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Training Camp Story Lines and More |
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Lots of Ducks stuff to catch up on, so lets do this.
Training Camp Story lines
The Ducks along with the rest of the NHL opened training camp on Thursday. The big news is that there may very well be no big news in camp. The roster is mostly settled and players are more or less jockeying for lines. I wanted to take a look at the top three story lines.
1 – Goalie
This is a topic that has been discussed in this space ad nauseam, but it is still the biggest issue facing the team. Frederik Andersen goes into camp as the incumbent and likely number one goalie. John Gibson will have convincingly beat Andersen to become the go to guy. I still believe starting the season in Norfolk would be best for Gibson's long-term development, but if he can prove he's the best, then he should get the job. Jason LaBarbera will be the backup if Gibson goes down. Igor Bobkov was impressive during the futures game and is the dark horse spoiler as the backup.
2 – So Much Talent, So Little Space
Devante Smith-Pelly's (DSP) new one way contract leaves maybe two forwards spots open. Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, Thompson, Beleskey, Maroon, Silfverberg, Cogliano, Palmieri and DSP are locks. Dany Heatley has no job security, but he would have to seriously bomb to get cut. In my opinion, Emerson Etem, Rickard Rackell, Nic Kerdiles, Tim Jackman, Stefan Noesen and maybe try out candidate Dave Steckel are competing for a fourth line forward and 13th forward slots. It just depends on what kind of flexibility coach Bruce Boudreau wants.
The defensemen are also a set group. Although he was a bit of a long-shot to make the team, Shea Theodore's recent injury may give someone an new life. Five players are solidly on the team: Fowler, Beauchemin, Lindholm, Lovejoy and Stoner. Most likely Sami Vatanen makes the squad as well. One of Mark Fistric or Bryan Allen will be a Duck, the other will be gone. If they can trade Allen's $3.5M salary, he will be the odd man out.
3 – Is There a Big Trade Coming
A team can never be too deep, but there are many more talented players than roster spots available. One thing the Ducks lack is an unquestionable top-six left wing. In their favor, they have over $9M in cap space. With players like Andrew Cogliano (4yrs, $12M remaining) or Bryan Allen (1yr, $3.5M remaining) the Ducks can trade a package that includes a talented veteran, some high quality prospects AND eating salary to get what they need. GM Bob Murray is in an enviable negotiating position.
Futures Continued
Last week, I gave some analysis of the dark horse prospects Anaheim fielded in their prospect games. Some well known prospects performed very as well. Comeback kid, Stefan Noesen had a goal and two assists. Nic Kerdiles, the Irvine native, had three assists. 2014 1st round pick Nick Ritchie had a goal and a shootout winning goal. All in all the kids looked good.
What to do about Teemu?
I have been asked by a few of you to comment on the Teemu Selanne – Bruce Boudreau controversy. I wanted to wait and let the situation play out a bit and I plan on devoting a full column to this in the near future. For now, the question is does Selanne's criticism of his coach have merit? Right now I'm leaning a bit toward Boudreau in this situation.
-Ed
Anaheim Ducks Blogger • 
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