Count on Different Look for the Ducks Next Season

After a year of upheaval, the Mighty Ducks would figure to have things a lot more settled this off-season after their surprising run to the Western Conference finals.

Instead, change will be the theme heading into summer. Next month, they will simply be known as the Anaheim Ducks and will unveil a new uniform and logo in new colors -- believed to be black and orange -- to complete their break from the Disney era.

Of more relevance will be the expectations they created after a record-breaking regular season and a playoff run that fell one step short of their second Stanley Cup finals in three seasons.

“The fact is we won’t be sneaking into any building next year,” said Coach Randy Carlyle, whose team had a franchise-best 43-27-12 record in his first season. “We have to make some adjustments to our plan to make sure we have success. Because you can’t stay stagnant.”

The next challenge for the franchise is maintaining success. After each of their three previous playoff appearances, the Ducks failed the make the postseason the next year.

“I’ve seen the same movie too many times,” General Manager Brian Burke said. “We don’t want to be the next Washington or Buffalo or Vancouver, after 1994. To get to the finals without those building blocks in place, you’re going to take a hard fall.

“That’s what I’m trying to avoid here.”

Burke will have his share of issues to address, ranging from what he will do with a potential goaltending controversy to making another foray into the free-agent marketplace while retaining top players.

The biggest decision could be what they do with goalies Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov. The 29-year-old Giguere, who had 30 victories, has a year remaining on his contract worth nearly $4 million. Bryzgalov, 25, makes far less and is coming off a strong playoff performance.

Burke said his ideal scenario would be to bring both back to battle for the No. 1 job in training camp. The looming question is whether the Ducks will commit to Bryzgalov before camp, which probably would result in a trade of Giguere. Giguere said he hopes to remain in the place that gave him his first big break.

“I’m not sure what they’re going to do,” he said. “It’s a little bit uncertain, I won’t lie to you.... If their intention is to trade me and the right deal comes this summer, I’m sure they’ll do it.

“My job is to be ready for next season wherever I’m going to play.”

As far as free agency, the Ducks are expected to pursue a top defenseman from an all-star class that includes Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Ed Jovanovski and Rob Blake.

With the salary cap expected to rise to at least $42 million, they’ll probably have money to spend even after handing out raises to young forwards Andy McDonald and Joffrey Lupul, both of whom had the best seasons of their careers.

The most pressing task involving their unrestricted free agents may be keeping Teemu Selanne. The 35-year-old forward, who signed a one-year, $1-million contract to return to Anaheim, rewarded the Ducks with a 40-goal, 90-point season after coming back from major knee surgery.

Selanne figures to attract interest on the open market at a significantly higher price tag. On Sunday, the popular forward said he would take a few days to assess his options but reiterated his preference to stay with the Ducks.

When asked whether he will playing anywhere else, Selanne said: “You never know. In my mind, I don’t think so. I don’t know what they think.

“I’m not going to go into free agency trying to take every penny that’s available. For some reason, all my contracts have been very easy.”

Said Burke: “I’m going to give him seven days and then I’ll be calling him.”

Defenseman Ruslan Salei is another free agent. In his case, the Ducks might be willing to let their longest-tenured player walk away, with prospects Ladislav Smid, Shane O’Brien and Maxim Kondratiev waiting in the wings. Burke and Salei’s agent, Todd Diamond, are far apart in contract negotiations, with the defenseman seeking a long-term deal and the general manager unwilling to commit to a three-year contract. Salei made $1.8 million on a one-year deal this season.

“He said he would not accept anything less than a three-year contract,” Burke said. “I told Rusty, ‘He’s not getting that from me.’ ”

A fixture with the team since 1996, said he realized Saturday night might be the last time he wears a Ducks uniform.

“I won’t lie to you, I thought about it,” he said. “It could be my last game. But you never know. Maybe it’s not the last game.

“I’m at the stage of my career where I want to sign long-term.... It all depends on what they want and what they believe.”

The Ducks’ next goal is to be a perennial playoff team, and their hopes are fueled by an impressive young core in Lupul, Francois Beauchemin, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Chris Kunitz and Dustin Penner that figures to be in Anaheim for years to come. At 26, Kunitz is the oldest of the group.

“Coming into camp, the expectations will be there,” said captain Scott Niedermayer, the team’s big free-agent signing of last summer. “We’re going to have to respond to that as a team. If we work as hard as we did this year and maybe harder, there should be nothing we can’t do.”