Leclerc Close to Returning

Mike Leclerc went through the motions during practice Monday, looking very much like someone getting ready to play. Whether he will be in the Mighty Duck lineup Wednesday against Washington remains to be seen, but he is inching toward that game.

Leclerc has missed 10 games because of an injured left knee that required arthroscopic surgery.

“It felt pretty good,” Leclerc said. “There was nothing about the knee that held me back. I hope I’m ready to go because I’m tired of beating [assistant coach] Paul MacLean one on one. There is going to be some swelling and some pain, I’ll be able to play with that.”

Leclerc, who has two goals and nine points, will practice again today and then decide whether he will return to the lineup.

The news was less promising for defenseman Ruslan Salei, who has missed five of the last six games with a strained right side. He was reexamined by the team doctor Sunday but is no closer to returning.

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Center Samuel Pahlsson, who left minor league Cincinnati in early November, has returned to Sweden, unhappy that he is still property of the Ducks.

“I will stay [in Sweden] until I’m cleared to leave the Mighty Ducks,” Pahlsson said in Ornskoldsviks Allehanda, a Swedish newspaper. “I will not return to Anaheim.”

Not that anyone has been asking for him. Duck officials have made attempts to trade Pahlsson, but were not offered suitable compensation.

“Anaheim knows what I want and I got bored hanging around and waiting,” Pahlsson said. “Since I am not allowed to play in the NHL, I thought it was just as good to go back home to Sweden. Since I’m on strike, I might as well be in Sweden.”