Silence is Golden, aka Why No News is Good News
I haven’t written much about the Ducks lately, because there really hasn't been much to write about this summer. I'd like to think that is a good thing. To me, the lack of news speaks volumes about the stability of the roster. Is it big news if Shane O'Brien signed a 2way contract or Josh Manson got an extension? I like both players, but neither is in the top seven Ducks defensemen.
I guess I could rant about something like John Gibson being the odd goalie out after Anton Khudobin was acquired from Carolina. I would do that, but I'm not sure that is true. There could be a trade or Gibson could smoke both Khudobin and Frederik Andersen in the preseason, so there really isn't much to comment on.
As the far as skaters go, the Ducks have 13, NHL caliber forwards including the injured Nate Thompson and seven NHL defensemen. Not much doing there, BUT the situation may be a little more open than it looks. It will be a topic of a blog in the near future.
What is News
Restricted Free Agents is the “short answer.… This offseason only Jakob Silfverberg and Carl Hagelin remain unsigned. Ducks General Manager Bob Murray will get deals done with both players and neither side will be disappointed. As for future RFAs, Gibson, Andersen, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Rickard Rakell and Simon Despres all have contracts that expire after this season. I'd like to see one or two of those players get an extension before camp opens, but its not an urgent situation and they are behind Silfverberg and Hagelin on Murray's to do list.
OpEd
The OpEd section is devoted to my opinions. I wanted to comment on some recent happenings.
* Quebec City and Las Vegas answered the NHL's call for expansion consideration. Pros and Cons exist in both situations, but I am all for a 32 team league. Ek's eight division plan also seems like a good idea. The biggest question I have about Vegas right now is if a franchise gets placed in the city, hockey will be most likely be removed from the sports books. Is that a good thing for the league? Losing representation in leagal sports books would be a killer for the other three major sports.
* Anyone else looking forward to Andrew Cogliano, Hagelin and Vatanen on a breakout from the Ducks own end?
* to believe that some very good players remain unsigned free agents. Christian Ehrhoff and Curtis Glencross are two players that can help just about every team in the league.
*From the Chuck Norris file, here is a video of Capitals prospect Stanislav Galiev eating a cobra's still beating heart and chasing it down with the snake's own blood. Keep in mind he ate this after a roasted scorpion appetizer. http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/07/21/washington-capitals-stanislav-galiev-eats-snake-heart . Now that is a tough guy!
* Q) Why does a two sentence blurb about Ryan Kessler get five times the comments a regular blog does? A) Because he is so hated around the league that casual fans feel compelled to comment on him. For the record, I still like the move.
* Living in a hotel room for six weeks I'd like to share my thoughts on the tiny house living “craze.… Anyone with kids that decides to make that lifestyle change, is an idiot. If it was just me or even me and my wife, there might be a way to make it work. In this case three or more is definitely a crowd. Upon further reflection, anyone who enjoys having more than five clean shirts at the same time might want to reconsider a tiny house.
* Finally, an overdue goodbye to Adam French. Over the years, I have enjoyed reading his blogs on hockeybuzz. I will miss him.
-Ed