Ducks Not Willing to Trade Up

According to reliable reports, the Mighty Ducks will make a move today that is expected to bolster their chances in their race with Winnipeg and the Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.

This morning the Ducks fly from LAX to Toronto, where they will begin their last road trip before the All-Star break.

The Ducks haven’t made a better trade this season--ridding themselves of Anaheim Arena for a week in exchange for a pair of games at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.

As a matter of fact, the Ducks haven’t made any trades this season. In October, that didn’t seem like much of an issue, with the nondescript Ducks expected to hunker down in their inaugural season, take their licks and quietly lay the groundwork for 1996 from the anonymous sanctuary of last place.

Since then, the stakes have been raised, oh, a mile or three. The Ducks entered Sunday night’s game against Vancouver with 38 points, leaving them two points shy of the eighth-place Kings and one behind ninth-place Winnipeg.

Earlier Sunday, the Kings lost to Philadelphia, remaining at 40 points, and Winnipeg was edged in overtime by Tampa Bay to stay at 39.

What a sight: Scoreboard watching in Anaheim Arena in mid-January.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, they neglected to take care of their own scoreboard, particularly in the first period, when the Canucks pummeled Ron Tugnutt for four goals, all they would require in a 4-3 victory that kept the Ducks spinning their wheels on the home ice.

Another one-goal defeat, their 14th of the season.

Another home defeat, their 15th, dropping them to 5-15-2 in Anaheim, a mere shell of their very respectable 12-12-0 record on the road.

So close . . . and yet, the temptation grows with every one of these three-period teases: If only the Ducks had another scorer.

In Florida, where the other first-year team finds itself in a similar predicament, contending before its time, the Panthers have burned the phone lines, trading from the hip. Florida has made 11 trades so far, the most recent bringing the Panthers 27-goal scorer Bob Kudelski from Ottawa.

The Ducks, meanwhile, have sat on their hands, signing a Don McSween here and a Dean Ewen there, working the overstock bins at Pic N’ Save. General Manager Jack Ferreira’s concept of home improvement has been to wait.

Wait for Steven King, Tim Sweeney and Bill Houlder to play up to their minor league credentials.

Wait for Anatoli Semenov’s dislocated elbow to heal.

Wait for Paul Kariya to fulfill his Olympic commitment with Team Canada and coming riding in on a white horse in early March, providing Disney can shake free enough badly pinched pennies to get his name on a contract.

“We talked about Kudelski,” Ferreira says. “Early in the season, we didn’t want him. Later, we were more interested but (Ottawa) was looking for a big guy (i.e., Todd Ewen or Stu Grimson), and we didn’t want to give one up.

“I think the answers we’re looking for are within the organization. Guys like Kariya and (Valeri) Karpov, who are unsigned. Those guys are offensive players. They can really help us.”

Kariya, the Ducks’ No. 1 draft pick last June, had 29 points in his first 17 games with Team Canada. His skating and puck-handling skills would be one cure for the Anaheim blues, but as the Ducks are about to discover, drafting Kariya is going to be a lot easier than signing him.

“We’ll see,” Ferreira said, softly chuckling to himself. “I watched Kariya last night (against Team USA). He played OK. We’ll see what develops during the Olympics.”

The Ducks need something, especially if the results of the Toronto Sun’s sixth annual NHL talent poll are to be believed. Each year the end of December, the Sun assembles a staff of so-called “experts”--television commentators Don Cherry and John Davidson were two of the five names--to rate the individual talent in the league by position, then assemble the totals for each team.

According to the poll, the least talented team in the NHL is, yes, the Mighty Ducks. By a decent margin, behind San Jose and Tampa Bay.

The Ducks’ top-ranked left wing? Garry Valk, tied for 78th.

The Ducks’ top-ranked defenseman? Sean Hill, tied for 75th, followed by Bill Houlder (tied for 104th), Alexei Kasatonov (tied for 137th), Randy Ladouceur (142nd) and Bobby Dollas (154th).

Semenov was the highest rated Duck, tied for 30th among right wings, which Ferreira found interesting, considering Semenov plays center.

“And look at this,” Ferreira scoffed at he studied the numbers. “Terry Yake (tied for 42nd among centers) is a right wing. They have (Patrik) Carnback (the 94th center) ahead of Bob Corkum (No. 96) and Corkum leads us in goals. That’s all wrong.”

Ferreira’s final assessment:

“I don’t believe the polls. It doesn’t surprise me, but I don’t agree we have the worst talent. The talent we have suits what we do.”

Interestingly, Ron Wilson finished in a four-way tie for 16th on the top coaches list. If the Ducks have the worst talent in the league, and are two points out of a playoff spot, Wilson must be doing something right, right?

There you have it: Outside of Anaheim, the Ducks get no respect.

It’s been a slow sale, to say nothing about the trades.