With Ducks in town, Francois Beauchemin says he has no regrets about leaving

Even as his former Ducks teammates threaten for the Stanley Cup, veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin maintains he has no regrets over accepting a contract offer last summer that brought him the security of a third year that was one more than what Anaheim extended.

Beauchemin, 35, packed up his family and left a place where he’d won a Cup, where he was an assistant captain and helped the team win three consecutive Pacific Division titles, to join the Colorado Avalanche, who are scratching for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“It was a decision I made. I had to think about my career,” Beauchemin told reporters Wednesday morning as he prepared for Colorado’s game Wednesday night against the Ducks, who are riding a 12-game streak with at least one point. “I knew I had some good years left. I wanted to play at least three more.”

He said he was “disappointed, not surprised,” by the Ducks’ delay in attempting to re-sign him until July, when Colorado stepped up with a $13.5-million deal. “It could’ve been done way earlier than June. They didn’t sign me the whole season and then comes June …. It happening then, I had to do what’s best for my family. I didn’t want to move the kids for two seasons … [but the third year] means a lot. With younger guys coming up [in the NHL], there’s less room for the older guys. From where I was at, I needed that third year.”

Colorado (34-30-4) started the day tied with Minnesota for the final playoff spot with 14 games remaining. Some youthful, blown-lead losses sting as Beauchemin has strived to provide stability with a team-best 25 minutes, 16 seconds of average ice time and a career-high 213 blocked shots.

“If we had half of those back, we’d be in the playoffs easy,” Beauchemin said. “My role changed a little bit … it’s been a good atmosphere. We’re working hard every day. We try to keep things simple. Being around a group that hasn’t been in the playoffs much … you’ve got to give it all.

“We all know how hard [the Ducks] play — physical, a big grinding game. It’s important to stay disciplined and not take bad penalties.”

Losing Beauchemin reinforced the team-wide attention to “playing a simple game and not allowing odd-man rushes” on defense, particularly since back-to-back shutout victories Dec. 29 and 31, Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We made sure we were responsible.”

Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who’s plus-six with eight points in his last 11 games, was groomed while paired with Beauchemin the past two seasons.

“He was real good for me, you always feel safe with that veteran guy,” Lindholm said. “We chatted often, he taught me a lot about what to do, how to play. I’m comfortable now in more situations. You do it enough, you get good at it. You don’t wake up and learn it. It comes with experience.”

GIBSON FIRST OFF: Ducks goalie John Gibson, who’s 7-1-1 in net since Jan. 20, left the ice first at Wednesday morning’s skate at Pepsi Center, indicating he’ll start.

RIPE FOR DROP-OFF? Following back-to-back games against the division-leading Kings and the NHL’s most successful team, the Washington Capitals, the Ducks get something of a breather against the Avalanche.

“If we take the foot off the gas, it’s not going to look good on us,” Boudreau said.

“This is a good test, a good team on the road with good forwards,” Lindholm said. “If we play the way we can play, it’s going to be a fun night. You won’t be successful every night if you don’t do all those small things right.”