A new era in Anaheim
New Ducks GM promises big changes
July 15, 2012
ANAHEIM, CA - Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007, the Anaheim Ducks have experienced massive overhauls throughout the roster, but the results have been lacking; they've missed the playoffs twice, and won only one playoff series in the other three seasons since. They fired Randy Carlyle and replaced him with the offensive-minded Bruce Boudreau less than midway through last season, and although Boudreau put up a winning record in his abbreviated season, it wasn't enough to get to the postseason. He's obviously hoping for better success in his first full season at the helm.
But it appears that the roster he ended 2011-2012 with will look radically different when 2012-2013 starts.
That's what new Anaheim GM Brian Kudron hinted at in his address to the Anaheim media today. A product of the Detroit Red Wings front office, Kudron's philosophy is much different from what Duck fans have grown accustomed to. The Ducks won the Cup in 2007 through defense and a physicality that wore their opponents down. Much of that grit seems to be missing now, but it hasn't been replaced by offensive firepower yet.
Kudron got very specific about his vision for the Ducks roster moving forward.
"I told the ownership when they hired me, they should be prepared for some waves to be made," he said. "I look at the roster, and I see a team in flux, lacking a true identity. If you want to be a run and gun team, you need to load up on offense to do that - we haven't here. If you want to be a trapping, defense-oriented team, you better pluck the star defensemen and bring them in here - we haven't. I see a roster that is unsure of what it wants to be. And I'm going to change that - fast."
Obviously he can't call out specific players publically, but sources inside the shuffling Anaheim front office say Kudron has been very, very frank with his thoughts about the roster he is inheriting from his predecessor.
Offensively, Kudron loves the Ducks top line - and who wouldn't? Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan form one of hockey's most fearsome trios; they're all big, tough, and supremely skilled. The Ducks' new GM gave the impression to many that no one on the roster is untouchable - but he also said that he is absolutely not looking to move any of the big three on the Ducks' #1 line. Ditto for Teemu Selanne, who is the face of the franchise and is untradeable from a PR standpoint. But after those four, it seems like it's open season on the Ducks roster.
One of the hallmarks of the Detroit teams that Kudron worked with and grew up watching was a litany of two-way players, and most importantly, strength down the middle. Kudron voiced his belief that the foundation of a championship hockey team is depth at the center position, and while Getzlaf is an elite center, the dropoff from him to players like Saku Koivu, Ryan Cogliano, Matthew Lombardi and Nick Bonino seems to be too big for Kudron's liking. None of the current top centers on the roster are considered exceptionally good in the faceoff circle, not even Getzlaf - but his elite skill in essentially every other aspect of the game seems to (rightfully) exempt him from the trade block. The sense from the atmosphere at the Honda Center is that Kudron will look to basically replace the second, third, and fourth line centers on the roster with skilled two-way players who will always win more faceoffs than they lose. Obviously, talented, two-way centers are the types of players every franchise covets like gold, so they aren't exactly growing on trees, and trying to make a trade for some of the best in the game - Jonathan Toews in Chicago, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in Detroit, Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh, etc. - would take a king's ransom at the least. Still, Kudron is undeterred, and rumors are he has already reached out to several teams about some of their most high profile players - most notably, Vancouver's Ryan Kesler and St. Louis's David Backes. Kesler won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward in 2011, and Backes was a finalist for it last season. Both players fit the mold of what Kudron is looking for to a tee - but, as stated, it will take a substantial offer to pull them away from their current teams.
Kudron is also very agitated and concerned about the Ducks' salary cap situation. Locking up Getzlaf and Perry for the long term has drained Anaheim of essentially any wiggle room, and the bulk of the new GM's ire about that problem is being directed at the defense. Kudron wants defensemen that every other GM wants - two-way guys that can contribute offensively and keep the puck out of the net in their own zone. From Kudron's vantage point, players like Toni Lydman, Bryan Allen, and even the young Luca Sbisa don't fit that profile, and Kudron appears unwilling to keep them on the roster with their current contracts. Veterans Sheldon Souray and Francois Beauchemin appear secure in their positions on the roster, but even Cam Fowler could be on the block. The 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft figured to be a cornerstone for the Ducks moving forward, but the new general manager is not keen on giving a whopping five million dollars to a defenseman who is -53 in his first two NHL seasons. The source in the Ducks' front office seemed to hint that if Fowler is to be moved though, it won't be right away. Whereas Lydman, Allen and Sbisa have been basically written off already, the new brass won't give up on Fowler right away unless an offer is made that they can't refuse.
Perhaps most shockingly was Kudron's apparent attitude toward goaltender Jonas Hiller. The Swiss netkeeper has perfomed well in his time in Anaheim, but again, his 4.5 million dollar pricetag is viewed in dim terms by the new man in charge of the Ducks' roster. Kudron is bringing another trademark of the Red Wings with him to Anaheim - not paying top money for a goalie, instead paying premium for defenders in front of him.
Kudron has given the impression of a mad scientist to some who have observed him in his early days as Ducks GM, constantly cooking up hypothetical trades and bouncing them off of his inner circle to see how feasible they could be. Still, the overall impression is that he has a very clear vision for the Ducks moving forward, and will move as many pieces and make as many deals as he has to in order to implement that grand plan sooner than later.
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