All We Want For Christmas For The LA Kings/Ducks

Mike Walters

All I want for Christmas for the Anaheim Ducks is … well I have 3 wishes!

1. Offense

 The Anaheim Ducks had been known as a team that gets in on the forecheck and scores goals in regularity for the past few seasons. This season the Ducks offense has been non-existent. They rank dead last in goals scored per game at 1.85 and are the only team that doesn’t average more than two goals a game. Corey Perry is the only Ducks player to have scored goals in the double digits this season. Rickard Rakell has picked it up with seven goals and newcomer Chris Stewart has recorded six goals himself, but the drop off after that among the forwards is significant. It would be great if even just some of that offense from last season returned.

2. Make A Move

 It’s time to make a move with the Ducks organization. General Manager Bob Murray needs to do something with this team. He signed Carl Hagelin, Jakob Silfverberg and Kevin Bieksa all to long-term deals. They simply have not produced the numbers that were expected this season. It may not be easy for Murray to move some players as a result of the long-term contracts, which means there might have to be a coaching change instead. However, making a coaching change may not be an easy decision either because there simply aren’t many good options available. If Murray did decide to fire Bruce Boudreau, then he would likely have to promote Trent Yawney or Paul MacLean. Neither one might not be much of an improvement. Murray is in a difficult spot with how the team’s offense and chemistry have been lacking, but he needs to do something because the patience of the Anaheim faithful has run out already. If he can make a move for an offensive player that can maybe jump-start the team, then it may be the only hope to salvaging the Ducks season and playoff hopes.

 3. Accountability

 Too often this season Anaheim players have played terrible games and are infrequently held accountable. Kevin Bieksa has played in all 33 games for Anaheim and has been frequently out of position on defense allowing other teams to score or get good chances. Korbinian Holzer and Clayton Stoner have been playing better than Bieksa. It’s time Bieksa gets benched to serve as a wake up call for him to realize his play has been unacceptable. Even fan favorite Jakob Silfverberg has had a rough season with only three goals, one of which was an empty netter. He has played in all 33 games and maybe he needs a break as well. Lastly Ryan Getzlaf has only one empty net goal this season and has made costly turnovers. To his credit, he was dealing with an appendicitis at the start of the season, but he just hasn’t looked the same. Boudreau benched Teemu Selanne in playoffs against Dallas two seasons ago when he felt Selanne wasn’t playing his best. It’s time for Boudreau to start benching some of the Ducks bigger name players holding them accountable or else he might be permanently benched by Murray.

There you go! It’s a brutal, but honest, no-punches-pulled wish list!