Kariya and Ducks demons

It is a well known fact that a lot of sports franchises have demons of the past. The Sabres have the Brett Hull goal from the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. The Sharks have their numerous playoff shortcomings. The Blackhawks had their long Cup drought before this year. The Leafs have their long streak without a Finals appearance. The list goes on.

And the Ducks' demon from the past? Well, that would be Paul Kariya.

The Ducks franchise has had its ups and downs. Some downs are easily forgotten despite being epic fails (such as the original third jerseys) and some others are glossed over by epic wins later (such as the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals loss). However, one demon that this franchise has never been able to shake off is Paul Kariya's departure and the long-lasting sour taste in everyone's mouths.

And now the demons of the past may come aknockin' as it appears possible that Kariya may make his return to the place that he hurt.

A lot of people, including me, have reservations about him coming back. But putting that aside, think of the things that COULD happen.

Let's take a short ride on the hot air balloon ride to Imaginationland for a second. (Apologies to Trey Parker and Matt Stone for borrowing their idea.)

Here are some scenarios that could happen. Note that some of these may be far-fetched, but this is Imaginationland.

1. Kariya comes back and becomes a bust (with or without team playoff success). If this happens, nobody would be surprised. His production level has gone downward in recent years. Assuming his contract is short-term, he can easily slip out quietly and nobody would really think much of it. This departure would be a lot more graceful than his previous one, and you can say, "At least he tried." In any case, a lot of the sour taste from his departure to Colorado would be erased, even if a lot of it remains.
2. Kariya comes back and plays well, but doesn't bring a Cup to Orange County. While disappointing, the idea of him rejuvenating his career with the Ducks would certainly make everyone feel a lot better since it would appear that his return has re-ignited the passion he had for the game. The lack of playoff success would be disappointing, but this scenario would certainly get a lot of people to like him again and it would ease the pain of the summer of 2003.
3. Kariya comes back and helps the Ducks win another Cup. This is the best case scenario. If he accomplishes this, then I think it would almost be more of a Cinderella story than 2003. Think about it. Hero nearly brings glory to the kingdom. Hero turns into a villain and leaves the kingdom to fend for itself. Kingdom survives and achieves glory. Kingdom falls from glory. Hero returns to kingdom, asks to repent, and brings glory back to the kingdom. If that isn't the ultimate fairy tale, I don't know what is. The debate about retiring his number would no longer be a debate, and almost all the sourness of his first departure would be forgotten.

In other words, despite how many of us feel about him and barring some ridiculously long-term and high-value contract, his return really has no downsides. Will I still have bad memories of the summer of 2003? Yes. Would him coming back help erase those bad memories? No matter what happens, it would appear so.

Try to bring him back, Bob Murray. I'd love to take my Paul Kariya poster out from storage (where it's been sitting for 7 years) and have it hang proudly in my room again.