It's time to rebuild...

...at least in my opinion. I know it's long before deadline, but I don't see this team suddenly molding into a contender this year. Here would be my plan, with all teams' cap situations considered...

…trade or waive Steve Eminger now. Let both Brendan Mikkelson and Brett Festerling play.

…move Nick Boynton, Kyle Calder and Evgeny Artyukhin at the deadline to wherever for picks/prospects.

…trade Scott Niedermayer and Saku Koivu to the New Jersey Devils at the deadline, in a deal that would include Nicklas Bergfors. The Devils would have to make cap room though, but the Ducks could take on Brian Rolston’s cap hit at $5M for the next couple of seasons. However, Rolston has a no trade clause in his contract. The Ducks would more likely have to take on Dainius Zubrus at $3.2M for the next three years. I've spoke to some Devils fans, according to them he's not as overpaid as one might think. It wasn't even long ago he produced a lot of points in Washington, however that was with Alexander Ovechkin. But who's to say he can't put up 45-55 points with Ryan, Bergfors and Lupul on his wings?

…trade Jonas Hiller at the deadline to Calgary for David Moss. Hiller has gone from underrated to overrated this year, maybe the Ducks could get even more. Let Justin Pogge or Timo Pielmeier back up Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the rest of the season.

…package Petteri Nokelainen and George Parros in a deal for a prospect or a draft pick at the deadline.


The team after the deadline would look like:

Bobby Ryan - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Nicklas Bergfors - Dainius Zubrus - Teemu Selanne
Matt Beleskey - Todd Marchant - Joffrey Lupul
Mike Brown - Ryan Carter - David Moss

(Kyle Chipchura, Dan Sexton, Troy Bodie, MacGregor Sharp)

James Wisniewski – Ryan Whitney
Brendan Mikkelson – a pending UFA we could get in a deal
Brett Festerling – Sheldon Brookbank

(Brian Salcido, Mark Mitera)

Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Justin Pogge


Then in the offseason:

…move Justin Pogge and Brett Festerling at the draft.

…re-sign Kyle Chipchura, Bobby Ryan, and James Wisniewski.

…sign goaltender Dan Ellis.

...sign defenseman Zbynek Michalek.

...sign goaltender prospect Mattias Modig. Let Pielmeier and Modig play in the AHL, Jean-Philippe Levasseur in the ECHL.

…sign defensemen Marek Zidlicky and Dan Hamhuis.

…expect Teemu Selanne to retire.


Line up next season:

Joffrey Lupul - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Bobby Ryan - Dainius Zubrus - Nicklas Bergfors
Matt Beleskey - Todd Marchant - David Moss
Kyle Chipchura - Ryan Carter - Mike Brown

(Petteri Wirtanen, Dan Sexton, MacGregor Sharp, Nicolas Deschamps, Troy Bodie)

Marek Zidlicky – Dan Hamhuis
James Wisniewski – Ryan Whitney
Zbynek Michalek – Luca Sbisa

(Sheldon Brookbank, Brendan Mikkelson, Mark Mitera)

Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Dan Ellis

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Basically, we pick up a lot of draft picks and a young ready NHL player in Nicklas Bergfors and young offensive depth in David Moss.

Ellis is a proven back up who has even showed he can be a starter for shorter periods of time.

We pick up a good offensive defenseman in Zidlicky, a shut down defenseman in Hamhuis and a two way defenseman in Michalek.

Post a comment and let me know your ideas for the future.