July 1st; Meet the new duck, Toni Lydman + Koivu re-signs and still no new deal with Bobby Ryan

So, now the July 1st is over and not much has happened with the Ducks. Although, that might not be entirely a bad thing, since the Ducks didn't overpay at all in the first day of the free agency, to get the guy they wanted on their backend, and that guy, is Toni Lydman. He's one of the defenceman I put on my list which I hoped DUcks GM Bob Murray would take a look at. Lydman signed a 3-year contract with Anaheim, which pays him $9 million overall ($3M/year). Ducks also re-signed their assistant captain Saku Koivu to a $5 million deal, which pays the Finnish native Koivu $2.5 million per year. Ducks winger Bobby Ryan did not sign a new deal with the Ducks yesterday, rejecting five-year deal worth $25 million offer from the Ducks. When it comes to the negotiations of Ryan's new contract, Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray was also quoted saying that he's “done for a while”, which certainly doesn't sound that promising to the countless number of Ducks fans waiting their star winger to re-sign. Murray also said that now that Koivu is re-signed, he expect to get in touch with Selanne later. Obviously we all hope that Teemu still wants to come back to play with the Ducks this season, and now that Koivu is re-signed, I think there is a good chance that 'Finnish Flash' ain't quite done yet.

As an avid Team Finland follower, I have had the chance to watch Toni Lydman play many times over the years. Lydman could be described as a solid all-around defenceman, who's strenght is smart, positional defensive play to go along with his smooth skating. He sometimes makes the occasional defensive gaffe, but he still would be a consistent #3-4 guy on pretty much any team in the NHL, and I think that's exactly the role Lydman will be playing on the Ducks defence. He pretty much always makes the simple play, and overall tries to play mistake-free hockey. He is also good on the PK, can play the powerplay and he likes to block shots, which probably is going to come in handy with the Ducks this season. My personal opinion is, that this a very good signing by Anaheim, and I think that Lydman is going to provide lots of stability on the Ducks defence the next 3 years.

Ducks basically played it safe on this year's July 1st, but that doesn't necessarily mean, that the Ducks are done when it comes to shaping their roster for this upcoming season. I think (and hope for Hiller's sake) that GM Bob Murray is still looking to capture one quality defenceman, maybe from the free agency, or perhaps in some kind of a trade. It remains to be seen what Murray has in his mind, but I think we'll know soon enough.

Go Ducks!

This waiting is killing me! Come back Teemu and Scott!

Here we are Ducks fans, once again waiting and waiting to see, which conclusion these two Ducks icons and veterans will end up to. I, for one, don't hold that much grudge against them and their decision to sit back and think about it (retiring) for some time after the season is done. They have families and all, and we casual hockey fans don't really know what's going on inside of a veteran hockey player's mind. They decide when they decide, and what they decide. As fans though, we obviously hope it's quick decision, so we can sleep our night's in peace, or you know, in agony. However, it's interesting this time around, because now I honestly feel, that atleast in Niedermayer's case, retiring is an actual possibility. I haven't really felt that way in the previous year's. I just had this weird feeling listening Scotty in the interview recorded by NHL Live, that this might actually be it. Anyway, let's just hope for the best and see what happens.

When it comes to Teemu though, it's a bit different story this time around. He had this to say in a recent Finnish newspaper. So according to that, it's pretty obvious that he still has some gas left in the tank and would want to keep on playing, if the team remains somewhat the same and if the Ducks still want to compete for the Stanley Cup. He clearly had fun playing this season, especially now that his Finnish comrade Saku Koivu is also sharing the Ducks sweater. Selanne also says that he feels that Koivu is pretty much on the same boat. They want to win, and they want to do it now. I see absolutely no reason at all why they both wouldnt't come back. If (when) Anaheim GM Bob Murray starts to upgrade the shaky Ducks defence, I see a possible dark horse contender. And we all know how well they both played this season, considering all the injuries they both had. Koivu was a real solid second line centerman, who also was/is a defensive magician. And to top that off, he also was the most consistent Duck all season long, and he also scored some big, important goals as well (6GWG). So hopefully the Finnish warriors come back for an another year...or two ;)

Bobby Ryan situation still is almost at the 'no news' phase, however he gave an interview to OC Register couple of days ago, where you'll find couple of interesting quotes. Apparently he isn't seeking Getzlaf/Perry money after all, although he did say he feels he can be mentioned among them, so if I were a betting man (and I am), I would say he's looking for a 4-year contract around 5-5.3 million mark. If he would sign a 4-year contract, the deal would take him in to the Unrestricted Free Agency, where the Ducks wouldn't hold any right's whatsoever over him when the deal's up. I have a feeling that's the thing where the dispute is, not the money (well, it's always about the money) but on the contract lenght. It will be interesting to see who's going to cave in eventually, Murray & the Ducks, or Ryan and his crew.

It should be an exciting week in the world of the NHL, and hopefully the Ducks will make the right choices concerning the future of the club. NHL Entry Draft is held in California @ Staples Center (boo) this Friday and Saturday, so to all the Ducks fans going there, have a good one and watch Anaheim draft their new superstar! :)

And here are the Anaheim's picks for this year's draft:

12th Overall Round 1
29th Overall (From Philadelphia)
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42nd Overall Round 2
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102nd Overall Round 4
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132nd Overall Round 5
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161st Overall (From Dallas) Round 6
174th Overall (From Phoenix)
177th Overall (From Montreal)

Thanks goes to SBN Blog Anaheim Calling for finding out these picks.

Edit: The date for some reason is messed up, and I don't know how to fix it, but just to clarify I wrote this in June 21st.