With Titov, Ducks Get a Second Wind

The job is simple, straightforward to the point of being painfully obvious. Yet so many other players, including at least one future Hall of Famer, have been in his skates and failed the assignment miserably.

It’s no secret the Ducks, a.k.a. the One-Line Wonders, desperately need scoring beyond their top line of left wing Paul Kariya, center Steve Rucchin and right wing Teemu Selanne. Last season, they combined to score 94 of the team’s 217 goals (43.3%).

So what makes German Titov different? What makes the Ducks believe he will succeed where so many others have not?

It could be Titov’s steely 6-foot-1, 201-pound frame or thick Russian accent that sets him apart. It also could be his calm, poised demeanor on the ice and in the dressing room.

“He’s strong like a bull,” Selanne said. “He’s a little different from the others. He’s a really physical player. He’s good in the corners and has a lot of speed.”

Titov, 34, has at least one other significant attribute. He knows from recent experience what needs to be accomplished to support a superstar-driven top line.

“It was the same situation in Pittsburgh when I played with [Jaromir] Jagr,” he said, referring to the NHL’s leading scorer four times in the last six seasons, including three in a row. “You can’t have only one line and win over the course of 82 games. Other teams shut down Jagr, which is why Pittsburgh got Alexei Kovalev and me for the second line.”

Teams shut down Kariya and Selanne on occasion, too, which is why the Ducks signed Titov to a three-year, $4.5-million contract July 1. It’s not as if the organization hasn’t tried to beef up its second line in the past, but the results have been pretty shabby in the final analysis.

Jari Kurri, Wayne Gretzky’s runningmate during the Edmonton Oilers’ dynasty of the 1980s, got the call from the Ducks for 1996-97, Selanne’s first full season in Anaheim. Didn’t work. Kurri managed only 13 goals and 35 points and promptly retired to his native Finland, awaiting the day he’s enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Scott Young, a promising young player, joined Tomas Sandstrom, a veteran well past his prime, on the second line in 1997-98. Neither panned out.

Young had 13 goals and 33 points, but was not re-signed for the following season. Sandstrom resisted the urge to retire after scoring nine goals and 17 points. He returned in 1998-99, but only in hopes of erasing painful memories of his first season in Anaheim. He retired to his native Sweden after recording 15 goals and 32 points.

Marty McInnis, acquired in an October 1998 trade with Chicago, picked up the slack for Sandstrom, establishing a team record for a second-line player with 18 goals and 52 points.

Last season, Matt Cullen was the Ducks’ fourth-leading scorer among forwards with 39 points, including 13 goals. He trailed Rucchin, the third-leading scorer, by a whopping 18 points.

Fact is, only Kariya, Selanne and Rucchin in the franchise’s seven-season history have recorded 60 points or more in a season. Only McInnis, Terry Yake and Bob Corkum have scored more than 50 points.

“You can’t compare our first line to our second line,” McInnis said. “You can’t compare them to anybody’s second line.”

Indeed, Kariya and Selanne last season were the league’s top one-two punch for the second consecutive season, scoring 86 and 85 points, respectively. But the drop-off in production after the top line is among the Ducks’ greatest weaknesses, one exploited repeatedly by opponents over the years.

Hoping to put an end to that, the Ducks signed Titov on the first day free agents were eligible to change clubs. Pierre Gauthier, Duck president and general manager, said he wanted “more weapons” for hamstrung Coach Craig Hartsburg.

“He brings a lot more than just points,” Hartsburg said of Titov, a 50-point scorer for most of his NHL career. “He’s a smart defensive player. The more he plays [on the Ducks’ second line], the more he’ll improve.”

Although Titov is 34, he has spent only seven seasons playing the NHL’s grueling 82-game schedule, so his body isn’t beaten down like some players his age. Titov played no more than 45 games in a season for Khimik, his Russian club team, between 1986 and 1992. He joined TPS Turku in Finland for the 1992-93 season, scoring 25 goals and 44 points in 47 games.

The Calgary Flames selected him with their 10th pick in the 1993 entry draft. The Flames dealt him to Pittsburgh on June 17, 1998, and the Penguins traded him in March of this year to Edmonton. Titov became an unrestricted free agent July 1.

“A lot of people don’t know about him,” said McInnis, Titov’s frequent linemate with the Flames in 1996-97 and 1997-98. “He’s skilled. He’s smart. I think he’s really underrated. He’s going to help our team out a lot. Paul and Teemu draw the other team’s best defensive forwards every night. They have a lot of pressure on them. If our second or third lines can contribute, it will take the heat off them.”

On paper, it appears that this line has the greatest potential of any second line in the Ducks’ seven-year history. Mike Leclerc is penciled in as the left wing with Titov at center and McInnis on right wing.

Hartsburg also could split up his all-star wingers at times--pairing Kariya with Rucchin and Selanne with Titov, for example, to give the Ducks a vastly different look. Or Hartsburg also could drop Rucchin to the second line and move Titov between Kariya and Selanne, a prospect that had Titov’s eyes sparkling in anticipation the other day.

“It would be very exciting to play with Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne,” Titov said. “I had a good experience playing with Jagr in Pittsburgh, an unbelievable experience. Players like Jagr and Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne are unbelievable.”

The Ducks aren’t asking Titov to be unbelievable. Reliable? Yes. Consistent? Certainly.

“He looks pretty good for being 42,” joked goalie Guy Hebert, who has seen second-line players come and go in his seven seasons in Anaheim. “You never know how old those Russians are.”

Adopting a more serious tone, Hebert added: “I think his defensive skills get lost in the shuffle because everybody looks at his offensive skills. He’s a big guy who can help us out in our own zone. He also is always around the [attacking] net looking to pick up loose pucks. He’s not the type of guy who will panic. He’ll wait for you to make the first move, then walk on by.

“He’s going to cause a lot of problems for [opposing] goalies that I’m not going to have to worry about this year.”

A look at German Titov’s season averages in his seven-year career:

GAMES 70

GOALS 19

ASSISTS 28

POINTS 47

PEN. MIN. 31

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