EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jim Matheson reported last Sunday the Anaheim Mighty Ducks might put backup goalie Martin Gerber on the trade block in the off-season. Matheson considers Gerber perhaps "the best number two goalie in the league", but points out the outstanding post-season performance of JS Giguere, and the presence of prospect Ilya Bryzgalov in the Ducks system could make Gerber attractive "trade-bait".
Spector's Note: Anything's possible, but given the incredible playoff run the Mighty Ducks are having, it's doubtful GM Bryan Murray will do anything that drastic to tinker with the roster this summer.
Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche 4:3 (4:2/2:3/0:3/1:3/3:2/3:2/3:2) Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks 3:3 (3:4/3:2/2:3/2:3/7:2/5:1)
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ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Dan Wood reports Anaheim Mighty Ducks GM Bryan Murray may look to build upon his team's success this past season by exploring the unrestricted free agent market. It's been rumoured Murray may try to bring back former Duck Teemu Selanne and reunite him with Paul Kariya. While Selanne took a pay cut to $6.5 million US last season to remain in San Jose, Wood believes it may be difficult for Murray to add significantly to the team's payroll, given the club is still up for sale, and Kariya is due for a new contract.
Spector's Note: My thanks to "Frank". Kariya isn't the only one due for a new contract. Figure JS Giguere, Petr Sykora and Mike LeClerc, who are also restricted free agents, will be looking for significant raises next season. Murray may be faced with having to build from within if Disney keeps the payroll tight.
MINNESOTA WILD - WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALIST 2002/2003 Lions Forum Playoff Tippspiel Champion 2003 Wild Goons - Fantasy Hockey League Champion 2002/2003
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Chris Foster reports Anaheim Mighty Ducks GM Bryan Murray expects to make some off-season moves, although he doesn't anticipate making any as drastic as those of last summer. Murray cited the need to obtain "more scoring", fuelling speculation he'll attempt to bring back former Duck winger Teemu Selanne. However, Foster believes Selanne's hefty salary, even if he agreed to take less than the $6.5 million US he made with the Sharks last season, could make him too expensive. A more likely scenario could be re-signing veteran forward Steve Thomas. The Ducks also hold an option on veteran centre Adam Oates, who expressed a desire to return with the club next season. Murray's top priority will be re-signing RFAs JS Giguere, Paul Kariya and Petr Sykora.
Spector's Note: Unless Disney loosens the purse strings a little, there may not be much left for Murray to take on more salary once he's done paying raises to Jiggy, Kariya and Sykora.
MINNESOTA WILD - WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALIST 2002/2003 Lions Forum Playoff Tippspiel Champion 2003 Wild Goons - Fantasy Hockey League Champion 2002/2003
USA TODAY: Kevin Allen reports the Anaheim Mighty Ducks may not spend what former Ducks winger Teemu Selanne may be seeking, so it's possible he could re-sign with the San Jose Sharks in order to remain on the West Coast. The Ducks will be seeking another "puckmoving" defenceman this summer, although they are hard to come by. Centre Adam Oates will likely become an unrestricted free agent, for as much as Ducks management wants to keep him, they don't wish to do so at $3 million plus.
Spector's Note: My thanks to "Frank" for sending this in. GM Bryan Murray will indeed have another busy summer. He also has to re-sign JS Giguere and team captain Paul Kariya. The latter may take a one-year deal, but "Giggy" will probably want a long-term one comparable to that of Montreal's Jose Theodore. If Murray can convince Ducks ownership (Disney) to up the payroll for just next season, re-signing Kariya and Oates to one-year deals, even possibly Selanne, plus giving Giguere a multi-year deal isn't out of the question. As for defencemen, one possibility could be Montreal's Patrice Brisebois, whom the Canadiens are desperate to move and could pick up half of his hefty $4 mil per season salary. "Breezy's" got good offensive skills, although his defensive game leaves much to be desired. Still, if coach Mike Babcock could turn Sandis Ozolinsh into a responsible two-way blueliner, he could do the same for the much-maligned Brisebois.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: Dan Wood reports the Anaheim Mighty Ducks didn't pick up their option on centre Adam Oates, which was worth $3.5 million, although it's possible they could re-sign him for less money. Failing that, Wood suggests the Ducks might make a pitch for Tampa Bay centre Vaclav Prospal if the Lightning fail to re-sign him.
Spector's Note: Wood also noted the Ducks will be busy trying to re-sign Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora and JS Giguere. It'll be interesting to see if GM Bryan Murray can keep his Cup finalist roster together, or if he can bolster it.
TSN.CA: reports the Anaheim Mighty Ducks decided not to make a qualifying offer to team captain and Group II free agent forward Paul Kariya, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. Ducks GM Bryan Murray said he wasn't pleased with letting Kariya go, but stated his club simply couldn't afford to pay him another season at $10 million US. It's still possible the Ducks could re-sign him to a lesser deal, but it's also possible Kariya could be signed by another club.
Spector's Note: The Score sportsnetwork in Canada also reported early this morning that Kariya may not give the Ducks a chance to match any offers he gets as a UFA. The big question now is, what clubs will pay out $10 million next season for Kariya? As we're seeing, most of the big-money teams are either begging off this summer, or have set their sites elsewhere.
dann is wohl auch klar, dass selanne nit zurück geht
glaube nit dass kariya für 5mille bleibt. selanne der !"§$%&/( würd für 5mille nach anaheim kommen,aber dann müsste wohl auch kariya bleiben,was ich aber bezweifel, da er mehr als 5mille wert ist.
man wird sehen, denke am ende stehen sie mit leeren händen da oder beide spielen in anaheim. dass nur einer dort spielen wird, bezweifele ich
wer diesen sommer einen vertrag unterschreibt für das was er wert ist in der nhl, vergleichen zu den vergangenen jahren, muss schlicht und einfach gott genannt werden
Anaheim, 1. Juli Der Schweizer NHL-Torhüter Martin Gerber bleibt bei den Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Die Kalifornier hatten am Wochenende die Option auf eine zweite Saison über 500 000 Dollar eingelöst und bestätigt. Der frühere Torhüter vom SC Langnau und Färjestads BK hat eine erfolgreiche Saison hinter sich: Bei seinem NHL-Debüt kam er hinter dem kanadischen Olympia-Goalie Jean-Sébastien Giguère auf 24 NHL-Spiele und hatte in der Regular Season eine Fangquote von 92,9 %. Von den NHL-Goalies mit über 20 Einsätzen hatten nur Marty Turco (Dallas, 93,2 %) und Sean Burke (Phoenix, 93,0 %) eine bessere Quote als der Emmentaler. Dagegen wurde der Vertrag mit seinem Teamkollegen Paul Kariya nicht verlängert, weil man sich die zehn Millionen Dollar teure Option nicht leisten wollte. Man hofft nun, dass er sich trotz des Free-Agent-Status für ein tieferes Angebot der Mighty Ducks entscheidet. Zum Free Agent wird auch der 40-jährige Adam Oates. (hockeyfans.ch)
Anaheim, 1. Juli Etwas enttäuscht war Paul Kariya schon, dass die Anaheim Mighty Ducks den 1. Juli verstreichen ließen, ohne ihrem langjährigen Kapitän und Superstar ein neues Angebot zu machen. Alles eine Frage des Geldes, die Ducks wollen Kariya zwar auch für die nächste Spielzeit an sich binden, aber nicht die notwendigen 10 Millionen Dollar ausgeben, die Kariya bisher verdiente. Allerdings hat der siebenmalige NHL-Allstar jetzt die Möglichkeit völlig frei mit allen anderen Teams zu verhandeln, so dass die Chancen der Kalifornier auf Kariya momentan schwer einzuschätzen sind. "Es sind finanziell schwierige Zeiten. Wir müssen uns neu strukturieren, dennoch werden wir weiter mit Paul verhandeln und hoffen, dass er zurückkommt", so Manager Bryan Murray. Kariya selbst war bisher für einen Kommentar noch nicht zu erreichen. Sein Agent Don Baizley ließ nur folgendes wissen: "Die Ducks haben das Recht zu tun, was sie wollen. Paul wird darüber nachdenken und tun was er für richtig hält."
Auch der 40-jährige Mittelstürmer und Bully-Spezialist Adam Oates erhielt kein neues Angebot hockeyweb.de
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Anaheim Mighty Ducks would like to bring back winger Teemu Selanne, but he's believed seeking $6.5 million per season, which is too steep for the Ducks. Garrioch suggested the Montreal Canadiens could be another option for the "Finnish Flash".
Spector's Note: My thanks to Fadhl Al-Bayaty for sending this in. Anything's possible, but I doubt this happens. Like most teams, the Habs are reducing their payroll in anticipation of potential changes in the new CBA. There's also a belief Selanne would play for Montreal because he played well with fellow countryman Saku Koivu on the 1998 Finnish Olympic team. Seems we hear this every time Selanne is believed available over the past five years, but he's no closer to playing for the Habs.
Die Anzeichen verstärken sich wohl, dass Fedorov zu den Duggs wechselt...
If you can't beat em, at least beat'em up ! Norrie/Rich/Tasker/Verbeek/Lakos - Toledo Storm Fighting Brigade 2001 "We are team tough, and that includes our fans."- Toledo Storm GM Pat Pylypuik "Toledo is nothing but a bunch of goons who would even mug the pope if he had skates on !" - Ein Dayton Bombers Fan Uganda Propagandacrew 25.05.2003 - Back to where we belong to ! 6:3...live dabei !