1. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this happy about the Ducks‘ actions at the trade deadline. Mind you, that’s because the bar has been set pretty low over the past few years. Most of this happiness comes from the Stephane Robidas trade. I still haven’t completely forgiven him for being the best player on the ice in the final game of the Ducks’ 2008 postseason — watch his goal and beautiful assist here — but he will have many chances to redeem himself in coming weeks and, hopefully, months. Make no mistake about it, Robidas is a Damn Good Hockey Player, and he will do more for this team than Dustin Penner would have. Speaking of Penner . . .
2. The one thing I didn’t like about the way Bob Murray handled this particular deadline was his assertion that he didn’t want to get rid of anyone on the team right after he got rid of Dustin Penner. It just seemed disrespectful. I feel bad for the guy, and I wish him success with the Washington Capitals. But it does sound like he wasn’t working as hard as he ought to have been, and if that’s the case, Murray did the right thing in getting him out of the locker room.
3. The Ducks don’t need a Ryan Kesler right now. They could use one, but they don’t need one. If they were in the position of the San Jose Sharks or the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Boston Bruins — in other words, if they needed to win the Cup now if they were going to win it at all — then maybe it’s worth throwing in a Nick Bonino to sweeten the deal. But they don’t need to win this year. What they need is some playoff experience, and they’re going to get it. That sucks if you’re Teemu Selanne, but it’s the truth. This team is in a position to contend for at least the next few years, and it simply isn’t worth giving up major assets now to grab a player like Kesler. Let me be clear: I’m glad Murray tried to get a big name player at the deadline. It means we can expect him to go after either the same big name player or a different one or multiple such players come July. If not for the small matter of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that happen first, I’d already be excited about what’s going to happen this summer.
4. Randy Carlyle deserved every bit of his warm reception at Honda Center. Yes, his coaching philosophy held the team back in the second half of his tenure. Yes, he needed to be fired, and it probably should have happened earlier than it did. And yes, I am a huge believer in the superiority of the Bruce Boudreau system over the Randy Carlyle system. But this man won us a Cup. The argument that a brain-dead monkey could have won a Cup with that team might have some validity, but it doesn’t change the fact that This Man Won Us A Cup. He was hard on Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in their pre-superstar days, and that is probably exactly what they needed. I’m willing to give him some credit for the leader Getzlaf has turned into. I hope I’m not alone in expressing that sentiment.
5. Please do not overreact to the recent losses. The Ducks outshot the Canadiens, Penguins, and Maple Leafs 117 to 71. While the Habs and Pens needed the skills competition to win, the Leafs got their two points off a bad turnover by Getzlaf, a bad pinch by Francois Beauchemin, and the abject failure of the Anaheim power play to score a goal despite not looking too bad. That’s something the Anaheim power play has done a lot of lately, by the way — not scoring despite not looking too bad. If I’m Bruce Boudreau, I’m devoting a lot of practice time to the power play.