Ducks Add to Scoring Depth

The Mighty Ducks strengthened their scoring depth Tuesday by signing Espen Knutsen to a one-year contract with an option on 1998-99.

Knutsen, a member of the 1994 Norwegian Olympic team, will be paid $800,000 next season and probably will center the Ducks’ second line. He also is expected to join the Ducks’ power-play unit, perhaps to occasionally team with all-star wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

Knutsen’s signing has produced a bit of international intrigue, however. His Swedish club team is contesting his deal with the Ducks, maintaining he has violated the terms of a five-year contract he recently signed with his Swedish club team, Djurgarden of Stockholm.

Duck president Tony Tavares said the team’s deal with Knutsen was approved by the NHL and international hockey officials, and he expects Knutsen in Anaheim when training camp opens in September.

“He’s creative with the puck and an excellent passer,” Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “He’s a skilled forward. Hopefully, he’ll give us more scoring on the second line.”

The Ducks’ top line of Selanne, Kariya and Steve Rucchin was among the NHL’s most productive last season. Selanne had 51 goals, Kariya 44 and Rucchin 19, but the scoring then fell off dramatically. Brian Bellows was the next-leading goal-scorer with 16 and only three other forwards scored 10 goals or more.

Jari Kurri, who had 13 goals last season, signed Friday with Colorado as a free agent.

The Ducks don’t expect Knutsen, 25, to immediately replace Kurri, but hope he’ll bolster their production on the second line. Knutsen had 16 goals and 49 points in 39 games for Djurgarden last season. In three seasons with Djurgarden, he had 32 goals and 102 points in 101 games.

Nicknamed “Shampoo” because his long blond hair flows freely from beneath his helmet, Knutsen is regarded as the best hockey player in Norwegian history.

He grew up in a working-class section of Oslo, and despite his flashy style, is known as a hard-working player. He is relatively small at 5 feet 11, 180 pounds but has recently started a weight-lifting program to bulk up for the more physical play he expects to find in the NHL.

The Ducks failed to beat Tuesday’s midnight deadline to sign Johan Davidsson, a Swedish forward they picked on the second round of the 1994 draft.

“Obviously, he doesn’t think we’re offering enough money,” Ferreira said. “Sooner or later, the kid’s got to cut the cord and decide whether he’s going to play here or not.”

Davidsson, 22, had 18 goals and 39 points in 50 games playing for HV 71, a rival of Knutsen’s team in the Swedish league.

Earlier this summer, the Ducks signed Antti Aalto, a center from Finland who also will contend for a spot on the second or third lines.

On the coaching front, Ferreira said he phoned Calgary General Manager Al Coates to resume compensation talks so the Ducks can hire Pierre Page but was told Coates is on vacation.

The Ducks are believed to be close to hiring Don Hay as an assistant. Hay once was considered the leading candidate to replace Ron Wilson as head coach, but fell out of the running when Page resigned June 18 in Calgary.