My team, the Anaheim Ducks, are officially done with their season and many Ducks fans, like myself, are feeling the pain and horror of what has happened during these playoffs. But like all other fans out there, we have to move on and sometimes try to forgive and forget.
The Ducks lost their Game 6 to the Nashville Predators 4-2 effectively eliminating the Ducks from the playoffs and allowing Nashville to move on for the first time in their franchise history. I guess that paves the way for Nashville to continue its hot defense and scoring in the second round.
But we're not talking about the Nashville Predators. We're talking about the Ducks. Now that their season is over, what are we going to expect next from this great franchise? Is Teemu Selanne going to be back next season or his career over? Will Jonas Hiller be replaced in goal by Ray Emery or Dan Ellis or will he be able to counter his vertigo and come back and be a starting goaltender again? What's Doug Murray going to do in the offseason with trading and free agents? Will he make a shot at current Dallas Stars player Brad Richards or will he give some of his rookies a chance to fight for a spot?
Well. Let's take a look at each option one part at a time. First, the Teemu Selanne saga. Yes, we all know that Teemu Selanne had a heck of a year, scoring tying goals with only six seconds left in the game, or scoring big goals in games that count. He has been that effective on the ice this season for the Ducks and, besides Corey Perry (the hands-down Hart Trophy winner), has been the most effective Duck I've seen in recent weeks. So I really don't know if he might come back or if he's decided to call it a career here. He's around 40 years old and it looks like he's scoring like he's still in his early 30's. I'm guessing this is his last stint as a Duck, but I ponder this question for Teemu: Why quit while you're hot?
On to the next topic. Will Jonas Hiller be an effective goaltender for the Ducks again? Or has he lost that job to Dan Ellis or Ray Emery? Well, Ray Emery has been doing pretty well for the Ducks in the last part of the season as well as in the playoffs, but I don't know if he's going to stick around in Anaheim. Dan Ellis has proven himself as a reliable starting goaltender, but he really hasn't had that much action since he left Nashville a couple summers ago. Jonas Hiller's vertigo symptoms might be getting better, but you still don't know if he's fully recovered from these effects. So, it looks like it's going to be a toss-up on this question, because we don't know what will happen to Jonas Hiller and if Ray Emery and Dan Ellis are going to be the big factors in goal for Anaheim in the years to come. I guess goaltending will be the big issue here for Anaheim going forward. We'll see how it goes throughout the summer.
Now on to my last topic after general manager Bob Murray's offseason. Will he sprint for a big free agent and sign a guy like Dallas Stars' forward Brad Richards? Or is there that chance he could give his rookies a chance to prove themselves? I think he might get Brad Richards at one point, but that seems a little far to talk about right now and the fact that the free agent list doesn't come out until after the playoffs, so I don't know much about the free agency. I think, however, that Bob Murray has a good collection of rookies that he thinks can really prove themselves at the next level. Emerson Etem, Kyle Palmeiri, Nick Bonino, and Jake Newton are excellent candidates to have breakout seasons next year. Cam Fowler was pretty good as a rookie this year on that defensive line. Matt Beleskey has had his share of greatness from time to time so it all can depend. I think Kyle Palmeiri has the likely chance of moving up, as well as Nick Bonino. Both have excellent skill as a center and winger, respectively, so there's that chance that Bonino and Palmeiri will have their last lickings of the AHL and finally join the NHL permanently. All's floating around the NHL offseason and we'll see what Bob Murray decides to do.
Well, it seems I pretty much covered everything. Thank you, Ducks fans, for your loyal support to the team and the organization this season. Look forward to cheering on the Ducks again next year. But keep an eye on my blog, though. You never know what I can write about. As for the rest of you puckheads, looks like the Ducks season is finally at its close and things keep going forward for everybody else.
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