Babcock: Giguere’s Pads Meet New Length

A new NHL rule that will restrict the length of goaltender pads to 38 inches next season will not affect Mighty Duck goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Coach Mike Babcock said Thursday.

According to Babcock, Giguere’s pads measured 36 inches.

“It’s perception,” Babcock said. “Suddenly there’s some media attention, a lot more than normal on Giguere, but the reality is this is just how good he is.

“He’s a big guy, but the reason he’s big is he’s technically so sound. It’s not like he’s going to get worse [with the new rule].”

Teams will be fined $25,000 if the rule is violated by one of their goaltenders.

Minnesota players complained about the size of Giguere’s pads during his playoff shutout streak of 217 minutes 54 seconds, the fifth-longest in playoff history. Before that, Dallas players also questioned the pad size of Giguere, who was selected the playoff MVP.

“They’re legal,” Giguere said at the time. “What can I say?”

Approximately one-third of NHL goaltenders wore pads that exceeded 38 inches last season, an NHL release said.

Giguere was never reprimanded by the NHL, which did not restrict pad length until now; the only restriction had been that pads could not exceed a width of 12 inches. Giguere passed a measurement request by Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals.

Members of the Stars also accused Giguere of wearing bulky shoulder pads, but that issue was not addressed by the league on Thursday.

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Vaclav “Vinny” Prospal was able to enjoy the announcement of his new contract for about two minutes.

Then came the Paul Kariya questions.

Prospal, the newest addition to the Mighty Ducks, answered several queries about Kariya’s departure from the Ducks, most notably whether he could fill the scoring void left by Kariya.

Prospal, who signed a five-year, $16.5-million deal that could increase to at least $20 million with incentives, said he didn’t consider himself Kariya’s replacement.

“I can’t really think about it that way,” Prospal said by telephone from his home in the Czech Republic. “If I put too much pressure on myself I might be too tight. I’m going to try not to think about it too much and hopefully we’re going to get off to a great start.”

Prospal, 28, is coming off a breakthrough season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. A versatile playmaker who can play center or wing, Prospal had career highs of 57 assists -- fourth-highest in the NHL -- and 79 points, two fewer points than Kariya had with the Ducks.

“He’s a good player, he’s real creative, he sees the ice very well and he can pass the puck very well,” Duck General Manager Bryan Murray said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with Paul Kariya at all. It has a lot to do with adding a quality player. It has nothing to do with replacing anyone.”

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Forward Adam Deadmarsh accepted the Kings’ qualifying offer of a one-year contract for $3 million.

Deadmarsh, 28, said he had fully recovered from post-concussion syndrome that limited him to 20 games and kept him sidelined from mid-December until the end of the season.

“There’s nothing in the gym that I can’t do now, which, at the end of the season, wasn’t the case,” said Deadmarsh, who had 13 goals and four assists last season. “I’m feeling good and getting myself ready.”

L.A. also signed forward Ryan Flinn to a one-year deal.