EHM The Blue Line

http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app/?service= ... eid=351531

Woooooo, Teemu is to return! Bring on the Stanley Cup challengers i say, that cup is OURS! Muhahahahaha

I changed your title so it's not quite as misleading!

So Nieds is back, Teemu is back, Schneider joined, Weight arrived... The Ducks are clearly not getting younger!

On the paper, they are now one of the (if not THE) top contender for their own succession. But paper is one thing... What happens on the ice is another thing... We'll see how it turns

Nice to see The Finnish Flash back to the game though

I was beginning to think he was terminally retired already.

Turns out, he just had an extra-extra long summer holiday.

Wonder if he's been practicing hard, or will he be out of shape and out of place?

Go Teemu - The Milk Boy!

He has been practicing every single day, all season long. With Nieds until he returned and a couple of others coming back soon. Teemu will be fine.

However, the Ducks are the fat cats now. Wonder if they have the desire and burn noone else has had for a decade, and will be able to take two in a row. I doubt it, but I was wrong once before.


Detroit. Detroit. Detroit. or The Philly Forsbergs.

Last season I respected Selanne and Nieds, this year no, I dislike them, in my opinion I beleive they have disrespected the league, and the Ducks, I mean you don't need half a season to work out if you want to play or no, you either do or you don't. Fair enough they have been training and all that, but whatabout the players spots they are taking, the players that worked hard at training camp, and at practice to play? I think it is extremely disprespectful and selfish.

That being said, I hope the Ducks choke more than ever, and that they both blow out a knee or something

batdad wrote:He has been practicing every single day, all season long. With Nieds until he returned and a couple of others coming back soon. Teemu will be fine.

Heh, makes sense. I guess I was just thinking of what I would do, if I had several million dollars on my bank account and a six months long summer holiday.



Got confused and lost into fantasy, not thinking these guys are pros, and have been training hard for all their lives. Even if they would've quit for good, they propably still wouldn't turn into beer drinking couch potatoes...

*ahem*


Moving along...

I understand your point, Sjsharkz, but hockey, even though a team sport, in the end is also individual sport, where every man plays for his own success, and there's no reason why truly talented players, no matter if they're getting a bit old, should feel bad about the roster spots they are taking when they return, even if some less talented player, who attended training camp and gave his all, would have to pack his bags to the farm team because of it.

He can try again next year, and maybe train a little harder, so that a 37-year old won't push him out of the team just like that.

My two cents right there...

While I am happy to see both back yes I think it was disrespectful. In fairness Selanne was not under contract so it was not as big a deal. Clearly I think they still wanted to play hockey but just not as many games in a season. So really I think if I was them I would have gone to a European league where there is less games but it is still highly competitive. Really they probably should have signed a rolling contract with a Euro team and see how they felt about their hockey.
It just looks like they don't want to slog it out in the regular season but return at this point so not to look too obvious that they just want to turn up at the playoffs. That said they are good players so as a ducks fan I will take them back but they really need to prove themselves and make a a decision quickly about next season and not drag this out again.

I don't really like the idea of these guys coming back mid-season like this. It's not like they were out because of injuries. They were out because they weren't sure if they wanted to retire or not. Plus, I'm sure part of it is to keep them fresher for playoff drive. For older guys, I'm sure playing on half a season makes it a lot easier. I don't know. It just doesn't sit with me. If you want to retire, retire. Otherwise, show up at training camp like everyone else!

bruins72 wrote:I don't really like the idea of these guys coming back mid-season like this. It's not like they were out because of injuries. They were out because they weren't sure if they wanted to retire or not. Plus, I'm sure part of it is to keep them fresher for playoff drive. For older guys, I'm sure playing on half a season makes it a lot easier. I don't know. It just doesn't sit with me. If you want to retire, retire. Otherwise, show up at training camp like everyone else!

Totally agree!

I guess I'm just not as chivalry as you guys.

If The Milk Boy wants to have a break at the start of the season and only play the playoffs, then I'm all for it.

Better him back only for half a season than not back at all.

Do they really hesitated that long about retiring?...

Or was it Burke's masterplan to have top guys in a fresh condition for the playoff push?

Burke is not an idiot, so all of this should have been planned long ago. Plus, if both Nieds and Teemu practiced that hard, i really wonder: how can you practice hard every day if you're unsure about continuing your career? How do you find the motivation if you're in serious doubts?

To me, it looks like a finetuned strategy planned during the summer. A pretty clever strategy, although i have some ethic issues with it. In fact, that's exactly what i expected the Ducks would do when both Teemu and Nieds announced they were considering retirement but were unsure.

I may be wrong though, and maybe they were really both hesitating. And maybe Burke is not that clever and just benefited from a good luck. Maybe... But i doubt...

There was actually an article like this at a Finnish hockey website Jatkoaika.com, not long ago. They were saying the exact same thing as you just suggested.

It's possible...

Nice to see that i'm not the only one thinking about that I would have liked to read their article, in case there was something more specific there, but unfortunately i understand peanuts about Finnish...

Btw, if all of this is effectively Burke's plan, my hat to him for this brilliant strategy
A pretty 'dirty' strategy, but a really good one nontheless.

Yes, this was 100% done with the Ducks permission. No question about it. Burkey's way around the cap. Definitely. Nieds and Salami were just doing what they were asked to do. Both were coming back all along. The Ducks just wanted a couple other pieces, to make the team hungry again.

No disrespect to Burke, just like I have none for Lowe. They are doing what they have to do to:

1. Keep their jobs
2. Win

Just used the rules to help them do it. Found ways around like a good GM should. In the next CBA this will be dealt with for sure, and it will be more expensive for those who go after RFA's as well in terms of compensation. Or maybe not, maybe just all UFA

I could see that theory working ok for neidermayer he was still under contract. However Selanne was a free agent so he has not been paid for these months. Though I'm sure he ain't a greedy guy but if he was sure he wanted to keep playing why not play the first half of the season in Europe and get some beer spare money playing the sport he loves.

Would like to see a rule that a UFA cannot be signed after a certain date and so only signings can be made within the league.

They do have that rule. Trade deadline day..any UFA signing after that is ineligible to play in the playoffs.

Teemu's situation was UFA for sure. But UFA only willing to play Ducks. He stands to make 2 mill if he hits his bonuses...for what 30 games? Of course he was okay with it. Yeah he could have got $6 mill, but he does not need $, just cups.

Right. Teemu has enough money for the remaining of his life, so money was clearly not an issue for him.

And if he played in Europe, he would had to wait the next international transfer window to be able to join the Ducks, which means not before next year, as i doubt anyone would have signed him big bucks in Europe for just 3 months.

As for Nieds, this theory of false retirement questionning was already mentionned during the summer by many people. Sign Schneider, salary fine on Nieds for not showing up at camp, which saves cap room, let him return when the remaining of his contract wages maintains the Ducks under the cap, and let enough room to order Teemu to come back.

That's purely exploiting the rules, but it's well made. Now if Bettman buys himself a brain, he may see that the rules need to be adjusted to avoid that kind of moves. Otherwise, we'll see that kind of strategies every year.

It's the fact that people like Bettman havent realised this and said anythin, not a surprise but come on... That's a really good plan from Burkey!

It's good to have them both back, but i think it has kinda disrepected the game as people before me has said, and i feel kinda down knowing that we've kinda "cheated" (well, bent the rules), but rules are there to be broken i guess, , so why not use clever and sly plans that Bettman has failed to realise.