After Ducks Lose Finale, 5-3, Emphasis Shifts to Front Office

One season ended Sunday with the Mighty Ducks’ 5-3 loss against the St. Louis Blues at the Arrowhead Pond. Another more important one begins today for the Ducks.

By now, management should have a pretty good idea what needs to be done to avoid another season as embarrassing as the one completed.

There’s little sense rehashing what went wrong. Coach Pierre Page did that back on March 11 when he hesitated precisely 37 seconds after being asked about the Ducks’ vision for the future.

And then didn’t have an answer.

Page’s silence spoke eloquently to the Ducks’ failure to adequately bolster their overachieving 1996-97 team that reached the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Lumping the blame for the worst season in franchise history on Chicago Blackhawk Gary Suter’s cross-check of Paul Kariya on Feb. 1 is simply dead wrong, as Page said all those weeks ago.

The failures of this season can be traced to several mistakes during the off-season. The vengeful firing of Ron Wilson by team president Tony Tavares on May 20 was only the beginning.

General Manager Jack Ferreira made only excuses for his failures in the free-agent market. He and others in the organization also overrated several of the holdovers from 1996-97, but especially newcomers Espen Knutsen and Tomas Sandstrom.

Ferreira and Tavares have said they intend to be aggressive in the free-agent market this summer. But they have said that in the past and come up with duds like Knutsen and Sandstrom.

“We have signed some free agents in the past,” Tavares said. “They didn’t work out.”

Off-season changes probably will not be limited to players. Whether Ferreira and Page will be around this summer remains in doubt. Asked if he could give Ferreira and Page a vote of confidence, Tavares said Sunday:

“No one is going to get a vote of confidence right now, including me.”

Ferreira was not available for comment after the game. Page said he doesn’t worry about his job security.

“I wouldn’t be sitting people out,” Page said. “I wouldn’t be playing [rookie goalie Tom] Askey. I don’t worry about job security. I always try to do what’s right.”

Page’s status is believed to be more secure than Ferreira’s, particularly since he has two more seasons left on a three-year contract signed last August.

Page, a general manager with the Quebec Nordiques in the early 1990s, could replace Ferreira. Assistant coaches Don Hay or Walt Kyle could then replace Page as coach.

No matter who is the general manager, he will be busy when free agency beings July 1. Tavares and Page each spoke in vague terms about what’s needed. Kariya and Teemu Selanne want defensive depth.

“It’s clear we’ve got to get some help,” Kariya said. “There are going to be a lot of free agents. Defensively, we need some experience back there. We need leadership.”

Kariya, who missed the season’s final 28 games because of post-concussion syndrome stemming from Suter’s hit, also wants a policeman to be added to the roster.

“We need some toughness,” Kariya said. “A guy like that would deter some of the violence. That’s been a problem here.”