A GOOFY SITUATION FOR THE DUCKS

Right from the start it was apparent the Mighty Ducks had no plan. Back on May 20, they simply wanted Ron Wilson out after four seasons as their only coach.

“Two to three weeks, maybe more,” General Manager Jack Ferreira predicted when first asked how long it might take to hire a new coach.

Nearly two months later, lawyers for the Ducks and Calgary Flames were expected to speak on a conference call Wednesday in the latest attempt to hammer out an agreement that would allow Pierre Page to become Anaheim’s new coach.

Since Ferreira and Al Coates, Calgary general manager, can’t seem to agree on compensation for Page, other officials from the Pacific Division rivals have decided to make an end run in order to solve this boardroom dispute.

What’s next? Peace talks in Paris?

At present, with the teams still at odds, the Ducks have two options. Actually, there are three, but they say Page is the best man for the job and won’t consider anyone else.

So that leaves Option No. 1: forking over prospects and draft picks to the Flames in order to hire Page immediately. Team President Tony Tavares would rather close the team store than do that, however.

Option No. 2 means waiting until Page becomes a free agent Oct. 1, signing him without compensation but going through September’s training camp without a coach--believed to be unprecedented in NHL history.

When Page resigned June 18 with one season left on a three-year contract, Calgary insisted on an agreement that he not coach another Pacific Division team without the Flames receiving compensation. Their agreement ends Oct. 1.

By then, the Ducks will be winging their way over the Pacific toward Tokyo and their Oct. 3 season-opener against the Vancouver Canucks.

Can you imagine it?

“Attention, ladies and gentlemen, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would like to announce we’ve just passed over the international dateline and we’ve just been given the OK to sign Pierre Page as our new coach. As per club policy, terms of the agreement were not announced. Thank you, please fasten your seat belts.”

Teams have coughed up players, draft picks and even the gate from exhibition games to satisfy compensation demands in the past. But no NHL team in the modern era has willingly gone to training camp without a coach.

How did it come to this? How did hiring a hockey coach get so complicated?

The story begins with the announcement that Wilson would not be retained as the Ducks’ coach despite leading them to their first winning record and first playoff berth.

While Tavares and Ferreira were busy fending off barbs from fans and the media over the decision, another battle was being waged some 1,500 miles north of Anaheim.

By May, Page had become unhappy over stalled contract talks with the Flames. Already one of the lowest-paid coaches in the NHL at $240,000 per season, Page’s attempts to secure a two-year contract extension proved fruitless. The best the Flames would offer was a one-year extension and Page felt insulted.

Moments after Page’s June 18 resignation was announced in Calgary, he emerged as the new front-runner in Anaheim.

Page and Ferreira are longtime friends, having worked together in Calgary and Minnesota in the 1980s. Ferreira, then serving as the North Star general manager, gave Page his first NHL coaching job in 1988. Page later became coach of the Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche) for three seasons and also was GM there for four.

Page returned to Calgary as the Flame coach in 1995 and conventional wisdom had him soon moving into the GM’s position with assistant Kevin Constantine assuming the head coaching duties.

The plan stalled after the Flames went 32-41-9 and missed the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, however. Coates reportedly was unhappy with the team’s performance and refused to meet Page’s contract demands.

Constantine, perhaps sensing what was ahead, quietly jumped at the chance to become the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new coach. It came as a surprise to many, but served as a signal that more change was to come in Calgary.

“Kevin wasn’t saying, ‘boo,’ ” Page said. “Everybody kept their mouths shut.”

Few kept silent in the days to come. When Page quit, Coates was cast as the villain in local newspapers and on radio and TV. More recently, Calgary reporters have suggested that Coates has been “petty” for insisting on compensation for Page from the Ducks.

Ferreira and Tavares, believing they have leverage against the Flames, each said it would be well worth the wait to hire Page without compensation Oct. 1.

But would it?

It means going through training camp without a coach for the second consecutive year. Last September, Wilson missed much of camp while coaching Team USA to the World Cup of Hockey championship. Tavares recently called it “the worst training camp in four years here.”

Walt Kyle and another assistant, expected to be former Phoenix Coyote Coach Don Hay, would direct training camp, install a new system and coach exhibition games.

“It is unorthodox,” said defenseman Bobby Dollas, one of three players remaining from the opening night’s roster in 1993. “Let’s face it, since the Ducks came into the league they’ve done a lot of unorthodox things.

“And you know what? It’s worked.”

By May 20, Tavares and Ferreira believed Wilson’s ego was out of control and they could not effectively work together. It was time to sever their ties.

“We could have won the Stanley Cup and this decision still would have been made,” Ferreira said May 22. “Is that what you want to hear?”

The fans’ uproar, fueled by the Ducks’ unwillingness to precisely state why Wilson was not retained, has abated only slightly since May. Tavares said he was cornered several times while on the Ducks’ fan cruise in the Caribbean last month.

Tavares, with nowhere to run on a ship in the middle of the ocean, tried his best to answer their questions.

“When I sat them down and actually told them the whole story, I think they understood,” Tavares said.

Ferreira and Tavares departed as planned on the team’s June 22 cruise. Hiring Page apparently could wait until they returned.

It wasn’t until July 7 that Ferreira had formal discussions with Coates. Talks went badly that day, and Ferreira’s frustration was obvious. Coates outlined five proposals, asking for prospects and future draft picks.

It remains too steep a price for Ferreira, and he and Coates have not spoken since July 7.