Without a Proper Defense, Ducks Left Rudderless in Pond

I got into a small disagreement with a follower of ours on Twitter, debating whether or not the Anaheim Ducks are a playoff team. While we kept it civilized, the discussion quickly turned to the ugly topic of worst blue line in the league. And, as far as riches-to-rags stories go, that of the Ducks’ once-storied blue line is as close as you can get to poverty-stricken.

The plight of the Ducks’ blue line is far from being a case of feast or famine. Its degradation can best be described as a roller-coaster ride reserved for those most prone to violent mood swings.

Go back a mere four years to the Ducks’ acquisition of defenseman Chris Pronger from the Edmonton Oilers for a package that included forward Joffrey Lupul. The resulting corps also included Scott Niedermayer, the ever-underrated Francois Beauchemin, and steady stay-at-home contributors Sean O’Donnell, Kent Huskins, and Joe DiPenta as well.

The Ducks went on to win the Stanley Cup that year, but it was the following season that the team’s defense arguably reached its apex from which it came tumbling down in the more-recent past. In 2007-2008, Mathieu Schneider and Marc-Andre Bergeron were added to complement the back-end, at least in an offensive capacity.

In 2008-2009, however, Schneider, whose 39 points in the previous campaign had made him the second-highest-scoring d-man on the team behind Pronger, was shipped off to the Atlanta Thrashers for the cheaper and less-effective Ken Klee. Beauchemin was limited to just 20 games. And a past-his-prime Bret Hedican and depth-defensemen Bret Festerling and Sheldon Brookbank joined the team.

Trade-deadline acquisitions Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski rounded out the team’s defense, once the team had a legitimate chance at making the playoffs. As an eighth-seed, the Ducks bounced the number-one-ranked San Jose Sharks in a stunning upset, only to lose to the Detroit Red Wings in the next round. The run was cause for optimism as the Ducks entered the post-season as the hottest team in the league. However, any confidence in the team’s future was unwarranted moving forward.

This past season, Pronger was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers, Whitney was traded away in favour of an older and more expensive Lubomir Visnovsky, and Steve Eminger finally got around to his pre-requisite stint with the Ducks during his 30-team tour. Put simply, general manager Bob Murray’s moves made about as much sense as a lightweight on an out-of-character drinking binge, his slurring a sure sign that he’s in over his head... if there are any brain cells left.

The Ducks missed the playoffs and in another curious move Murray re-signed Wisniewski to a one-year deal only to deal him to the New York Islanders for a mere mid-round draft pick. It’s understandable to want to rebuild, but Wisniewski was a legitimate second-pairing defenseman and giving him away for just a draft pick, a conditional one at that, is akin to giving up a lottery ticket with three out of the seven winning numbers. You may not have won the jackpot, but you are guaranteed at least one sinful weekend in Las Vegas. And Murray just threw it away as if the Islanders were some charity case. As bad as the Islanders may end up being, here’s a newsflash: the Ducks are going to be worse.

With Niedermayer now retired and Murray signing Toni Lydman and Andy Sutton this off-season, the Ducks now only have three defenders with significant NHL experience and Visnovsky is the only one capable of putting the puck in the net. With youngster Luca Sbisa waiting in the wings and the recently drafted Cam Fowler alongside him, also possessing the most appropriate last name considering the uniform he will soon be donning, it is clear that the Ducks are only looking to be competitive in the distant future.

Back to the initial argument: a non-deserving team always has a chance to make the playoffs, just not a very good one. Assuming the status quo, no one can justify a claim that the Ducks are a playoff team because even the Ducks’ shambolic management, if it can even bring itself to muster a half-intelligible thought, let alone a transaction, doesn’t seem to believe in them.

Teemu Selanne came back for little more than another opportunity at a debilitating career-ending injury. Even though the sure-to-be Hall-of-Famer said he would only return only if the Ducks were going to be competitive, all signs point to him having delayed his retirement one year just to spend the coming season perpetually frustrated.

He may have re-joined a competent base of forwards, but they likely won’t be able to put up enough goals on the board to keep up with the ones an inexperienced defense will continually be letting in. And with Lupul, looking to enjoy a strong second season back with the team that first drafted him, suffering a reoccurrence of a blood infection that kept him out of the line-up for most of last year, even the team’s offensive depth has taken a huge hit.

Meanwhile, goalie Jonas Hiller may have earned more wins last season relative to his coming-out party the year before, but that is likely only due to his getting more starts with Jean-Sebastien Giguere being permanently thrust into the back-up role before being shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hiller still has to prove that he’s capable of carrying a team on his back. With the defense as weak as it is, he’ll no doubt have ample opportunity in what is sure to be a long season in Anaheim.