Brendan Morrison is ready to make a contribution to Ducks

Brendan Morrison, a 33-year-old center who came to the Ducks from Vancouver in July as an unrestricted free agent, is a one-time holder of the longest active streak for consecutive NHL games played.

Morrison is making a comeback after knee surgery in April, his third significant surgery in the last 2 1/2 years. He scrimmaged with his new club for the first time today at Anaheim Ice, the fourth day of training camp. Afterward, he said it took some shifts to get into the flow, but his knee felt fine.

"It was nice to get a couple good days of work in," Morrison said, "not have everything come at once and possibly set yourself up for a setback."

Morrison wasn't one of the 20 players selected to participate in Wednesday's exhibition against San Jose at the Honda Center, but he hopes to play in one of the upcoming games.

"More than anything, just get hit," he said. "Have confidence that [the knee] is going to be fine."

During an otherwise innocent-looking collision with Colorado defenseman Ruslan Salei in March, Morrison tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He had returned to the lineup nine games earlier after undergoing wrist surgery, a procedure that cost him 38 games and ended his consecutive games played streak at 542 games, a Vancouver record.

Morrison also had hip surgery at the end of the 2005-06 season but returned that fall to play 82 games for the sixth consecutive year. The pain in his hip continued, however, and his point totals dropped for the fourth consecutive season. Last season, he had nine goals and 25 points in 39 games.

"I had a big run there where I was real healthy for a long time and played a lot of games," he said. "Maybe I dodged some bullets there."

With the second-line center position up for grabs, Morrison is one of the front-runners to secure the job. Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle already has an idea where Morrison will make the biggest impact.

"Our expectations are that he's going to come here and give us some speed elements," Carlyle said.

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Among the other veterans who won't dress for the game against San Jose are popular forward Teemu Selanne, who came to camp on a pro tryout agreement and is still waiting for the Ducks to clear space under the salary cap so he can re-sign with the club.