A Champion Returns

Sorry for being a little late with my voice about this topic as it happened last week. In the NHL (I sadly feel like I actually have to remind everyone this sport called hockey still exists, thank you Gary Bettman), the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks (a name shortened to sever their ties with Emilio Estevez, or so I believe) have been struggling to stay in the Western Conference playoff picture all season. As of today they are 7th in the West with 34 points, only 2 behind 2nd seeded San Jose. Nowhere near the pace of last season when they amassed 110 points, 3 behind West leading Detroit. They're 27th in goals per game after finishing tied for 8th in scoring a year ago and 15th in goals against average (7th last year). Word came last week that they may get a boost from stud defenseman Scott Niedermeyer who decided to play another season and put off retirement for another season.

Aside from some bad luck in injuries, the roster appears to have struggled adjusting to the roster turnover. Last season's leading scorer Teemu Selanne (48 goals, 94 points) hasn't played all season while debating whether or not to hang up the skates (he appears to be actually retiring though), while their captain Niedermeyer (15 goals, 69 points) who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP hasn't stepped onto the ice either. Those were the 1st and 3rd leading point producers for the Ducks last season.

In anticipation of losing those two, GM Brian Burke went out and paid big bucks to pry forward Todd Bertuzzi (2 years, $8 million) and defenseman Matthieu Schneider (2 years, $11.25 million) away from Detroit. The results have been mixed. While Bertuzzi has been out of the lineup about half the season and unproductive when he's been in it (7 points, -3 in 18 games), Schneider missed the first month of the season due to injury but has come back strong (14 points, +2 in 17 games). Still, the Ducks problems go deeper than losing Selanne and Niedermeyer.

They also lost Dustin Penner's 29 goals to Edmonton (though they will be handsomely compensated in the form of draft picks). Center Andy McDonald has been disappointing (16 points in 32 games) following last season's breakout 78 point performance. Starting goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been in and out of the lineup due to injury while veteran backup Ilya Bryzgalov is stopping pucks in Phoenix now. Even top blue liner Chris Pronger has struggled to hold up his end defensively (-5 in 32 games, +27 last season) despite his production offensively (24 points).

So what does Scott Niedermeyer's December return mean for this roster? Well for one, Burke has to clear slightly less than $1 million in cap space to make room for the addition so it's likely someone is on their way out via trade or waivers. Despite the injuries, the Ducks have still been middle of the pack defensively yet dreadful offensively despite good per game production out of Schneider and Pronger from the blue line. So how much impact can Niedermeyer have on a position that really hasn't been a huge weakness?

Well, Niedermeyer is a dynamic enough player to still be a top five defenseman so that gives the Ducks another player who can eat up minutes. His return should instantly bolster their poor special teams units (24th in both Power Play and Penalty Kill). That should make the Ducks a top 10 defensive team. However, I still can't see how he significantly helps them offensively because they're problem hasn't been production from the blue liners. Aside from the good seasons Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are having, there has been nobody putting the puck in the net up front.

Count me in the minority who doesn't think this return fixes everything that's been wrong for Anaheim for two and a half months. This Ducks team does not have the depth up front that last year's Cup winner possessed. Niedermeyer will help them separate themselves from a mediocre Pacific division, but they will need to improve from within offensively if they want to defeat Detroit in the playoffs again. Since they don't have the cap space to make any kind of deals at the trade deadline. I guess we'll have to wait and see.