2010-11 Anaheim Ducks Preview: Ready to Bounce Back?

Filed under: Ducks

A year ago, the Ducks were trying to figure out how to fill the void left by Chris Pronger. The team's subsequent disappointing season made it appear at times as if they'd never quite got over losing their big bruiser.

Scott Niedermayer's retirement leaves questions about defense, leadership

Now Anaheim must adjust to another major loss on the blue line: Captain Scott Niedermayer, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, retired this past summer.

"Losing Scotty was a big hit," forward Bobby Ryan said after agreeing to a five-year deal earlier this month. "There's no getting around that."

So where will the defense come from? The leadership? The return of Teemu Selanne, another potential retiree, will help with the latter and Ryan Getzlaf is a candidate for the "C" along with Saku Koivu and Todd Marchant, but the defense remains the top question mark heading into the season.

"Chris and Scott are guys you can't replace quickly," Ducks general manager Bob Murray told FanHouse. "We've tried to make the defense stronger and we saw some improvement last year. We'll see if we can improve more this year."

Anaheim added ex-Sabre Toni Lydman, signing him to a three-year, $9 million deal, but double-vision prevented Lydman from joining the Ducks for the start of their camp, an alarming development. The imposing Andy Sutton also comes aboard; he has Pronger-type size (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) if not quite Pronger-level skill or game-changing intimidation factor.

"He's a big, strong man, and physical, which we'd gotten away from," Murray said.

Lubomir Visnovsky is back for a full season, Paul Mara was signed at the start of camp when the team learned of Lydman's vision issues. Sheldon Brookbank will be a sixth or seventh defenseman, and Luca Sbisa also is an option. Cam Fowler, at the age of 18, could see a lot of time with the Ducks, so great is the need for D. Goaltender Jonas Hiller is good, but he needs far more help in front of him, particularly when it comes to shot-blocking; Sutton is expected to be a big plus there, Murray said.

There is zero concern about the Ducks' ability to put the puck in the net. "Our forwards should be able to score some goals," Murray said, bordering on deadpan.

 

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