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Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Overall: 17
Pacific Division: 5
Surely the
folks who run the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim know what they're
doing. This is Disney, after all, not some Mickey Mouse
organization. These guys are emperors of entertainment,
kingpins in the corporate world, maestros of management.
Why, Michael Eisner
himself, Disney's CEO, usually makes it a point to appear
front-row center in the Ducks' annual team photo just to
reassure everyone that the team is in good
hands.
So you just
know there's some superior reasoning behind the fact that the
Ducks 1) fired coach Ron Wilson after he led the team to
its best season ever in 1996-97;
2) fired Wilson's successor, Pierre
Pagé, after a 10-month tenure that was undercut by the
prolonged absence of top player Paul Kariya; and 3) hired
Craig Hartsburg, who as coach of the Blackhawks mocked
Kariya. After Hawks defenseman Gary Suter cross-checked the
Ducks' star in the jaw in
February, sidelining him with a concussion for the rest of the
season, Hartsburg said that Kariya "had to pay the
price" for being near the
net.
Hartsburg and Kariya apparently smoothed over any potential
tension with a face-to-face discussion at the start of
training camp, and it's a good thing. Kariya, the league's
most talented left wing, and Teemu Selanne, the NHL's most
talented right wing,
will have to be as happy as Ducks on a
Pond for Anaheim to make the postseason. In a further display
of its elusive logic, Ducks management has provided that
duo with scant support. After Kariya (277 points in 220
career games) and Selanne (two straight 50-goal seasons),
the Ducks possess
exactly zero offensive threats. Worse, Anaheim has the NHL's least
intimidating defense, an anonymous group that surrendered
the
second-most goals in the Western Conference last
season. Goalie Guy Hebert, usually a bright spot, is coming off a
mediocre season (.903 save percentage) and shoulder
surgery.
At least the players have responded well to Hartsburg's
demanding practice and conditioning regimen, leading him to
predict, "We're going to surprise people." Maybe
they will. After all, the folks who run the Ducks must
surely know what they're
doing.
—By Kostya Kennedy
Fast Fact
Last year left winger Paul Kariya, who played in only 22
matches because of a contract dispute and a season-ending
concussion, led the league in points per game (1.41).
Keys To Success
- The Mighty Ducks have to find some puck-moving defensemen to
start their transition game for offensive stars Paul Kariya and
Teemu Selanne.
- Goalie Guy Hebert, who had shoulder surgery in April, must be
100% because his backup is inexperienced Patrick Lalime.
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