With the Ducks, court is in session -- a lot

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Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle was telling reporters after the game-day skate Wednesday that players have come up with a system in which they police themselves for taking unnecessary penalties.

Committing a needless infraction in the offensive zone or losing your cool and taking a retaliation penalty, for example, will get the offender an appointment before the team’s kangaroo court, and he can expect little mercy.

Rumor had it that Brad May and Todd Marchant are the ringleaders, but Marchant insisted that the process is democratic (with a small ‘d’).

‘It’s trial by jury. Everyone is a judge,’ Marchant said.

He wouldn’t disclose the amounts of the fines, but a good chunk of change apparently has been paid. Before the Ducks played Detroit on Wednesday, they were the third-most penalized team in the NHL, with an average of 21.8 minutes per game.

‘Basically it’s to keep everybody in line,’ said Marchant, who listed some of the punishable offenses as violating dress code or being late for a team bus. ‘It’s a lot more about fun than it is about the money.’

He said the money goes to a fund for gifts and parties, but a better use might be toward a charitable fund around holiday time. Given the Ducks’ penchant for taking penalties, that fund could help a lot of people who really need it.

-- Helene Elliott

Photo (left): Brad May. Credit: Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times
Photo (right): Todd Marchant. Credit: Tom Szczerbowski / US Presswire