Ducks Face the Fax: 10 Offered for Trade

There is undoubtedly any number of Mighty Duck players who would welcome a fresh start with a team in better shape then the Ducks. but only 10 are being offered for reprieves at this point.

The Ducks came with in three seconds of a victory in regulation Wednesday before Minnesota’s Marian Gaborik fired a shot that went off goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s pad to force overtime. They then won the game when Keith Carney chipped in a shot with 58 seconds left in overtime for a 3-2 victory in front of 9,511 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Mike Leclerc and German Titov scored to give the Ducks one-goal leads.

The victory ended a four-game losing streak by the Ducks, who moved five points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the race to stay out of last place in the Western Conference.

But some lucky Ducks may not be around to try to hold off the Blue Jackets.

General Manager Pierre Gauthier recently sent a fax to general managers of the other 29 NHL teams listing 10 players in the organization the Ducks would be willing discuss trading, according to a source.

Defenseman Jason York, right wing Marty McInnis, goalie Steve Shields, center Matt Cullen, defenseman Pavel Trnka and defenseman Niclas Havelid were the among the players dangled. But before any of them start getting excited about being traded, takers have yet to step up.

Gauthier has repeatedly said the Ducks are close to being a playoff team. But the inclusion of York, McInnis and Cullen would seem to be a move to a rebuild mode.

The trade deadline is March 19. York and McInnis are veterans that could be of interest to teams making playoff runs, but both are having off-seasons and both have two years remaining on multi-million dollar contracts.

York signed a three-year, $6-million contract as a free agent last summer and it hoped he would provide offense from the blue line. Gauthier said that York was he was a key piece in a rebuilt defense. But York has been bothered by tendinitis in his right shoulder and has struggled defensively and offensively, with four goals and 16 points.

McInnis signed a three-year, $5-million contract extension last season and has been a consistent player on the second line. But he has labored this season and has only two goals in his last 22 games.

Cullen has been touted as one of the Ducks’ up-and-coming young players. But his second-half fades have become worrisome. He has one goal and four points in the last 12 games.

Shields, a restricted free agent after this season, has played well, but the Ducks have depth at the goalie spot, making him expendable. Havelid is still recovering from knee surgery and has been a healthy scratch the last four games. Trnka has been solid, but apparently is not considered essential.

The Ducks, an offensively challenged bunch, had scored 25 goals in their 14 previous games. But they caught a break to take a 1-0 lead 12:08 into the first period.

Leclerc circled behind the net, then flip a shot into the crease. Wild defenseman Benysek knocked the puck in with his stick, giving him as many or more goals for the Ducks this season as five Anaheim players.

In the third period, Richard Park chipped in a rebound with one second left on a Duck penalty to tie the score at 13:21. Titov answered two minutes later, as Cullen and McInnis made slick passes to set him up with an open net.