The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim finally got a centre who can play with Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya. Unfortunately for their fans, the Ducks traded Selanne to get him.
Ducks general manager Pierre Gauthier broke up the most dynamic duo in hockey over the past five seasons yesterday when he traded Selanne to the San Jose Sharks for centre Jeff Friesen, goaltender Steve Shields and a conditional second-round draft pick in 2003.
"This isn't expected and part of me is very excited about going to a team like San Jose, which has a chance to advance in the playoffs," Selanne said. "But I will miss the Mighty Ducks and people like Paul Kariya. I guess you could say I am disappointed we didn't get it done, but it seemed to be just Paul and myself against the NHL."
The Ducks have long been criticized for not providing Selanne and Kariya with an elite centre or an adequate supporting cast. As the Ducks fell further in the Western Conference standing, so did their ticket sales.
"We believe the way to bring our fans back is to build a winning hockey club," said Gauthier, who added that he decided to make the trade because Shields and Friesen are players who can help the Ducks immediately. He also denied the move was strictly to dump Selanne's salary. "This market is educated in hockey and will be very supportive of the team if we move forward. We feel we have the pieces in place to be a good club."
Kariya could not be reached for comment, but those around the Ducks yesterday said he was "shocked" by the trade.
Rumours had been circulating for the past couple of weeks about a Selanne trade, but it still came as a surprise, perhaps more for what Gauthier received for one of the National Hockey League's biggest stars. Selanne has 26 goals and 59 points so far this season, below par for him, but the Ducks are the worst team in the Western Conference, and he has been the NHL's MVP (1998) and was rookie-of-the-year in 1992-93 when he scored 76 goals.
"We obtained two players we believe will improve our club," said Gauthier, adding that other teams had offered draft picks and prospects, things that did not interest him. "It improves our goaltending position, with [incumbent]Jean-Sebastien Giguere. And with Jeff Friesen being an accomplished player already, we feel we have someone who will score a lot of goals."
Gauthier said he will try to trade veteran goaltender Guy Hebert this week at the NHL general managers' meetings, which start today in California. Hebert was the No. 1 goaltender but fell from favour this season.
Friesen was a first-round pick by the Sharks in 1994, and the 25-year-old was the team's No. 1 centre. But despite being the Sharks' career scoring leader with 350 points, Friesen has never really met expectations when he was drafted. He has only 12 goals and 36 points so far this season.
Shields lost the starting goaltender's job to rookie Evgeni Nabokov this season. The Sharks' rise to the upper rank of the Western Conference was sparked by Nabokov's play, but GM Dean Lombardi needed a goal-scorer for a playoff drive.
"I was surprised he was available," Lombardi said. "Usually, they don't move too much within [the same division] Given that there's a bit of a rivalry here in California [among the Sharks, Ducks and Los Angeles Kings] that's one of the things that crosses your mind."
Also surprising is that the Ducks will pay $3 million (U.S.) of Selanne's salary next season and that the conditional second-round pick will be given back to the Sharks if Selanne signs a new contract with them or if Shields hits some statistical targets.
Selanne has one season after this one left on his contract. He is then eligible for unrestricted free agency. Friesen will be a restricted free agent after this season.
Selanne's salary is $8-million (all figures U.S.) this season and $9.5-million next season. But the Ducks will pay any portion of Selanne's salary that is above what Sharks' captain Owen Nolan makes, allowing the Sharks to say they are paying both players the same money. Nolan signed a five-year contract earlier this season with an average payout of $6-million a year.
While some observers were surprised that Gauthier did not hold out on a trade until closer to the NHL's March 13 trading deadline, others were not.
"You're finding these high-priced guys are available but you can't get a lot for them," said Chicago Blackhawks GM Mike Smith, who drafted Selanne for the Winnipeg Jets in 1988. "There's not a lot of teams interested in $9-million players."