Ducks and Kings at crossroads
HOCKEY
For the Ducks, who are pondering whether to acquire 37-year-old Mats Sundin, the future is now. The Kings, meanwhile, try to persuade weary fans to believe in yet another youth movement.
The current paths the Ducks and Kings travel could be seen in the moves management was considering in recent weeks.
The Ducks were trying to improve their contender status, having slipped from raising the Stanley Cup in 2007 to a thanks-for-stopping-by moment in the first round last season. A slow start left Brian Burke, then the Ducks' general manager, trying to determine whether acquiring 37-year-old center Mats Sundin was the move to make.
So, the future is now?
Up the road, the Kings were pondering their own roster move, involving someone young enough to be Sundin's kid. General Manager Dean Lombardi had to decide whether 19-year-old center Oscar Moller should go back to junior hockey or stay with the Kings.
So, the future is when?
This may be the Ducks' last best chance to sip from the Cup once more, with 10 players who are 30 or older and only eight under contract beyond this season. The Kings, meanwhile, have the third youngest team in the NHL, and must convince weary fans that they are on the right track.
"In my view, a team should be ascending sharply or descending sharply," said Burke, who stepped down as general manager last week, but will remain a team advisor for a time.
Descending?
Bob Murray was put in charge this week after Burke turned down a contract extension. The cupboard is well stocked, but there are expiration dates on many of the goods.
Among the unrestricted free agents are defenseman Scott Niedermayer, defenseman Francois Beauchemin and the team's entire checking line -- Samuel Pahlsson, Rob Niedermayer and Travis Moen.
Murray's, the team's vice president of hockey operations the last three seasons, said that he would try to negotiate contract extensions with some players during the season.
But with so many players up for free agency, there are those in the dressing room who see urgency to this season.
"Next year, things are going to change," goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "Whether it's better or worse, no one knows. As a group, we have to realize what we have now, and roll with it as far as we can."
They may need someone else to push. The flirtation with the free agent Sundin, a Hall of Fame-type player, came a month into the season after the Ducks looked vulnerable.
The Ducks lost five of six games to start the season, then went on an 8-0-1 run that reminded everyone of their talent. Still, holes were apparent to Murray, as the current 0-2-1 streak attests.
