And just like that...
I told you so.
Francois Beauchemin has signed with the Anaheim Ducks of Toronto. Brian Burke has struck again!
Quick question for the man (Burke)..."are there no other players in the league that fit your standards or what?! MUST you take ALL of Anaheim's players/coaching staff with you?!"
Defensively, the real Anaheim is starting to look a little scary. Let's all hope that James Wisniewski's arbitration goes well, huh?!
So just like with Pronger, there are a few things I'm going to miss about Beauchemin...but mostly, I'm going to miss how much I thought he was like Scott Niedermayer. I've always felt that Beauch was like the poor mans Scotty, and I really think that Anaheim is going to hurt without his presence. The Ducks definitely struggled on the blueline this past season and when Beauch did return to the lineup, I think many fans realized how valuable he was.
Most of all, I'm going to miss the mis-pronunciation of his name. I don't think I've ever had a good handle on it myself, but hearing VS. announcers and other play by play guys calling him BeaucheMAN during the 2007 run for the cup will always be my favorite.
So, long live BeaucheBOY in our hearts...au revoir BeaucheMAN.
One thing is for sure. Brian Burke is really making some enemies in Anaheim.
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So this kinda brings me to this next topic...one that I thought I would blog about, then decided to pass on. But now, it might be fitting.
I'm kinda disappointed.
I'm actually disappointed in Scott Niedermayer.
WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?! Another year of Scotty...that's fantastic!
Perhaps. But I'm disappointed in him. I thought he was better than that. Let me start off by saying this...
There are no other defensemen I want to see on my team. I love Scotty and I think he's an amazing player, one hell of a leader and does more for the Anaheim Ducks than I think fans realize. I think Scotty is easily a 6, 7, 8 million dollar defenseman...
And yet, I think he should have taken less, much less.
Look, we all know why he's coming back. This is MOST LIKELY going to be his final year and he's VERY interested in the Olympics. He's just made over 26 million in the last 4 years...and yet...he needs another 6? Ramon and Krystal don't agree with me. They think he deserves it. I agree with that. He's WORTHY of the 6 million. But why not be a team player? Give up a few million and allow the team to spend that money elsewhere (LIKE WITH BEAUCHEMIN!)?! Mini asks, "but if someone offered you 6 million, wouldn't you take it?" SURE I would...but if I wanted to win another cup and I knew that if I saved my team 2 million just for signing less...you bet I would. You bet that the team could mean more. If I was Scott Niedermayer, you know, the only player in hockey history to have won every major championship...the man who's done it all, been there, done that...MAYBE, just MAYBE I'd do what I could to get my teammates to that same place!
I love Scott Niedermayer, I'm glad he's returning to play another season and doing that with the Anaheim Ducks...but I wish he wouldn't have been so selfish, and gave a little back to the team... I can't imagine he NEEDS the money.
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Like I said, this was just a thought I had after Scotty signed his recent 1 year deal for $6 million. I was initially very upset about how much money he signed for. I recalled Selanne taking less to stay with the team, and it just felt like this was a great opportunity for Scotty to do the same. Some say that he did take less to stay with the Ducks. But just think, maybe a little LESS...and we wouldn't be saying bye to Francois Beauchemin today. Just a thought.
GO DUCKS!!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
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3 comments:
I think the NHLPA sets limits on the type of "less" players can take, but I don't know how it works. I might also be completely wrong on this, as Selanne's playing for near the minimum. That said, I think I just rationalized my own "what if" out to a "no" but...:) GET WIZ and Marchant and we're good, no?
Yea, I've considered the whole "minimum" thing. I'd still think that Scotty's "minimum" must be less than $6 mil? I have no idea how it works either though. LOL. (Thanks for throwing the huge "logical factor" into my rant though, haha, just kidding.)
I think signing Wisniewski is a must, but I've been thinking that was the case well before Murray mentioned that Beauchemin was planning on testing the market. Now I think it's even more imperative. If Wiz does sign, that gives the Ducks some more veteran help (if we're willing to call Wiz a veteran), alongside Scotty and Ryan Whitney. Other than Brookbank and the new kid Sbisa (who I know NOTHING about)...we're looking at a young defense littered with Rookies. Unless Murray has something up his sleeve, I'm kinda worried right now. We saw how solid the Ducks were with those rookies last year...yikes!
Great read, and a great discussion topic. I think I'm going with the position your friends have taken--the 6mil is a fair number. It's a discount in itself, and I feel he took a discount when he signed here 4 yrs ago. I'm thrilled to see Scotty play another year in ANA. I don't see the 6mil as selfish. And I don't see the 6mil having much impact on Beauch. Even though Beauch said ANA was his first choice, Free Agency was really his first choice. He said as much. And I think Murray even said he would have done the Pronger deal, regardless of what Scotty had decided. At any rate, good topic. Looking forward to more from you this summer!
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