In a perfect world, the Anaheim Ducks would welcome Scott Niedermayer back into their line-up, at some point in December, without needing to subtract a player or contract to make that happen. That would bolster their line-up for the second half playoff push and maybe get them back on the rails after a slow start, compounded by back-to-back losses against an Edmonton Oilers' team that they're actively rooting against, since they own the Oilers' top pick in the ultra-deep draft class of 2008.
It can't go that smoothly though - not since Niedermayer is signed for both this year and next year and the league, under salary-cap guidelines, won't allow the Ducks to exceed this year's $50.3 million cap threshold, with contracts that add to more than that figure for next year. Ideally, they'd like to move a contract before the talk of Niedermayer's return gets into overdrive and that's where the problems start. It'd be easiest to move Francois Beauchemin, who earns a modest $1.65 million rather than Mathieu Schneider, signed as Niedermayer's replacement at a hefty $5.625 million. Moving a contract of that magnitude is a staggering challenge, which is why Ducks' general manager Brian Burke has been lobbying for years to give team the right to retain salary in transactions.
Truth be told, the player the Ducks would most like to ship out is Todd Marchant who earns $2.517 million - too much for what he brings to the table as a fourth-line checking forward. Who would take Marchant, up front, at the figure? No one. That's why the Ducks might need to get creative to make a deal happen. Someone with salary-cap space might take Marchant off their hands, provided Anaheim sweetened the deal by including their own 2009 first-round choice in the transaction.
It'd be similar to the strategy the New Jersey Devils employed last year to circumvent their own salary-cap woes - sending a first-round pick to the San Jose Sharks, along with a player they were trying to dump (Vladimir Malakhov) in exchange for their much-needed salary-cap relief (the Sharks wer able to fit Malakhov under their own cap; by getting him off their payroll, the Devils were able to sign Brian Gionta to an extension). It's not a transaction for the faint of heart, or the unimaginative, but Burke has never been accused of being either in his lengthy time as an NHL GM - and if it gets Anaheim back among the contenders for the Stanley Cup, he might decide it's a move worth making, or at the least, considering.
