Ducks Need Feathers Ruffled

The Mighty Ducks lack more than a finisher, though with only five goals on 127 shots in their last three games, they could use a presence around the net.

They lack more than speed on defense, although their shortcomings in that area are becoming obvious.

What they’re missing after turning over their coaching staff and roster is the glue that binds disparate parts into a winning team.

It might be a player who makes a second or third effort battling along the boards. A player who takes charge in the locker room, who knows when to joke and when to jab.

If that player exists, he hasn’t emerged. Enmeshed in a five-game losing streak and with only seven victories in 18 games, the Ducks must find or develop that missing link.

Quickly.

Sergei Fedorov, signed to a five-year, $40-million contract in 2003, showed little inclination to fill that role in his first season and has been injured most of this season. Prize free-agent acquisition Scott Niedermayer is busy enough adjusting to the strange, new world that the anti-obstruction rules have created for defensemen.

But someone must motivate this team to be more assertive from the start: The Ducks haven’t carried a lead into the first intermission in any of their last seven games. “We’re a better hockey team than we’re showing in the first periods,” winger Joffrey Lupul said.

Prove it.

They learned to stop taking bad penalties and converted nine of 28 power plays in defeating Calgary, St. Louis, Phoenix and Nashville in succession a few weeks ago. But a 4-3 loss at Colorado on Nov. 3 halted that progress and plunged them into an abyss, leaving their power play two for 30 in the five losses.

General Manager Brian Burke says he sees no lack of effort.

“People have to remember that we put in an entire new system in all three zones. We’re the only team in our division that made a coaching change and had to make that change too. It’s going to take some time,” he said.

“I’m a big believer that the harder you work, the more breaks you get, and I believe we will get breaks based on how hard we work.”

Coach Randy Carlyle said his team didn’t have enough desperation in its 3-1 loss to Dallas on Sunday and too often “swung by” instead of fighting for winnable pucks.

“We seem to be searching for some form of spark,” Carlyle said. “Right now we’re not winning enough of those confrontations to give us a little bit of an edge.”

Maybe they lost that edge when Burke exceeded the salary cap and got back under by trading gritty center Steve Rucchin to the Rangers and tenacious winger Mike Leclerc to Phoenix.

They have the talent to compete with the elite in the West. But they’ll have to find their missing catalyst soon or risk becoming an expensive failure.

“We need to be more focused and prepared at the start of the game and establish our game first and not wait for something to happen before we respond,” defenseman Keith Carney said. “We feel we have all the ingredients we need to win. ... You have that focus, and I think good things will happen.”

It’s time they turned thought into deed.

Money Matters

Forbes magazine, in a story headlined “Blood on the Ice,” determined that the Toronto Maple Leafs were the NHL’s most valuable team, at $325 million, and the Carolina Hurricanes the least valuable, at $65 million.

It also declared the Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning the best-managed franchises, based on wins-per-player costs over the last five seasons, with playoff victories counting double, and the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Ducks the worst-managed. The Rangers had the highest media revenue, $28 million, to $11 million for the Nashville Predators; the Maple Leafs had the highest operating income, $85 million, and the St. Louis Blues had the highest operating loss, $91 million.

Senior Editor Michael Ozanian, co-author of the article, said he collected data from historical information, sports bankers and records of recent franchise sales, including Henry and Susan Samueli’s purchase of the Ducks and their practice facility for $75 million this year. Anaheim “is not a franchise that I would want to own, but the salary cap gives the owners some time to learn to operate with player costs being fixed, and player costs are your biggest cost,” Ozanian said.

“Hockey is still a very local sport, and by that I mean it gets the most out of local rivalries and support. It’s very hard to sustain a franchise if you can’t fill your arena to 90% or higher of capacity.”

Through 10 games the Ducks averaged 13,345 fans at the Arrowhead Pond, 77.7% of capacity. They averaged 14,275 through 10 games in 2003-04 and 14,988 for the 2003-04 season.

Ozanian, who says he believes the Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins will move and that the NHL might see a migration back to Canada, also said the labor dispute that wiped out last season did produce smart rule changes and a sensible economic structure.

“The impact of the lockout was to strengthen and help franchise values and help profitability,” he said. “It has completely put the onus on owners. If they can’t make the league go now, they have nobody to blame but themselves. There are no more excuses.”

Slap Shots

Some teams have erased the “Thank You Fans” message that appeared inside the blue lines at every arena. “We appreciate and thank our fans for their support, and always will,” NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. “But now it is a club-by-club decision with regard to whether that message remains in/on the ice.”

It disappeared in Detroit, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Boston, Florida, Montreal and San Jose, but remains in most cities. Spokesmen for the Kings and Ducks said they would remove it when a break in their building schedule allows, probably within a month.

The Blues will retire Al MacInnis’ No. 2 during a ceremony April 9. The stalwart defenseman retired before the season as the result of serious eye injuries. His former teammates seem to have retired while still drawing paychecks.

Goaltender Brian Boucher’s hopes of playing for the U.S. Olympic team in Turin, Italy, will vanish if he needs surgery to repair scar tissue around a strained groin muscle. He was injured during the Coyotes’ first exhibition game and aggravated it during a rehabilitation stint in the American Hockey League.