Ducks Get Bigger

If there was anything to be said about the Ducks and their championship ways, it would be that they had such great size and a blueline corps like no other. Already in the Silly Season, they've decided to sign more size and another defenseman. Both Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider has jumped on board the Anaheim bandwagon and will join the champs with eyes on repeating the feat in 2008.

Bertuzzi is still desperately in need of some time to help his back heal. He only managed to play 15 games last season between Florida and Detroit, but he did manage to pot 11 points in those games. If Bertuzzi is going to return to form with a good off-season regiment, he could very well be a Top 50 kind of player that he once was. It's hard to see if he'll return to the dominant Top 10 player he was a few years ago. He should be considered as a possible sleeper in 2008... but if people are talking about him, slot him into an appropriate round.

Mathieu Schneider also had some injury problems in 2006/07 which limited his play to only 68 games. A good off-season could also do him a lot of good, if and when he assumes a large role due to the retirement of Scott Niedermayer. This Anaheim blueline will be something else, if Niedermayer doesn't retire.

Now, the line-up will have a few holes in it, as Teemu Selanne hasn't given his word as to whether or not he'll come back... many people saying that he won't, so here is the current line-up with Restricted Free Agents listed with an asterisk.

Chris Kunitz	Andy McDonald	Todd Bertuzzi
Dustin Penner *	Corey Perry	Ryan Getzlaf
Rob Niedermayer	Samuel Pahlsson	Travis Moen
Bobby Ryan	Todd Marchant	George Parros

Scott Niedermayer	Chris Pronger
Mathieu Schneider	Francois Beauchemin
Sean O'Donnell	Kent Huskins

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Ilya Bryzgalov

The Ducks are still a little ways from being done in the marketplace, I'm sure with the hole that Selanne leaves behind, there will be a shopping list worked from in Brian Burke's office. Even a Bill Guerin might be a decent fit with the size of the Ducks. Stay tuned!


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