Championships have a way of breeding loyalty.
Just as GMs find it hard not to reward the players who deliver a Stanley Cup, those of us identifying contenders find it hard to ignore recent Cup winners.
I give you Exhibit A: the Anaheim Ducks. Judged solely on the basis of this season, the Ducks are not a true top-flight team. They’ve got a great 1-2 blueline punch in Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer and some talented forwards, but they’re top-heavy compared to the likes of Detroit and their California cousins in San Jose.
Stellar defenseman Francois Beauchemin will likely miss the rest of the year with a knee injury and sniper Teemu Selanne is gone for at least a month with a cut on his left quadriceps.
Players like Bobby Ryan, who has been hot of late, and Brendan Morrison need to step up the secondary support for the Ducks’ Cup hopes to be legitimized.
Goalie Jonas Hiller has certainly pushed the boundaries of his backup role in the 15 games he’s played, posting the third-best goals-against average (2.07) and second-best save percentage (.936) in the entire league.
The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.
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