Scott Niedermayer

Time has crept up politely on Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer, threading white through his hair without robbing him of the smooth, easy strides that make his skates seem natural extensions of his feet. Niedermayer, who turned 36 in August, had the third-highest amount of ice time in the NHL last season at 2,207 minutes, 49 seconds. His average of 26:55 per game ranked third, and he played more than anyone in the league while his team was short-handed, 377:35. His poise and ability to read plays are undiminished, and his quiet confidence is so powerful that he is a prime candidate to be captain of the Canadian Olympic team at the Vancouver Games in February.

The Ducks confirmed that highly prized prospect, defenseman Justin Schultz of Wisconsin, won't be signing a contract with Anaheim by Saturday as he has told them he will complete his third year at Madison. That comes as little surprise, but now the window is that much tighter for the Ducks. They have exclusive rights until June 1 to try to sign him. After that, other teams can jump into the fray and he could become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Ducks had not commented publicly on the matter until Thursday.

The Ducks know how to fight on the ice. And by Friday it was apparent some Ducks fans can fight too. What started out as a fan-friendly gesture by defenseman Scott Niedermayer at the end of Thursday night's game ended with two men throwing punches, the video of which rapidly found its way onto sports shows and websites. Niedermayer had been trying to give his hockey stick to a young girl along the front row of one section at the Honda Center. But several adults grabbed at the stick, sparking the fight.

+ The New Jersey Devils retired Scott Niedermayer's jersey number last week in a classy ceremony. Niedermayer won three Stanley Cup championships with them before leaving to join brother Rob in Anaheim and win the Cup together in 2007. + The latest HBO "24/7" series focusing on the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers should be as entertaining as last year's edition, which featured the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. But wouldn't it help promote the league to expand the participants beyond a select few Eastern teams?

Scott Niedermayer, who played a critical role in bringing the Ducks' their first Stanley Cup, said Thursday he would return for one more season, ending weeks of speculation. He indicated, however, that it really could be his last. After contemplating retirement at the end of each of the last two seasons, Niedermayer said in a conference call with reporters that nothing is ever certain. "If I had to place a guess, I would say yes," the four-time All-Star defenseman said of retiring after the upcoming season.

Scott Niedermayer leaned over the boards while sitting on the Mighty Ducks' bench Wednesday night. Jeff Friesen had scored an empty-net goal seconds before to cap a 3-0 victory over Calgary that pushed the Ducks into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. On the bench, players were celebrating. Not Niedermayer, who had a look of an adult trying to remember how to do algebra. "I was happy," Niedermayer said Thursday, smiling. "That's just my makeup. I don't get too excited either way.

Scott Niedermayer has acknowledged that he is contemplating retirement after leading the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup title, but the star defenseman has not yet made a decision, according to those close to him. Agent Kevin Epp said he spoke with his client on Tuesday and indicated that Niedermayer would like to decide by July 1, the first day of free agency. "We've talked a couple of times," Epp said Tuesday.

The Ducks will keep the door open for Scott Niedermayer but made clear Thursday they are ready to defend the Stanley Cup without him, which comes as no surprise as the team captain struggles to find the desire to keep playing. "When camp opens next week, if Scotty is not there, I can't worry about it," Ducks General Manager Brian Burke said. "Our team has to be prepared with the people that show up and lace up their skates."

Mighty Duck General Manager Brian Burke vowed that the team would be aggressive on the ice. In an unprecedented time of NHL free agency, he showed it would be just as active off of it by landing the game's best defenseman. The Ducks were bystanders in this week's shopping frenzy until they signed former New Jersey Devil star Scott Niedermayer to a four-year, $27-million contract Thursday and pried the reigning Norris Trophy winner away from a team he helped lead to three Stanley Cup titles.

In a way, the signature moment of the 2003 Stanley Cup finals came not during the grueling seven-game series but at the end. The fever-pitch crowd at Continental Airlines Arena watched as the traditional handshake briefly yielded to a moment of joy intertwined with pain. Two brothers came together on the ice and embraced. Only one had the Stanley Cup.

The Rob Niedermayer poster in the garage is a clue someone in this Orange County home likes hockey. Otherwise it seems like any home on the street: past heaps of sports gear and through an entryway is a kitchen decorated with photos and crayoned pictures and fragrant with chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. The difference is that in this home are symbols of the Ducks' greatest triumph and their hope for a better future. Scott Niedermayer, who signed with the Ducks in 2005 and shared their 2007 Stanley Cup victory with younger brother Rob, lives here with his wife, Lisa, and their four sons, ages 2 to 11. It's a happily busy place: During a recent visit the kids came home from school and dived into their homework before hockey practice, the cookies were at the mouthwatering stage and the dog was woofing for a treat from housekeeper/babysitter Veronica Bech.

1. How bad will their defense be following Scott Niedermayer's retirement? Probably very bad, though there are reasons for hope. First-round pick Cam Fowler, 18, showed smarts and great skating ability in preseason play. Luca Sbisa, 20, has boundless potential. After them, it's a patchwork of veterans such as Lubomir Visnovsky, Paul Mara and Andy Sutton. Goaltender Jonas Hiller deserved combat pay last season for compiling a .918 save percentage while opponents took an average of 33.4 shots per game, second-highest in the NHL. 2. They will have trouble keeping the puck out of their own net but shouldn't have trouble scoring.

The Ducks had talked to free-agent defenseman Paul Mara before they learned Toni Lydman will miss the start of training camp after experiencing acute double vision. But their signing of Mara on Thursday was good timing for a team piecing its defense together after trading Chris Pronger and losing Scott Niedermayer to retirement in successive years. Lydman, who signed a three-year, $9-million contract in July, fell ill last week during a post-workout lunch with teammates. He called fellow Finn Teemu Selanne, who alerted the team doctor.

Teemu Selanne waved to the crowd of 16,392 after a 7-2 victory over Edmonton at the Honda Center on Sunday, but it might not have been goodbye. The Ducks' season ended short of the playoffs in a year some thought they could contend for the Stanley Cup. Now begins the wait to see whether Selanne or defenseman Scott Niedermayer will retire. "I have a big decision to make," said Selanne, who scored the 606th goal of his career and heard chants of "one more year" from the crowd.

AT ST. LOUIS When: 5 PDT. Where: Scottrade Center. On the air: TV: Ch. 56; Online: anaheimducks.com. Records: Ducks 38-31-10, Blues 39-32-9. Record vs. Blues: 2-1-0. Update: The Ducks' Lubomir Visnovsky, who suffered a broken hand Tuesday night against the Kings, will have surgery on Friday. The club, which is resting veterans Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Todd Marchant, has only this game and Sunday's season finale left. For the Blues, this game will mark veteran winger Keith Tkachuk's final one in St. Louis.

Under intense pressure to re-establish supremacy on home ice, Canadian Olympic hockey executives announced Wednesday a 23-man roster for the Vancouver Games built around youth, a mobile but tough defense and a deep corps of internationally experienced, two-way forwards. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, 20, was among the 15 first-time Olympians and 12 players 25 or younger were selected to the team during a nationally televised news conference. The captain will be defenseman Scott Niedermayer, one of seven members of the struggling Ducks to earn an Olympic nomination Wednesday.

When a team wins the Stanley Cup, tradition calls for the captain to accept the historic silver trophy, hold it aloft and skate down the ice in a victory procession. But when Scott Niedermayer did the honors after leading the Ducks to a clinching victory over the Ottawa Senators at the Honda Center on Wednesday, he decided to break with tradition. Niedermayer handed the Cup to his brother and teammate, Rob, to start the parade. At which point, Scott got a little misty-eyed. Rob downright cried.

It's hard to put into words the feeling of representing your country in the Olympic Games in your home province.... The first time I put on a Team Canada jersey was back in 1991. It was at the World Juniors in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It was a huge thrill for me, just to make the team in the first place. I was one of the team's younger players at that time, and the tournament went very well for us. I remember getting a lot of good-luck wishes that were posted in our dressing room the day of the gold-medal game.

The Ducks' crucial seven-game homestand -- their longest of the season -- ended with a 4-2-1 record on the heels of a winless four-game trip. But after winning three games in a row, the Ducks have come up short at the end of the last two. They lost to Phoenix in overtime Sunday, then fell to the Kings on Tuesday after giving up the game-winning goal with 2:20 left. "It's right there," captain Scott Niedermayer said. "We let up just enough. The last two teams we've played had solid games.