30 Teams In 30 Days: Stop, Hiller Time?

When realizing the success of the Anaheim Ducks in this past decade, it's somewhat reminiscent of the Reese's Puffs commercial.."Hockey? In Anaheim?".

Just two seasons removed from their Stanley Cup Championship season, the Ducks were a team seemingly relying on their age time and time again. Would Selanne be back with his ugly JOFA helmet? Would Niedermayer shave his Santa beard and lace 'em up for another season?

The answer to both of these much-pondered queries was a profound yes as both Selanne and Niedermayer provided key clutch performances to propel the Ducks into the NHL Playoffs for a fourth straight season.

In the playoffs, the Anaheim Ducks and young goaltender Jonas Hiller quickly became the top story of the first round as they eliminated the 2009 Presidents Trophy winner and heavily favorited San Jose Sharks out of the first round in six games. On top of having an added advantage as they took on the NHL's perennial choke-artists in the post-season, the breakout of Jonas Hiller is giving Duck fans more than just a few reasons to smile.

After holding San Jose to just 10 goals in six games in the post-season, the 27 year old Swiss netminder finished with a 7-6 record with an impressive 2.23 goals against average, which should stand out even more considering his particularly unfavorable match-up's against both the Sharks and Red Wings on an eighth seeded club.

As the club was sent home following a Game 7 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the off-season topic of what to do with aging defensemen and top dollar defensemen Chris Pronger loomed over the Ducks much like the 6'7" shadow he casts. On the day of the 2009 NHL Draft, this issue was addressed head on as Pronger was sent to Philadelphia in exchange for draft picks and former Ducks forward Joffrey Lupul.

Lupul is coming off his best season with the Flyers where he put up 50 points in 79 games for the black and orange. While Lupul's contract is more of a headache than relief as the 25 year old is set to make 4,250,000 a season through the 2012-'13 season.

As time would tell, this move was just a precursor to a fresh summer makeover done by Ducks GM and chair-tossing fan Bob Murray.

Although the club's youth was beginning to shine with the breakout season of rookie Bobby Ryan, the Ducks were still in the midst of losing veteran leadership up front with the departures of Rob Niedermayer and Sammy Pahlsson through free agency. As one defensive minded Scandanavia based center was exiting town, a one of greater hype was about to step into Anaheim.

Surely stating our initial shock and confusion at the Ducks' signing of Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu didn't quite give it enough justice. All NHL fans heard throughout the entire off-season was that Saku was bound to end up in Minnesota to play with his brother Mikko and be the second line center that the Wild direly needed. If it wasn't the Wild, it seemed to be Montreal. Quite frankly, the idea of Koivu going to Anaheim had the makings of an NHL09 trade coming to life in the form of a rumor mill.

Koivu is coming off another Koivu-like season in Montreal where the Finnish forward put up at least 50 points for the sixth straight season. Regardless of injuries holding the 34-year old center to just 65 games, Koivu's 50 points were good for third on the Habs roster.

Following the major additions of Lupul and Koivu and some key departures with Pronger, Niedermayer and Pahlsson, the Ducks went out and added role players Nick Boynton, Evgeny Artyukhin and Leafs goaltending prospect Justin Pogge.

Barring any trades, the Ducks' line-up should go as follows come opening night.

Corey Perry - Ryan Getzlaf - Teemu Selanne
Bobby Ryan - Saku Koivu - Joffrey Lupul
Ryan Carter - Todd Marchant - Evgeny Artyukhin
Mike Brown - Petteri Nokelainen - George Parros
Extra Skater: Andrew Ebbett

Scott Niedermayer - Ryan Whitney
Nick Boynton - James Wisniewski
Sheldon Brookbank - Steve Eminger
Extra Skater: Luca Sbisa

Jonas Hiller
J.S Giguere

Perhaps it's the added Finnish influence, or maybe it's the varying facial hair on this team which makes them so fun to watch. I believe that this year the Ducks will significantly improve with a steady goaltending situation in place for the 2009-'10 season and continuing progression of Jonas Hiller into a stud goaltender in the NHL.

Players To Watch: A player to keep a close eye on is Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The 32 year old is coming off a troubling season where he finished with a 19-18-6 record and was a bench warmer for the first time in his tenure with the Ducks in the playoffs. If Hiller continues his success and wins the starting job over Giggy, how will the Quebec native take it? Will he willfully accept the role of a back-up goalie or will the Ducks begin to look to move their six million dollar goaltender?

Prediction: 2nd in Pacific Division. 6th in Western Conference.

10 Reasons Why Pronger to Boston Is and Isn't Worth It

We've heard the rumors a dozen times if not more. Chris Pronger, a former Norris Trophy winner and Anaheim Duck is possibly heading to Boston. However, the rumored package in return doesn't seem to sit well with most Bruins fans, and for good reason. One rumored deal would send Chris Pronger and Travis Moen to Boston in exchange for Phil Kessel (currently leading the team in goals with 26), Mark Stuart, Joe Colborne and the B's 2009 1st round pick to Anaheim. The other rumored deal is pretty much the same, except you substitute Michael Ryder for Phil Kessel.

Now, we all understand that Chris Pronger is a superb talent. There's no question about that, however, would the price tag fit the return? In most B's fans minds, the answer is no. I'm inclined to agree with this thinking and present you with the top 5 reasons why trading for former Hart and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger is not worth it and the top 5 reasons why it is.

5 REASONS THAT CHRIS PRONGER ISN'T WORTH IT

1) Loss Of Potential - Alright, we've heard it more times than we'd like to admit, Phil Kessel has potential. It all depends on what Phil Kessel feels like showing up, is it the breakaway scorer who has 50 goal potential or the predictable winger we'll see? It's been a mix of most, but in 2008-09 we've definitely seen the shifty winger's best more than his worst. Keep in mind he's still just 21 and has skills you can't teach such as speed and deking.

2) Bye Bye Joe - Boston's 1st round draft choice (16th overall) has definitely been a big seller in the rumored deal for Pronger, but should the Bruins send him off already? Colborne's drawn many comparisions to Joe Thornton and posted good numbers for Denver University (9 G 19 A +7) in 34 games. It'd undoubtedly be a large risk as it's anticipated Colborne's skills and upside can make him into an elite NHL power forward as time goes on.

3) Pronger's Reputation - Joan Jett may have not given a damn about her bad reputation but Chris Pronger should. Pronger's been in trouble with the NHL several times for his what many consider dirty plays. One of the most severe and rather disgusting actions of Chris Pronger was his stomping of Canucks forward Ryan Kesler's leg. Pronger's most note-worthy offence was being suspended for Game 4 by the NHL for his hit to Dean McAmmond's head in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. A Bruins fan must wonder if Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli or Claude Julien could keep the sometimes volatile-tempered Chris Pronger out of the box, both the penalty and potentially press.

4) Boston: Free Agent Free Zone - It was just 8 months ago that Michael Ryder signed a 3 year, 4 million dollar deal. Now, one of the rumored deals has Ryder being the Bruin sent to Anaheim over Kessel. Would the Bruins really trade such a key player in their success just 8 months into his tenure with Boston? A move such as this could be a bad sign for future free agent signings, who would be weary of joining a franchise that will only trade them a few months later.

5) Cap Issues - Pronger's cap-hit comes in at 6.25 million dollars and is signed through the 2009-10 season. This will surely create problems for the Bruins who are already facing cap issues with retaining RFA's David Krejci, Phil Kessel (who'll likely be gone in the rumored deal) and Matt Hunwick to note a few. Along with these RFA's, the Bruins also have to work out a new deal or let go of UFA's Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez, P.J Axelsson, Stephane Yelle and Shane Hnidy, who are more than likely all except for Thomas going to be sporting new jerseys next year.

5 REASONS WHY PRONGER IS WORTH IT

1) Proven Playoff Force - Pronger's 92 points in 134 career playoff games gives the Bruins even greater reason to pull the trigger for the veteran. Pronger's best post-seasons came in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 season where he scored 36 points in 43 games. In the 2005-06 playoff run, Pronger led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals and in 06-07 season he led the Ducks to a 4-1 series win over the Ottawa Senators. Even in Anaheim's first round exit in 2007-08 Pronger registered 5 points (2 G 3 A) in 6 games. There's no doubting that Pronger is definitely a proven post-season weapon.

2) Terror From The Point - What will strike fear into any forward? The duo of Chris Pronger and Zdeno Chara. Pronger stands at 6'6 and Chara stands at 6'9. Both are known are monsters to play against considering they're long reach and physicality. A tandem of Pronger and Chara on alternating lines could be just what the Bruins need in the later rounds if they were to face Ovechkin and the Capitals.

3) Leadership - It's nothing new to any hockey insider that Chris Pronger can lead a team. He's captained both the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks and is 1 of just 5 active players to captain 2 different teams. Everywhere Pronger's gone, he's been honored with either the "C" or an "A" on his jersey.

4) Another Powerplay Threat - Throughout his career, Pronger has feasted on the powerplay. He's currently 3rd on the Ducks in powerplay points with 21 (3 G 18 A) and has registered 319 of his 595 career points on the powerplay. As they've shown time and time again this season, the key to the Bruins success has been their powerplay, another weapon from the point may just put them over the top.

5) Just CJ's Type vs. Not CJ's Type - Pronger, as stated several times, seems to embody the qualities of a player that fits into the Claude Julien system. He's gritty, hard-nosed and there's almost no one more physical than the man that wears 25 and we're not talking about Hal Gill. A trade of Phil Kessel would also rid the Bruins of a player who's play has been questioned of fitting into the Bruins system.