This was supposed to be the final curtain call for Teemu Selanne. His last moment in the shining sun of Orange County. Instead it’s been anything but for the future Hall of Famer and his Anaheim Ducks teammates.
Anaheim has lost seven in a row and 13 of the last 14. Not exactly what Selanne envisioned when he announced his return for one final year in Anaheim.
The Ducks (6-13-4) sit dead last in the Pacific Division with just 16 points. That’s only one point better than the equally bad Columbus Blue Jackets for the title of NHL bottom feeder. Anaheim is 29th in the league in goals scored with just 50 goals scored in their 23 games.
Selanne is trying to do his share. He leads the team in points with 22 (8g 22a) but the drop-off after that is astonishing. Corey Perry quietly has 10 goals but is a minus 10. His linemate and captain Ryan Getzlaf has just four goals and is a minus 13.
Selanne’s frustration is starting to boil over but can you blame him? He came back to a team he thought was on the precipice of greatness. Now it looks like a long-shot for the team to make the playoffs.
“THERE’S NO EXCUSES. I JUST HATE EXCUSES. EVERYBODY HAS A JOB TO DO, AND IT STARTS FROM THERE. DO YOUR JOB. NOT TALKING. IT SHOULD BE SIMPLE, BUT I GUESS IT’S NOT.” -Teemu Selanne
Goaltender Jonas Hiller was supposed to be on the verge of becoming an elite netminder. However through 20 starts he is 5-10-4 with a juicy 3.22 goals against average. His save percentage is sub-par at .897.
There are rumors swirling around the twitterverse of an impending Bobby Ryan trade to a galaxy far far away from Anaheim. Ryan was a budding star but has quickly become expendable and the best option to be dealt by general manager Bob Murray.
Despite signing a three-year contract extension, head coach Randy Carlyle has to be feeling the heat. It would seem plausible that if the team sinks any further in the standings he would be next to get the ax.
It should be interesting to see what happens in Anaheim leading up to Christmas. Stay Tuned!
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