Why the Ducks should consider signing Tom Brady

This morning, Tom Brady rocked the sports world by announcing that he would not be returning to the New England Patriots. Brady has been a star in the NFL in New England since 2001, when he became the team’s starting quarterback.

Now, after 19 seasons, Brady will be looking to lead a new franchise to greatness. Many might think that another NFL team would be the logical move. After all, he has six championships and is a three-time MVP, who threw for more than 4,000 yards for the 12th time in his career. He may be 42 years old now, but the man still clearly has some gas left in the tank.

We here at Anaheim Calling have a better idea for Tom Brady’s future: Why not consider a career in hockey?

Brady, like many professional athletes, was a multi-sport star, so much so that he was drafted in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos and at one point was considered a legitimate baseball prospect. So it stands to reason that Brady should be a completely legitimate hockey player.

Even the Ducks’ official Twitter account agrees with us:

Looks pretty good in a Ducks sweater and completely unnecessary eye black in an indoor area, don’t you think? I’m sure some fans would be pissed about him taking the number of Devante Smith-Pelly, but they’ll get over it eventually.

Adding Brady to the Ducks’ roster would undoubtedly be a significant boost to a team that lacks offensive firepower. He may not be as fast and mobile as before, but his IQ is off the charts and would live the Gretzky mantra of, “I skate where the puck is going to be.” We all know that having a high hockey IQ can make up for things like lack of speed.

Brady could also give Anaheim a much-needed boost in passing ability. The task of completing tape-to-tape passes farther than five feet away has been a struggle at times this season. In fact, one would expect plenty of breakout feeds behind the defense for a multitude of breakaway scoring chances.

However, signing Tom Brady would finally give the Ducks something for which they have long been searching far and wide. Someone who can help on a power play that has not cracked the top 10 in four seasons. Someone who is going to have a significant impact on special teams and will make many more goals possible for this team.

That’s right. A net-front presence.

Since Corey Perry began his decline leading to his eventual buyout, the Ducks have lacked a true net-front presence capable of consistently causing havoc in the crease. With Brady having so much experience working in crowded and collapsing spaces, there is no doubt he would be perfect to stand his ground in front of the goaltender and have Ryan Getzlaf bank in passes off of him.

The future is wide-open for the first time in Brady’s career. Why not have a mid-40s crisis with the Anaheim Ducks, Tom? We all know signing an aging, declining star is the Bob Murray trademark. It makes all the sense in the world.