Bargain Shopper Murph scores in salary dump

Ducks have announced the acquisition of center Mathieu Perreault from the cap challenged Washington Capitals in exchange for depth for non-roster forward John Mitchel and a 4th round selection in the 2014 draft.

With Ryan Getzlaf, Nick Bonino and Saku Koivu locked in, Perreault is likely penciled in as the Ducks new 4th line center. Obviously Ducks aren’t convinced that any of Daniel Winnick, Peter Holland or Rickard Rakell are the answer, at least for now.

The 5′ 10″, 185# Perreault has played 159 NHL games racking up 30g 37a 70pts +17 with 70 PIMS. Maybe most importantly he’s gone 50.8 and 51.7 in the faceoff circle in his first two full seasons in the NHL. He also has 11 playoff games under his belt, going 1-4 w/+3 in the Caps 7 Quarter Final loss to the Rangers last season.

Via Ducks News:

“Adding a young, quality center to the mix makes us that much deeper,” said Ducks executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Murray. “”I thought we needed some additional speed and scoring, and he is a feisty competitor. Having played under Bruce was also a factor in acquiring him, that’s another positive. He makes us a better team today.”

A native of Drummondville, Quebec, Perreault played three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with Acadie-Bathurst from 2005-08. He won the Jean Beliveau Trophy as the league’s leading scorer in 2007-08 (34-80=114 in 65 games) and earned the Michel Briere Trophy as the league’s MVP in 2006-07 after scoring 41-78=119 points in 67 games.

Blog Summary: Perreault is a high energy player with some scoring upside. He could move up the depth chart upon Saku Koivu’s anticipated retirement. He brings an affordable $1.05m cap hit and will be RFA in 2014.

Cap impact: He brings an affordable $1.05m cap hit and will be RFA in 2014. The move leaves our Ducks with $1.8m in cap space per CapGeek. Any further acquisitions will probably involve a roster player going the other way.

In another player move, Nolan Yonkman was placed on waivers prior to sending him to Norfolk. Ducks have until 5:00pm tomorrow to finalize their opening night roster.

PostGame: Quick hits

Ducks dominated the first and faded in the second and third. You can credit Quick for stealing one. You can also blame our Ducks for failing to finish on numerous scoring opportunities. As usual the truth is a little bit of both but I lean toward the latter. One goal is just not enough to win most games.

Both goalies appear well adapted to the smaller nets.

Getzlaf went 12-8 on FO’s. Rakell finished 7-7 after starting the game 2-6. Bonino went a woeful 6-17; Winnick 3-5. Getz did benefit by having Flash on RW, who is quick to the puck on draws.

Penner had a couple-few good moments but was otherwise invisible out there. He might be miscast at LW. He had two great years stat wise in Edmonton, playing mostly center.

Ben Lovejoy earned a 3-year contract based on his performance in the shortened season. Tonight he looked like the guy the Penguins gave up on and with good reason. Kings isolated on him and took full advantage.

Cam Fowler had a couple of chances but seemed to shooting into Quick. He did this last season as well. Cam just isn’t finding the twine yet. Most natural goal scorers see net and hit the spot.

After building a 3-1 preseason record, our Ducks have lost 2 in a row and can only limp into the season with a mediocre 4-3 or 3-4 record. To paraphrase the Righteous Bros., our Ducks have lost that winning feeling, now it’s gone, gone, gone. They can earn it back but it’s uphill now.

 

Dustin Penner gets his divorce

Dustin Penner, posting in a Tweet that a TMZ story “isn’t entirely accurate but you guys have your fun.” We decided, okay let’s have some fun.

According to the TMZ report, culled from this story in the International Business Times, actress Jessica Welch is one player away from scoring a hockey marriage hat- trick.

The former Mrs. Richard Zednik and newly x-Mrs. Dustin Penner is now UFA after an L.A. County court Judge granted Pancake’s motion for dissolution.

If you check out her photo-gallery, scoring again shouldn’t be an issue for her. The only question is who will be making her next future alimony payment. In most divorces, spousal support ends on remarriage. Who will give Pancake the same assist he gave Richard Zednik?

This is hockey. Someone has to step up and take one for the team.

Jessica petitioned for the dissolution back in February of 2012 and the couple had a Marriage Settlement Agreement in place. The system, meaning lawyers and the court, were obviously slow to process a done deal. Penner found the way to get them all to pick up their respective games a notch.

The motion was granted September 9.

Pre-camp tips

Ducks are landing and nesting for the new season. Guys are showing up at the rinks for pre-camp skates. It’s all low impact non-check scrimmages. Often called Pond Hockey or just shinny. The kind of hockey that frustrates a Bryan Allen or Mark Fistric and allows a slick sleuth like Kyle Palmieri to virtually to hot dog it at will.

Guys are working on skating, puck handling, passing, shooting and finding their timing. It’s important work. Primary attention is given to their agility, followed by timing and in the last few days prior to camp opening, chemistry or teamwork. This latter testing too is about timing though not just your own, but with your teammates.

What is established now will set the foundation for how and when the team comes together during the season and hopefully playoffs.

At camp the degree of difficulty is magnified exponentially. The moment the hitting starts, the competition gets brutally honest. This camp is will be our Ducks most competitive camp in years.

The team is set in goal but step outside the crease and there are question marks everywhere. Every reporter, blogger and poster is busily filling out their depth charts and most of us will be proven wrong.

Half of the forward jobs are open. You can pencil guys in here and there but nothing is set outside of Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, Koivu, Cogliano and Winnick. Factually, the best we can do is handicap the competition at this point.

The D is similar. Toni Lydman retired. Sheldon Souray is out until Christmas. Francois Beauchemin will hopefully start the season but will have likely missed most of his camp. If Beauch starts, he starts a month behind.

Virtually half the team will get sorted out in camp. Bob Murray has finally created the camp he wants.

One result we might expect is TOI will be more evenly divided among the forwards. Fowler and Beauchemin will carry the heavy load on the back line.

I definitely see a playoff roster out there. Probably with home ice advantage in the first round.

Updated: More Murray on Teemu’s decision

It’s really beginning to sound like that Meatloaf diddy:

I want you, I need you
But there ain’t no way
I’m ever gonna love you, now
Don’t feel sad, ‘cuz
2 out of 3 ain’t bad

First Murray doesn’t leave cap room, then yesterday NHL.com reports, ”

“If he’s sure he wants it bad, then we’ll make it work,” Murray said. “Whatever I have to do. I don’t care when he tells me. We’ll find a way. We’ve got lots of cap space [and] we have enough contract [room].”

Who is this putz to question Teemu Selanne’s desire? His professionalism? I’ve occasionally referred to Bob Murray as a B Market Bozo and he continues to live down to that estimate.

And how does he make cap room? Another salary dump? Send one of Penner, Cogliano or Sbisa to Norfolk? Maybe Teemu will play for the league minimum?

The thing here is, if you think a guy is done and you don’t want him back at least show him, yourself, your employer and your employer’s customers enough respect to say so. Teemu at least, deserves that much.

CBS Sports also thought the Murray’s comment newsworthy. A poster had an interesting comment:

redwings1969

Teemu is a first ballot hall of famer and one of the best to ever play in the NHL.   Unfortunately though he’s just not the same player anymore ( can’t be at 43) and regressed in a big way last year.  The overall stats don’t even tell the story, not at all.   This 12-12-24 line is actually flattering to say the least.   After he scored 5 goals and 16 points in his first 18 games the last 2 months of the season didn’t go so well for him.   In his last 28 games Teemu only scored 7 goals and added 1 assist to that for a total of 8 points during that time period.   In a league with a hard cap unless he agrees to play for 1 million dollars I don’t think he should come back.  If he couldn’t produce for the final 2 months of a 48 game season, how can he produce for 82 games at 43 years old?

Who knows what caused Teemu’s slump as the season wound down. What I saw is that he paced himself. He can still jet through the neutral zone. What he didn’t do was make the sharp quick cuts and dekes. Guys who Teemu deked out of their cups just a year before were now timing him and tying him up.
In other words, the north/south speed is still there but the agility wasn’t. The problem with Teemu’s slump is that he wasn’t getting as many scoring chances. He couldn’t put himself in position to score as often.
This contrasts to Corey Perry’s playoff scoring slump that wasn’t the result of fewer chances. All players will tell you that so long as the chances are coming they try not to be concerned about slumps.

I shoot straight enough to recognize what I don’t know. I don’t know what caused Teemu’s slump. Was it Bonino going out with his injury? The compressed schedule? An undisclosed injury?

I do know what I saw though.

BackChecking with: czhokej part deaux

Yesterday, czhokej and I indulged a rare chance to hang out, share a salad, flirt with waitresses and chat Ducks hockey. The food was tasty, the waitresses good sports and the chat compelling. Here are some quick hits:

First up was the top line and all the events surrounding it. New contracts to Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The Bobby Ryan trade. The signing of Dustin Penner. cz pointed out that Dustin Penner was the top scorer on the Kid Line during our Ducks Cup year.  Pancake was brought in to stabilize the top line. If he’s successful much of the day-to-day roster and roles fall into place. If not, coach will continue to rotate guys off and on, in and out through a seemingly endless search for consistency.

A couple of minutes into the now annual is Teemu coming back, we realized we weren’t sure where he would play. As if to punctuate the moment a mushroom rolled off my fork. Saku’s role has changed and Teemu isn’t a checking line player. First line? For now Dustin Penner is penciled in alongside the Big Dogs. Second line? Does he have enough left to beat out the up and coming Emerson Etem? First unit PP? Teemu lost that job to Nick Bonino and Bobby Ryan last season. When he did get first unit PP line it came when Getzlaf was moved to the point.

If Penner fails, maybe Teemu is the solution on the top line. Much of Penner’s success or lack thereof actually depends on which Getzlaf hits the ice in October. Is it the dominating player we saw during the shortened season or do we get his evil twin, the perimeter playing Giveaway Getz who glides around the ice instead of skating? Eight million doesn’t seem to buy what it used to get you.

While I see Ducks Iron Man Andrew Cogliano as trade bait, we wondered if he would return to the checking line. Cogliano and Emerson Etem showed genuine chemistry on the PK. Could they continue to be a dangerous duo in ES situations?

Coach has said he expects bigger things from Matt Beleskey next season. Could Matt produce those “bigger things” alongside Koivu & Winick? Beleskey would be the shooter and adds a physical element to the checking line.

Nick Bonino will center a line. There’s plenty of competition among his potential linemates. Selanne, Etem are the leading candidates on RW. Palmieri, Silfverberg on LW.

cz notes that Cam Fowler was much improved defensively last season. I noted Scot Niedermayer’s influence as Cam seemed to be taking that rover-D role and trying to control the tempo when he has the puck.

We both hope for more offense from the back line. I see it coming from a luckier and less snake bit Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen. cz is keeping faith with Luca Sbisa. We think Sheldon Souray will take a few games off in back to back and 3 games in 4 nights situations. Though he and Beauchemin should be counted on for 5-6 goals.

The goaltending is solid to spectacular.

Replacing Bobby Ryan and possibly Teemu Selanne won’t be easy. Still, these Ducks could be a real offensive powerhouse next season. Consider, Perry 35-40, Getzlaf 25, Penner, Etem & Palmieri 20+, Bonino, Cogliano, Silfverberg 15+, Koivu, Beleskey 12, Fowler & Vatanen 10. That’s over 200 goals without anybody having a career year or exceeding expectations. Add a handful of goals each from Beauchemin, Souray, Sbisa and the fourth line. All of a sudden we’re enjoying a team that can score anywhere and anytime.

With excellent goaltending behind them the 2013-14 Ducks are a well-organized team primed for success.

One on One with Corey Perry

THN’s Tyson Geick cornered Corey Perry for a quick interview. Pears talked about how much fun he was having at Drew Doughty’s Grand Slam for Cancer, looking forward to the Olympics and the Bobby Ryan trade.

Pears called Ryan a good friend and teammate and added, “Everybody will have to step up to replace his 25-30 goals.”

Bobby Ryan set the bar a little higher than Perry seems to remember. Ryan scored 31, 35, 34 and 31 goals in four full seasons as a Duck.

The trade was a salary dump pure and simple.  There’s no way our Ducks are a better team today than we were before the trade. OTOH, could we have kept Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry for less than $8+m?

When you add it all up, Ryan’s contract just became too expensive in a declining cap year.

 

Murray: “We’re not done yet.”

That was Ducks GM Bob Murray’s closing statement to conclude Select-a-seat according to blogger Chris D-5 of Anaheim Calling.

Fact is, everything Chris D-5 has reported from Select-A-Seat was previously reported on this blog leading up to the draft. It’s always good to get confirmation in public comments made by the GM though.

Hopefully, this is an indication that our Ducks recognize Mr. Murray’s credibility gap and moves are underfoot to correct the widely held perception. If so, it is welcome and long overdue!

What you can and should appreciate from the GM’s, “We’re not done yet” comment is that he has until the trade deadline before he’s done affecting the 2013-14 roster.

The key times for a trade to happen are late August, along about mid-November around the 20 game or quarter-pole mark teams tend to make need assessments and perform SWOT analysis.

Unless there’s a steal of a deal, look for the serious trade chatter to begin about mid-November. The org is high on Nick Bonino. What isn’t known yet is where he fits, top six or 2nd six. Along with Emerson Etem, Bones may actually be our hardest working Duck.

Peter Holland has nothing left to prove or learn in the AHL. Is he ready to take his game to the next level?

Rickard Rakell will also be pushing for a spot.

Sami Vatanen is the leading candidate to replace UFA Toni Lydman.

Our Ducks have fewer questions entering this season than last. Ironically there is also more competition for jobs from within the org. Especially on the wings.

The roster will most likely consist of 14 forwards, 7 D-men and 2 goalies.

While Murph isn’t done, nothing is imminent. Look for our Ducks to enter camp with the current 23 man roster and make the next moves sometime after the 20 games into the new season.

Ryan Getzlaf is again the key. If the Captain starts strong our Ducks will be winning. This will allow Murph to show some patience with the supporting cast. If Getz starts slow look for Anaheim to be shopping sooner rather than later.

Your Ducks w/Penner 2.0

As discussed with czhokej, the Dustin Penner signing certainly changes the on ice look of our Ducks. Pancake fell out of favor during his time in Edmonton and L.A. He sat with down with GM Bob Murray and gave acceptable point by point explanations for how his career nose-dived following his departure from Anaheim via offer sheet during the summer of 2007.

Wow, was that really six years ago? During those ensuing years Ducks tried a succession of guys, including Todd Bertuzzi, Evgeny Artyukhin, Brad Winchester, Jarkko Ruutu and of course Bobby Ryan. Only Ryan surpassed Penner in offense. None of those ever replaced him as a complete power forward package.

If Penner washes out here as he did in Edmonton and L.A., he unceremoniously slides down the depth chart until he’s a healthy scratch, gets waived or is part of a trade. At $2m for one year, Pancake doesn’t represent a big investment or risk.

Should Honda Center prove to be Dustin Penner’s happy place, lookout cookout as John Ahlers likes to say. Pancake returns to our Ducks with the respect and affection of team leaders Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin, all his teammates from the Cup team. He doesn’t enter the room in a getting to know everybody mode.

Notice though that while Penner has their respect and affection, he’ll have to earn their trust. To do that he must produce.

Here’s a capsulized look at our Ducks lines and pairings with the current roster.

Getzlaf-Penner-Perry/Fowler-Lovejoy: Can’t imagine Gabby will put the Souray-Beauchemin out there with the top line. The Big Dogs are already arguably the slowest top line in the NHL. Jeez, a five man unit where Beauchemin is the fastest skater? Not likely. Lovejoy is very questionable in a top 2 defender role.

Bonino-Silfverberg-Etem/Souray-Beauchemin: Obviously this should be posted in pencil as it is subject to change. Bones will be challenged by Holland, Silfverberg by Palmieri and Etem by Teemu Selanne, if Flash returns. No certainty Souray is a lock for top four ES-TOI either.

Koivu-Winnick-Cogliano/Allen-Sbisa: The checking line is likely set for a return engagement. Sbisa will be challenged and maybe dropped a notch or two down the depth chart in favor of Vatanen and/or Lindholm.

Holland-Palmieri-Beleskey: Look like the leading candidates for fourth line duty. Rakell could slip past Holland. Palmieri might be traded. Beleskey seems like the only one we can ink in. Devante Smith-Pelley could challenge Beleskey but Coach likes my Homey and envisions an envisions a larger role for Matt.

It’s crowded between the pipes as Hiller, Fasth, Andersen and Gibson will each get a good look and eval from our Ducks brain trust.

Intangibles and possible surprises:

– At select-a-seat Gabby described Nick Bonino as a very hard-working hockey player. Bones may lose his spot on the depth chart but somebody will have to beat him out of it.

– Again, Dustin Penner enjoyed his best season in the NHL as a center. Both he and Silfverberg could be options. Peter Holland, Rickard Rakell and Andrew Cogliano are also in the mix. Long shot Antoine Laganiere impressed me at conditioning camp.

– Cam Fowler did everything but light it up last season. His break through year should come in one of the next two seasons.

– Another significant trade could come at any time after the brain trust determines that we need an upgrade. Likely positions are 2nd line center and top 4 D.

– With Bobby Ryan traded, our new odd Duck appears to be Kyle Palmieri. He’s been given a qualifying offer. Ducks don’t have to negotiate with him. For a guy they express confidence in though, Kyle is certainly being treated like the proverbial red-headed step child.

– A key factor heading into his first full season as head coach will be stabilizing, within a reasonable degree of coaching discretion, player roles. This should be accomplished by the 20 game mark of the season.

Our Ducks look to ice 3 scoring lines and a checking line. Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne won’t be replaced easily. The secondary scoring could come by committee. We certainly have quality scoring depth. Still, our Ducks have the look of a one line team. If we don’t get at least 65 goals out of the top line, these Ducks won’t make the playoffs.

The parts are there for the makings of a playoff team. If the team comes together. They may have the horses to do more.

These are now Ryan Getzlaf’s Anaheim Ducks. If he isn’t ready to go full bore in October well…..it’s going to be a long season with a quick death.

Note: Anaheim Calling blogger Chris D-5 did a nice job capturing quotes at Select-a-seat. It’s a pretty good read.

Penner signing signifies Getzlaf’s expanding influence

Following Penner’s signing, OCR beat writer Eric ‘Ice” Stephens tweeted that “friend and ex-teammate Ryan Getzlaf  pushed for return.”

It isn’t unusual that the captain of the team, making more than $8m per year would have a little juice inside the org. What happened next though is the stuff of intrigue.

Bob Murray took the liberty of speaking for coach Bruce Boudreau on how Penner will be used. L.A. Times reporter Lance Pugmire reported:

Ducks General Manager Bob Murray said he and Coach Bruce Boudreau “really hope” Penner can join Getzlaf and Perry and provide “stabilization” to what has been a revolving door.

“It would sure make things easier for us,” Murray said.

It could well be that Bob Murray is accurately relating the sentiments of his head Coach. Call me skeptical. If so though, it contrasts with everything Gabby has told us about how he organizes his forward lines. Like many others, Gabby relies on set twosomes and moves a third guy on and off a line. Granted most often, a coach will adapt his philosophy according to the roster.

IF, Ducks GM Bob Murray isn’t accurately reflecting the sentiments of his coach, which I suspect is the case, it can only indicate one thing. The Captain is using the GM to send a cryptic message to the Coach. Getzlaf isn’t just “pushing for Penner.” Getz is trying to influence where Penner will fit on the team.

We’re not talking any coach here. While many a coach has a tough guy rep, Bruce Boudreau has the gravitas to bench a two-time Hart Trophy winner. Gabby also reduced face of the franchise Teemu Selanne’s TOI down the stretch and in the playoffs.

It’s one thing to talk tough. Living it is quite another.

Ducks commitment to Ryan Getzlaf is for eight years. The commitment to Bruce Boudreau is two years. Should push come to shove, the org is invested in Getzlaf. And he (Getz) knows it.

On the other hand, Bruce Boudreau has been active in hockey longer than Ryan Getzlaf has been alive. Getz doesn’t have a move that Gabby hasn’t seen or tried himself.

With Getzlaf expanding and exercising his newly found juice, the Ducks room just got a lot more interesting.