Is This Ducks Season A Loss?

ANAHEIM - California

As we prepare for good ol’ Mother Nature to bring a week long of showers, it appears as though she has targeted the Anaheim Ducks days in advance - and it feels as though the storm is getting worse. The whirlwind amongst our beloved team (save for Felix) is ferocious. It began with the Ducks and their current losing streak which seems as though there is no end in sight. The waters became violent when head coach, Randy Carlyle, did his best Donald Trump impersonation during a media scrum following their tenth straight loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a game where they blew a three-goal lead prior to losing a one-goal lead, then ending the game in regulation with a final of 4-7.

Carlyle told Josh Cooper of the Athletic, ”Well then don’t ask stupid questions”, when he was asked if he was worried about his job before walking away from the scrum. But that wasn’t the end of it. Ducks’ fans wondered if that signalled the possible sacking of the head coach if the team continued their slide. Yesterday, the Ducks would increase the streak to eleven games after they showed some improvement against the Winnipeg Jets in a tight game where they lost a point in OT. Almost immediately following that loss, General Manager Bob Murray’s silence was finally broken in a statement issued to the hockey world:

The statement was met with many frowns from the understandably frustrated. Even our very own CJ Woodling had this to say:

But that would not be the end of it.

Many of us woke up this morning to the news that Bob Murray had indeed moved to show that he held the players accountable:

It would be a move which increased the ire of the majority of the team’s socially-connected fan base. All of this has happened in the last four days, and it still feels as though the storm has just begun.

So what now? A fan favorite has been moved for a younger forward with better numbers this season in what I dub as a “hockey trade” although we fans fear bigger swells on the horizon. With everything happening this past week, I can't but ask if we should just count this season as a loss? Who knows which other player will be shipped out? Will it be Jakob Silfverberg, Cam Fowler, Brandon Montour, Patrick Eaves or even Josh Manson? The feeling of uncertainty is palpable and the tension is high.

Reading between Murray’s lines, only a few players - those who can't be moved - are safe. Are we witnessing what some have already meme’d as a “fire sale”?

How we deal with rain in SoCal is a running joke, but no one here seems to be laughing. I guess we will find out in the coming days, weeks, or month if land will be spotted any time soon. For now, Ducks fans, hold fast.