Whenever you lose a player the caliber of a Scott Niedermayer it's going to hurt and it's going to have an impact on your team whether you like it or not.
What troubles me the most about the Anaheim Ducks, at least defensively, is this little fact. Over the past couple of season here are the players they've lost on their blue line:
- Scott Niedermayer
- Chris Pronger
- Francois Beauchemin
That's a lot of talent right there... At least two Hall of Famers and one buckle-down, no nonsense defenseman in front of the goal which is what the Ducks sorely missed all season last season.
I've said it before and I'll say it again but the one guy the Ducks really needed to replace last season was Beauchemin. The Ducks were desperate last season for a stay-at-home defender so much so that they traded for 37 year old Aaron Ward in an attempt to fill the void and he barely had an impact.
This off-season thus far they've signed Toni Lydman to play on the blue line and while he's a nice player, he's not the defensive presence you're looking for in front of the net. He's definitely an upgrade talent-wise but the Ducks still need a guy in front of the goal that can clear the crease. Both Lydman and Lubomir Visnovsky are more "move-the-puck" style defensemen than they are "clear-the-puck" type defensemen and personally I'd like to see the Ducks pick up one of the latter.
Offensively the Ducks still have what it takes to get back into the playoffs but not if they don't upgrade the defense... Still waiting to see what the Ducks do to upgrade their defense if they do anything...
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