The Anaheim Ducks, who are sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings, have made several transactions to try to right the ship.
The Ducks biggest move occurred on November 30, when they fired head coach Randy Carlyle and replaced him with former Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau . Anaheim has also recalled and demoted several prospects to/from their minor league affiliates as well as made a trade and claimed a few players off of waivers.
With the 2011-12 season getting away from Anaheim, here is a look at the Ducks 2012 potential free- agents. In total, the Ducks have 14 unrestricted and nine restricted free agents.
1. Teemu Selanne- right wing
Even at the age of 41, the future Hall-of-Famer is producing amazing numbers. Selanne, who was second on the team in scoring in 2010-2011 with 80 points, currently leads the Ducks in points. Teemu also tops the Ducks in assists, power play assists and penalty minutes. In addition, Selanne is in the top five in several other categories such as goals, power play goals, power play points and shots on goal.
As long as Selanne, who is making $4 million in 2011-12, stays healthy he should continue to perform at an elite level. Therefore, if Teemu wants to play another year the Ducks should be giddy.
2.Saku Koivu- center
Unlike Selanne,the 37-year old Koivu is showing his age as he has struggled so far this year. Production wise, Saku is on pace to have a typical year for him the last four years (15 goals and 45 points). The big difference is that Koivu is not the playmaker that he once was as his assists are way down particularly on the power play. A good sign is that Saku is a plus 4 in the plus minus category.
Unless Koivu, who is making $2.5 million, shows that he can set up teammates with scoring opportunities it is probably time the Ducks cut the ties.
3.Francois Beauchemin – defensemen
The 31-year old Beauchemin plays on the Ducks’ second blueline unit. Francois, who is on pace for a career high nine goals, is not a great defender as he gets beaten one- on-one on occasion as well as makes bad decisions. Beauchemin has a very hard shot and is scoring at a 9% clip which is considerably better than his career average. Francois will also check an opponent and won’t back down from a fight.
If the Ducks can re-sign Beauchmin, who is making at $3.65 million in 2011-12, at $2 million then it might be feasible to re-up with him.
4. Dan Ellis- goaltender
The 31-year old Ellis, who is out with a groin injury, is playing exceptional hockey in 2011. Dan, who is expected back at the end of December, is 1-3 in seven games and has a 2.38 goals against average. Ellis also has a .923 save percentage.
Ellis’ stellar play in 2010-11 helped propel the Ducks into the playoffs. Ellis, who came over in a midseason trade from Tampa Bay, went 8-3 with a 2.39 GAA for the Ducks.
The Ducks should make re-signing Ellis, who is making $1.5 million, their number one priority this coming offseason. The only caveat would be if Ellis, a career backup, wants a chance to start and Anaheim believes Jonas Hiller is still their guy.
5. Sheldon Brookbank- defenseman
The 31-year old Brookbank, who is the seventh defenseman on the Ducks depth chart, is doing things that he is capable of doing. In other words, Sheldon is playing solid defense and third on the team in hits. Although Brookbank isn’t a threat on the offensive end, he will stand up for teammates as well as take penalties.
Brookbank, who only makes $800,000, will probably be re-signed unless Anaheim can find a more offensive skilled non-top six defenseman.
Other prominent unrestricted free agents LW Jason Blake, RW George Parros and LW Niklas Hagman.
Source:
NHL.com