Awful
There aren't any positives worth mentioning in the 4-0 loss Friday night to Columbus. Getting shut out at home by a .500 at best team, is no place to find encouragement. Going into the contest, optimism was running high. GM Bob Murray had ended his stalemate with defenseman Hampus Lindholm right after the Ducks smoked Nashville 6-2 and center Rickard Rakell was back practicing with the team.
All good teams have clunkers every once in a while. At this level even bad teams have talented players. In the grand scheme of an 82 game season, one bad loss in October isn't a back breaker. It was more like the team just got in the fast lane and hit a big speed bump.
I-5 Southbound
Saturday morning Shea Theodore and Dustin Tokarski were sent down to San Diego. While the big team has a three day break, why not get these guys some extra playing time. Jonathan Bernier has resumed taking shots in practice, so its unlikely Tokarski will be back any time soon. Theodore is too good to be down long.
Roll the Dice
One thing is clear, the Ducks need secondary scoring to be successful and they don't have much. They are cap tied so short of a major shakeup there isn't much to do. There are a few moves though that would help their lack of scoring depth.
First Clayton Stoner needs to go. It doesn't seem like Carlyle particularly likes using him. For the amount of cap relief Anaheim gets by sending him to San Diego, they might as well include some incentive to a club willing to take on his contract instead. If it takes a mid to upper level prospect like Julius Nattinen as part of the deal, that's the price Murray has to pay for much needed cap room.
How about taking a flier on Teemu Pulkkinen. When the Ducks waived Emerson Etem, they should have claimed him from Minnesota. Sure he's been down, but maybe some ice time with Getzlaf could be the pick me up he needs to fulfill his potential. Either Joseph Cramarossa or Michael Sgarbosa gets demoted to make room.
Even when Rakell and Lindholm return, the status quo roster won't be good enough to contend for a cup. To be clear, what I suggested were “setup… moves. They buy time and keep the Ducks competitive without sacrificing a contributor to the main roster. The old “get in position to be in position.… As the new year approaches Murray can look at more impactful changes, which is his preferred method of operating.
Orange is the New Unwatchable
Going into its second year, which is a fair enough time to make an observation, the Ducks alternate jerseys don't work on TV. I would suggest a few tweaks to make them more viewer friendly.
* Make the numbers white, so they stand out. * The current tint of orange is too bright. A slightly more muted shade would be easier on the eyes.
- Ed