer, but how huge is Brian Rafalski for Detroit? He sure fit right in last night, dishing and shooting, and playing that tenacious Jersey defense. I watched him fairly...... , posted on October 04, 2007
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NHL to LA Times: 'Ha Ha! You Covered a Road Game!': When we talk about good mainstream newspaper bloggers, I don't think we talk about Christine Daniels enough. Or at least I don't. She had a funny bit yesterday: DUCKS, KINGS Over the weekend: They traveled a long way for a...... , posted on October 02, 2007
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18 Days to Go: And we're off: The city of St. Louis was shocked to see the Blues sign a genuine NHL star. By the way. It's Paul Kariya. Adrian Dater predicts Peter Forsberg will end up playing with the Ducks, who somehow always...... , posted on September 11, 2007
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Sub Puck: Just a few quick things, since I just got back from a week in Seattle (a great sports town that really should have an NHL franchise, especially with the Sonics about to leave. Plus, you have to love the location,...... , posted on August 06, 2007
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Free Will/Free Agency: I'm really surprised about all of the no-trades being given out. Chris Drury and Scott Gomez supposedly got one from the Rangers. And Ryan Smyth got one from the Avs. Of course, Todd Marchant had one in Columbus and that...... , posted on July 03, 2007
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Second!: Tim Panaccio looks at the illustrious history of number two draft picks (login info.): guys like Chris Pronger, Brad Park and Petr Nedved. Of course, this year's draft is supposed to be pretty thin, so I'm not sure there'll be...... , posted on June 22, 2007
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Julien a Bruin: Wow. Claude Julien is the new coach of the Bruins. He's kind of a dull choice. I guess the Bruins will play a defensive system next season. The Bruins might have moved quickly, firing old coach Dave Lewis and hiring...... , posted on June 19, 2007
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Searching for Emilio Estevez: So I guess Ottawa will spend the rest of the off-season spinning last night's game as the result of their being told the first period wouldn't count, and that in the second period, response goals would be waved off. The...... , posted on June 07, 2007
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Go East-West Young Men!: I haven't been knocked out by the play in the finals. Ottawa finally had some legs Tuesday night, but Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere played like it was 2003. He was the difference. And Ottawa coach Bryan Murray splitting up Jason Spezza...... , posted on June 06, 2007
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Self Destruct Mode: The only thing that can stop the Ducks? The Ducks (login info.). Last week was defined by self-destructive athletes. Kobe requested a trade and then took it back. A-Rod responded to allegations of an affair by reverting to his Little...... , posted on June 04, 2007
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A Day Late, A Buck Short: Everyone's done a nice job of wrapping up game one. My two cents? Anaheim can't possibly win giving up that many power plays. During most of the game, all I could really think was that the NHL was trying to...... , posted on May 30, 2007
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Terry Jones Versus TV: This is pretty funny. The Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones is covering Ducks-Wings in California and he couldn't see the games from Detroit because his hotel doesn't get Versus. Also, speaking of Versus, I'm not a huge Ray Ferraro fan, but...... , posted on May 15, 2007
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Panthers Root For Wings: You know who's happy about the Wings making it to the Western Conference finals? The Florida Panthers. As you may recall, the Todd Bertuzzi trade involved draft picks based upon where the Wings go in the playoffs, how well and...... , posted on May 09, 2007
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Three Simple Rules: ESPN's Terry Frei wants a 'Doug Weight Rule' for the NHL. The rule would ban traded players who are becoming free agents from re-signing immediately with the team that traded the player. St. Louis traded Weight to Carolina last year...... , posted on February 23, 2007
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The Culture of Fans, Part II: Yesterday, I talked about the culture of fans and how it's something GMs might want to consider. Today, I have more proof: the Ducks, one of the NHL's best teams right now, isn't drawing fans (login info.). If you look...... , posted on November 21, 2006
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LA Times: '41 Games is Enough': I don't like to do too many media-centric posts, but this is pretty crazy. The LA Times is slashing its hockey coverage. According to BenMaller.com, the Times will no longer send beat reporters to all Kings/Ducks road games. Over at...... , posted on July 18, 2006
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Oilers: 'Wait. The Ducks are in Our Conference? Are You Sure?': Wow. Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, and a first-round pick for Chris Pronger? Wasn't Edmonton asking for Jay Bouwmeester, Nate Horton, and a first round pick like a week or so ago? I wasn't even that shocked by that part of...... , posted on July 04, 2006
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Ducks No Longer Mighty: Anyone else shocked by the Anaheim Ducks' new uniform? I know I sure was. This just in from Mrs. PuckUpdate: "Do they really make them model the uniforms like that? That's so awkward." Yes. Yes it is....... , posted on June 23, 2006
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When Less is More: The Mighty Ducks are already looking ahead to their looming goalie showdown (login info.). I'm more curious about their name. Aren't they supposed to be changing it? I noticed the uniforms seem to de-emphasize their mighy duckiness, but is this...... , posted on May 30, 2006
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Shero a Penguin: OK. Quick update. Ray Shero won't be the next Bruins' GM. He's going to Pittsburgh. Apparently Shero wanted a dysfunctional franchise on the east coast. But he didn't care which one. The Bruins are now looking at Ottawa's Peter Chiarelli....... , posted on May 26, 2006
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Ain't No Cake Like a Johnny Cake: Larry Brooks thinks the OLN/NBC studio shows are boring (login info.). He's pitching Jeremy Roenick as a talking head. I think it would be cool to pair him with Brett Hull. They even kind of look alike. Brooks' point is...... , posted on May 22, 2006
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Chatting with Gary: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to the CP on the NHL's last four surviving teams: Interesting, exciting and not totally unexpected...The system has created the type of competitive balance that we envisioned. Translation: Oh dip! These are the most random four...... , posted on May 19, 2006
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Turin Forever: The Olympics were an interesting event for the NHL. Colorado had 10 players go to the Olympics (the most in the NHL), and just clinched the first round over Dallas, who sent seven players. The New York Rangers had nine...... , posted on April 30, 2006
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Trade Is Over: Geez. I find the trade deadline so draining. The big shocks: Florida hanging on to Olli Jokinen and Chris Gratton, while not dealing goalie Roberto Luongo. So apparently they really want to keep together this core that has produced 24...... , posted on March 10, 2006
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Heal Me Up: Can anything stop Scott Niedermayer? His knee is supposed to be in bad shape, yet it's had just about no impact on his ability to play. Apparently coach Randy Carlyle is prepared to ride the knee until it breaks (login...... , posted on February 06, 2006
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Sykora a Ranger: Yawn. The Rangers traded for Mighty Duck Petr Sykora, giving up only the underperforming defenseman Maxim Kondratiev. This is the trade everyone has known about since like December. I mean, I didn't know the Rangers would give up Kondratiev, who's...... , posted on January 09, 2006
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Don't Call it a Trade: So the Ducks claimed former Blue Jacket Todd Marchant off waivers. Pretty smart. Now the Ducks have whatever they got for Sergei Fedorov AND Marchant. And his no-trade clause. Which doesn't seem like it really worked. The craziest part of...... , posted on November 22, 2005
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Fedorov Puts On a Blue Jacket: Who saw this coming? Sergei Fedorov is now a Blue Jacket. I think the saddest part of all of this is that it's a personality dump disguised as a salary dump disguised as a trade. I don't think it's any...... , posted on November 16, 2005
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Bad Chemistry: Does anyone else get the feeling that something chemical happened in Colorado that made Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne suck? Kariya, as mentioned yesterday, is kicking butt in Nashville and Selanne is rocking Anaheim (again) (login info.). Yet the two...... , posted on November 01, 2005
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Defensemen Pay: So the Mighty Ducks got Scott Niedermayer for four years and $27 million (login info.). Not that money was the issue. Niedermayer said he just wanted the chance to play with his brother, Rob. What I find most interesting, other...... , posted on August 05, 2005
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Something to PuckUpdate About: Wow. I go on vacation for a week and the whole lockout gets solved. I should have done that months ago. I was really happy to see the NHL didn't get any smarter while I was basking in the beauty...... , posted on July 18, 2005
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Hockey Groundhogs: How do you know hockey is almost back? Jeremy Roenick has emerged to start complaining again. Once we hear from Brett Hull you can expect hockey to re-start in a matter of days. It's a rule. Those two only talk...... , posted on June 27, 2005
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In the Air Tonight: Hockey is definitely in the air. The NBA is heading toward a lockout (maybe), which is so crazy when you consider how the NHL has done an amazing job of illustrating just why a sport needs to be played to...... , posted on June 14, 2005
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Great Coaches: Truthfully, I've been kind of bummed about the lack of quality hockey information lately. There's really been no news. I can't really care about a corporate restructuring of the Ducks if I might never see them play again, you know?...... , posted on April 08, 2005
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Ducks Sold: Wow. Disney sold the Ducks (login info.). Whoever pulled that off should get some extra commission: Salesman: Yeah. It's a great team. You're going to love watching them...(quietly) whenever they start playing hockey again. Buyer: I'm sorry. What was that?...... , posted on February 28, 2005
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NHL Confidential: So basically, the only place to get hockey news is the gossip pages. Like did you know party princess Tara Reid, now seeing Sergei Federov, hooked up with him while waiting for her boyfriend to arrive in Miami? Federov moves...... , posted on December 06, 2004
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Sergei Takes a Lover: Those Fedorov brothers sure are busy. First, we learn that Fedor cut a few songs. Now, we learn that Sergei is dating Tara Reid. I pity the man. Reid is supposed to be a huge party girl. In fact, she...... , posted on December 01, 2004
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LockOutUpdate.com: Um. So how about that lockout, huh? Roy Mlakar, the president of the Ottawa Senators, says the Senators are actually saving money by locking out the players. How crazy is that? How can you run a business that's more successful...... , posted on September 17, 2004
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Prospal Strikes Lightning Twice: So last summer the Tampa Bay Lightning saw Vaclav Prospal abruptly split for the Mighty Ducks. He left so quickly, no one was even sure where he went. Now, about a year or so later, he's just as suddenly back...... , posted on August 17, 2004
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Dallas Can't Hem (and Haw) Over A-Line: OK. This is what I've taken to thinking about lately. The Stars just re-signed Jason Arnott, right? Yeah. They did. Trust me. And it seems like the Stars are going to unload Bill Guerin. Still with me? Now out in...... , posted on June 29, 2004
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Carolina Goalies Up: It's pretty interesting how active some teams are in terms of signing players and moving things along. Almost as if they don't think they'll be a lockout next season. Take Carolina, for instance. First they unload Arturs Irbe to Columbus....... , posted on June 21, 2004
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Ottawa Names Murray as Coach: Wow. A Stanley Cup shocker. And it's not about the Stanley Cup. It just happened on the same day as game seven. Ottawa named Bryan Murray, current GM of the Mighty Ducks, as their new coach. Pretty weird to go...... , posted on June 08, 2004
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Winnipeg Jets Part II?; Ducks Win! in '04: According to the Winnipeg Sun, a mystery American team, not the Penguins, is interested in maybe coming to Winnipeg. If I had to guess, I'd say Phoenix, but they already left there once, didn't they? They probably couldn't ask to...... , posted on January 19, 2004
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Comrie Still In Limbo: Somehow it makes me feel a little better that Anaheim GM Bryan Murray is just as in the dark as everyone else about the Oilers demanding $2.53 million before they'll trade him. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe is either crazy or...... , posted on December 16, 2003
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Comrie Must Pay to Quack: Detroit is treating Curtis Joseph pretty badly, sending him down to the AHL one day, bringing him back up the next. But geez. Look at Edmonton and Mike Comrie. That's just brutal. The Oilers are demanding $2.5 million from Comrie...... , posted on December 12, 2003
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Fedorov Still Helpful: How big was Sergei Fedorov's return to Detroit? The New York Times covered it. This is my favorite line: [Ex-Wing Vladimir] Konstantinov sat on the Wings' bench Wednesday night during pregame warm-ups, and Detroit's Chris Chelios told Fedorov to shake...... , posted on December 05, 2003
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Giguere's Big Gear: NHL teams are complaining about Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere's pad size again (l:laexaminer;p:laexaminer). The league compares game video to digital photos which seems kind of hard to me. Why not just randomly measure 12 goalies a week or something? This...... , posted on November 25, 2003
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Anaheim Ready to Play?: Dare we ask? Is Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere getting hot again? Shockingly, Giguere only had two wins going into last night's game against the Leafs (login:laexaminer;password:laexaminer). What's the problem in Anaheim? It's not entirely Giguere. The team's not playing defense...... , posted on November 13, 2003
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Crazy Crazy: I love what a train wreck Detroit has become. Curtis Joseph, their spare goalie, is playing his ass off. Sure his $8 million price tag is high, but they'd really probably be winless in their last seven without him. Thanks...... , posted on November 06, 2003
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It's A Great Sports City After All: The best sports city in the U.S.? According to the Sporting News, it's Anaheim/LA. The Ducks seem to be a huge factor in the Sporting News' decision. Of course, now that the Ducks aren't winning anymore, maybe they'll give the...... , posted on October 28, 2003
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Ducks: 'Losing is A-OK!': The Mighty Ducks are still winless after losing to Boston in overtime Sunday (login: laexaminer; password: laexaminer). Shockingly, Anaheim lost to Boston when veteran Steve Rucchin was tricked into leaving the puck for Boston. Of course, this is a fairly...... , posted on October 21, 2003
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Turco Wants Giguere Money: Will Dallas goalie Marty Turco make it to camp? Good question. He turned down three years at $12 million, though. He supposedly wants closer to $4.5 million a year, which is around what Anaheim gave their goalie, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. If...... , posted on September 12, 2003
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Contract Contact: Ahhh. What would the NHL preseason be without nasty contract issues? Honestly, I sometimes wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, having had a succession of nightmares where there are no contract conflicts, leaving me...... , posted on September 11, 2003
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Goalie Trouble: What's the point of having a goalie if you can't get him signed? That's what they're wondering in Dallas and Anaheim. Neither team can come to terms with their goalie (Dallas with Marty Turco and Anaheim with Jean-Sebastien Giguere [horrible...... , posted on September 10, 2003
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Fedorov's Coming Out: So the Ducks introduced Sergei Fedorov to California (l:laexaminer; p:laexaminer). Everyone is all lovey-dovey now. But if Fedorov doesn't work out in Anaheim, and there's no reason to expect he won't, it's going to be pretty ugly. I was a...... , posted on August 22, 2003
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Oates Mulls Golf: Wow. Adam Oates is thinking about retiring. He's always been miserable wherever he played, so I just kind of assumed he'd never retire. He only played 45 games last season and seems to be looking for something in the neighborhood...... , posted on August 14, 2003
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Leafs Do Research; Goalies Look for Pay Day: Shockingly, the Maple Leafs actually do research on NHL players. George Gross ended up in the Leafs war room and confirms that they do analyze current and future NHL players. I guess that after all the analysis, they decide to...... , posted on August 11, 2003
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Skating Down to Cali...: I know the NHL is really trying to sell hockey in the American south. I can respect and appreciate that. But does the NHL realize most people there don't care about hockey? I guess not. And still, the NHL is...... , posted on August 07, 2003
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Fedorov Quacks and Signs: Well, well, well. It looks like Sergei Fedorov was able to work it out with the Ducks after all, signing for $50 million over 4 years (login: laexaminer; password: laexaminer). I still don't think he's a great fit, though. He's...... , posted on July 21, 2003
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Prospal Can't Duck Ducks: A ha! We found Vaclav Prospal, who left Tampa Bay this week with no destination named. He's a Duck. Prospal is a pretty smooth move for Anaheim. He's an offensive force, but not too much of one. Paul Kariya was...... , posted on July 17, 2003
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Wild Wing Needs a New Friend: This might be a little lame. I'm working on a column about mascots for New York Sports Express and I discovered this page about Wild Wing, the mascot for the Ducks. It hasn't been updated in a while: "What we...... , posted on July 15, 2003
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Colorado's Bargain: Hmmmm. So you might have heard Colorado made some interesting signings last week. The Denver Post has a really interesting look at how the whole deal went down (the whole deal being Colorado signing Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne for...... , posted on July 07, 2003
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Flyer/Duck Notes: I'm very glad the Flyers listened to me and signed defenseman Eric Desjardins to a two-year deal with a third-year option. They also gave role-player Claude Lapointe a two-year deal. I didn't request that one, though. Lapointe is fine, but...... , posted on July 01, 2003
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Duck Report: What are the Ducks doing? Talking about next year (l:laexaminer; p:laexaminer). Every time a team loses, they talk about how they're just going to make a few small adjustments and then kick ass next year. Just once I'd like a...... , posted on June 12, 2003
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One Trick Ponies: Here's the thing about the Devils. All they have is defense. There's nothing else there. So if a team gets hot, like Anaheim did in game six, the Devils are screwed. I mean, let's face it. Scott Stevens nearly killed...... , posted on June 09, 2003
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Scorgy: I'm going to be honest here. I have no idea what New Jersey really did differently last night. But it must have been something. They blew out Anaheim 6-3. It seems like both teams really wanted the win, so both...... , posted on June 06, 2003
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Oh Yeah: Oh yeah. There's another Stanley Cup game Thursday night. Is it me or is nothing at all happening between these games? I keep forgetting the Finals have started....... , posted on June 05, 2003
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How About We Add a Tiger?: Seriously. I meant what I said yesterday. No more talk about how to make hockey better. That means you Lou Lamoriello. And the rest of the Devils. And the Ducks. Lamoriello tells the Times that penalties should go the full...... , posted on June 05, 2003
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There's No Place Like Home Ice: Not to play Tuesday morning quarterback, but just a couple of thoughts after watching the Ducks take down the Devils in overtime of game four: * Haven't the Devils needed a genuine goal-scorer since Alexander Mogilny left in 2001. And...... , posted on June 03, 2003
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Brodeur Laughs; Devils Sleep: I'm glad Devils goalie Martin Brodeur can laugh about the freak goal he gave up to Anaheim. It really wasn't funny at the time, though. ABC cut to a shot of the Ducks bench right after the puck trickled in...... , posted on June 02, 2003
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Ducks Sputter: So are these Finals karma or what? Is this the universe's way of showing Anaheim how it feels to have your offense shut down? The Devils have definitely gotten to the Ducks. The Ducks are hardly even shooting the puck...... , posted on May 30, 2003
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Bigger Nets?: Jim Kelley says to make the nets bigger. That seems hard. Can't we just shrink the goalie equipment? It'll still protect them. Current equipment protects the goalie, but you can usually fit a defenseman or two behind their pads, too....... , posted on May 30, 2003
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Ducks Talk Smack and Get Smacked: OK. So Mighty Duck Dan Bylsma told a radio show that he was looking forward to shaking hands with Devil Scott Stevens after the Ducks win the Stanley Cup. Dumb thing to say, right? All it does is make the...... , posted on May 29, 2003
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A Quack in the Armor: I'm going to be honest here. I think Martin Brodeur coached his forwards on Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Before the first game (which the Devils won 3-0), he talked about the need for the Devils to just put shots on net and...... , posted on May 28, 2003
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Tough Duck: How tough is Mighty Duck Petr Sykora? Pretty tough. He won't return former linemate and current opponent Patrik Elias' phone calls. Now that's tough. And sort of rude....... , posted on May 28, 2003
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Family Ties: A Red Wings fan I work with asked me who I thought would win the Ottawa-New Jersey series once Ottawa had pushed everything to game seven. I joked that the Devils would win since Martin Brodeur wouldn't want to go...... , posted on May 27, 2003
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Stanley Cup in Anaheim: What's the Stanley Cup doing in California (l: laexaminer; p: laexaminer)? Relax. The NHL hasn't decided to just give the Ducks the Stanley Cup. They're still going to have to win four more games. The Cup is just making a...... , posted on May 23, 2003
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TV Time: Jean-Sebastien Giguere is going to be on THE TONIGHT SHOW this Friday. The other guests? Colin Quinn, Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. That's right. An NHLer finally makes THE TONIGHT SHOW (although Brendan Shanahan was on in 1997) and it's...... , posted on May 22, 2003
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We Surrender: How many articles have you read about the Ducks unlikely trip to the finals? Me? I've seen about 1,000. The New York Times makes it 1,001. OK. OK. We get it. No one predicted the Ducks would go this far....... , posted on May 21, 2003
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Unbreakable: It was pretty obvious early on that the Ducks were going to beat the Wild Wednesday night. The Wild came out strong the first five minutes, but Jean-Sebastien Giguere was his usual unstoppable self. The Wild are in a tough...... , posted on May 15, 2003
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Interesting, No?: Looking ahead to the Stanley Cup finals, there are a couple of interesting side stories. * If it's New Jersey and Anaheim, you have brothers Rob and Scott Niedermayer playing against each other. Rob is an Anaheim forward and Scott...... , posted on May 13, 2003
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The Big, Bad Wild?: Do you think Colorado and Vancouver feel like jerks now? Minnesota just doesn't look so tough. Although the way they're scoring against Anaheim, they do look a lot like the Red Wings....... , posted on May 13, 2003
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Duck Tales: I don't know what to tell you kids. The whole world has Mighty Duck fever. How do you know? Today's New York Times has a nice piece on the Ducks. Sure there's a lot on how Anaheim built itself into...... , posted on May 08, 2003
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Dallas Ducks: The Ducks took Dallas! How weird is that? And the crowd was a factor! (l:laexaminer; p:laexaminer) The Duck win was pretty typical. A one-goal win. Solid goaltending from Jean-Sebastien Giguere. And a last minute goal from a recent acquisition, in...... , posted on May 06, 2003
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A Good Night to be a Duck or a Devil: I don't know about you, but if I took a slapshot to the face, I'd want a few days off of work. Not New Jersey Devil Scott Stevens. He gets hit in the face with a slapshot, and he gets...... , posted on May 01, 2003
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Safe is Death; Ducks Finally Lose: Safe is death. That's been Tampa's mantra during this series with New Jersey. It's even written on the wall of their locker room. The point it's supposed to make is that they have to move and shoot the puck. It's...... , posted on April 29, 2003
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Magic Ducks: OK. So the Ducks can score at will. I didn't know that. I don't think Dallas knew, either. They looked pretty surprised Saturday afternoon when the Ducks were able to tie the game with a minute and nine seconds left...... , posted on April 28, 2003
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Cupless!: In the end, Anaheim wasn't that great. Jean-Sebastien Giguere wasn't that unstoppable. Detroit just didn't show up to play. And now they're swept. By Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks. It's kind of like the movie THE MIGHTY DUCKS only without Emilio...... , posted on April 17, 2003
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Pigs Are Flying: Over in Anaheim, the columnists find themselves needing to learn a new skill — the art of talking hockey smack. TJ Simers of the LA Times looks like he's a quick learner. He's telling the world to call Anaheim Hockeytown....... , posted on April 15, 2003
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Wings Duck Ducks: What's in Anaheim's Wheaties? Suddenly they're two games up on the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Maybe I'm naive, but Detroit is just too good to lose to Anaheim. One interesting thing about Anaheim is how much production they're...... , posted on April 14, 2003
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63 Is Enough: Geez. Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 63 saves against Detroit (36 of which came in overtime). He was in goal for 103 minutes, 18 seconds. Detroit's own Curtis Joseph didn't have a horrible night himself. He kept Detroit in it for...... , posted on April 11, 2003
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Ducks Clinch, Bolts Clinch, Pinch Me: Hmmm. That's odd. I'm sober and drug-free, yet I'm about to write that both Tampa Bay and the Mighty Ducks clinched playoff spots. OK. I'm back. Sorry. I had to get up and see if the streets were opening up...... , posted on March 26, 2003
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It Dives Chelios Crazy: Wow. Chris Chelios doesn't pull any punches does he? Out of nowhere he started talking about Anaheim's Paul Kariya. Or as Chelios calls him, "Diver. Biggest one in the league." Well maybe it wasn't out of nowhere. The NHL recently...... , posted on March 03, 2003
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Duck Hunting (For the Post-Season): Oddly enough, the Ducks continue to thrive. Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere just pitched his seventh shutout of the season, beating Columbus and moving the Ducks into sixth in the very tough Western conference. They've lost only five times since December 9....... , posted on February 21, 2003
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Florida: 'What Do You Mean You Want to be Paid?': More new on the Sandis Ozolinsh trade. Number one because I don't understand why Florida let him go for so little and number two because nothing else is going on in hockey (unless you count that synchronized skating event they...... , posted on February 03, 2003
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Ozolinish Traded: Wow. It's a big week for Florida defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh. He's an All-Star starter and he's going to California. Florida traded him (and left wing/defenseman Lance Ward) to Anaheim for center Matt Cullen, defenseman Pavel Trnka and a fourth-round pick...... , posted on January 31, 2003
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Mighty Forcefully Motivated: The Mighty secret of Mighty Duck success? No days off. Coach Mike Babcock gave the team an extra day off during Christmas and the team took a four-game skid. So now, with the All-Star break coming up and the next...... , posted on January 28, 2003
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Anaheim: 'We Need More Scared Players': In Duck news, they're supposedly interested in New York Ranger Radek Dvorak. Ranger coach Bryan Trottier is worried that if Dvorak leaves, he'll have no one to pick on, so the Rangers are asking for a crappy player in return....... , posted on December 30, 2002
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Return of the Streak: Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere has a chance to start his shut-out streak again. The surging Ducks beat Phoenix 4-0. Gigurere's last scoreless streak lasted 237 minutes, 7 seconds. I guess this all explains why he's number three in The Hockey...... , posted on December 23, 2002
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Mighty Ducky Goaltending: OK. I'm going to have to start paying more attention to the Ducks. Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere just competed a 237 minute and seven second shut-out streak. Let's face it. It's a lot easier to be a goaltender now than it...... , posted on December 20, 2002
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Nice work!: I've been complaining about how San Jose won't sign any players until the season is underway (see below). I just wanted to compliment Anaheim for signing number one draft pick Joffrey Lupul for three years. He's looking good in the...... , posted on November 15, 2002
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Big News!: The National Post has some fascinating news: Anaheim isn't a good team. Wait! There's more: They also have low attendance numbers. Tomorrow: The Rangers have a high payroll....... , posted on October 29, 2002
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Ducks For Sale: Good morning. Disney is looking to unload their Mighty Ducks (and the just-clinched Angels). Part of the sale is that the team has to stay in Anaheim, though. And whoever buys the Ducks has their work cut out for them....... , posted on September 27, 2002
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