For the win-- (Burke Responds)

Ducks GM Brian Burke is no longer allowed to feud publicly with Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe, but with Lowe's last remarks which--in my opinion-- Lowe took a little TOO far, Burke responded in a different manner. He needed to respond to some questionable comments that were made by Lowe because they were ignorant (<--- my opinion) statements that, at this point, could get himself (Lowe) into trouble.

Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke made a statement to local media regarding recent comments from Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe. Following is a transcript:
There has been an exchange of blows between two franchises recently – the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers – and the NHL has stepped in and has stopped that fight. We respect that. We believe that the NHL has a perfect right to do that. They have the authority to do that. We intend to abide by the league’s directive, which is to stop the criticism. There is no question in our mind or defiance about the league’s authority here. We accept their authority to stop this and we intend to stop it. However, several things were said last Friday that I believe need to be addressed. Specifically, No.1: the Anaheim market; No.2: a comment about Corey Perry; No.3: a comment about Bobby Ryan and No. 4: a comment about Scott Niedermayer.

First, let’s talk about our market. The Anaheim Ducks do not have to take a back seat to anybody based on their performance over the last three seasons and that’s all I care about. Those are the only seasons I have been there. No NHL team has played in more playoff rounds in the last three years than Anaheim. Detroit has played in the same number, which is eight. No organization, if you add their NHL and AHL team, has played in as many playoff rounds as Anaheim and Portland, which is 14.

The Anaheim Ducks can justifiably say that no team in the NHL has outperformed the Ducks at both levels or at the NHL level in the last three years. No one has won more than one Stanley Cup. We’ve averaged 103-plus points. The team itself has nothing to be defensive about or apologize for. More important, we believe our fan base is as supportive, as rabid and as loyal as any fan base in pro sports, not just in the National Hockey League. We’ve played to 77 straight sellouts. All of our suites are sold. Club seats are at record levels. No one can question the commitment, support and loyalty of the Anaheim Ducks fan base. We believe they’re the best fans in professional sports. We also feel that we’ve achieved this in a market that is absolutely jammed with competition with 10 other professional sports teams and several major college programs that generate the type of coverage that pro teams dream about – USC football, UCLA basketball and so on. I can’t go through the entire list. We feel we get great coverage, great print coverage. We feel we get fair electronic coverage. When I say fair, I mean equitable fair, not fair as in fair-to-good. Considering the crowded marketplace we’re in, we don’t have to take a back seat to anybody, apologize or be defensive about our market or media coverage.

No. 2, comments about Corey Perry. It is our understanding that Clubs are not entitled to express interest in the services of a player belonging to another NHL organization. Our understanding is that such an expression of interest constitutes tampering. We have asked the league to investigate whether a tampering episode has taken place. We’ve asked them to make a full investigation into that. We will have no further comment on this and we will abide by whatever the league’s decision is on this.

No.3, Bobby Ryan. We believe that players belonging to another organization should be exempt from criticism by the Ducks. We think such criticism is unwarranted unless you’re talking about something a player does or says that affects our team. In other words, you’re playing another team and a player on their team does something to one of your players and you have to comment on it or they say something that you have to react to. Otherwise, we believe that players in another organization should not be criticized by the Anaheim Ducks. Bobby Ryan needs no defending. He is a wonderful young prospect and had an amazing playoffs in the American Hockey League. I think for Bobby Ryan to have been dragged into this in any way or criticized in any way goes outside what we believe the treatment of players should receive.

No. 4, we signed Scott Niedermayer as a free agent in the summer of 2005. There were no allegations of impropriety of any kind at that time. Now an impression has been created that there was impropriety. We have asked the National Hockey League to conduct a full investigation into the signing of Scott Niedermayer. Once they have done so, we expect to be exonerated of any misconduct and then we expect the league to act appropriately. We do not feel it is our place, for example, to create an impression of wrongdoing or misconduct on the part of another team without being able to back it up.

Thank you.

Brendan Morrison to the Ducks:

Free agent centre Brendan Morrison is off the free agent list, as the B.C. native is set to join the Anaheim Ducks. Terms of the impending contract are not known, but it is expected to be a one- or two-year deal.

Morrison is still rehabbing after undergoing knee surgery on April 7 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. It is Morrison's fourth surgery in the past two years. Over the past week, Morrison has turned down offers from nine teams including the Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings.

Last week, Morrison turned down a one-year, $1.9 million offer from the Vancouver Canucks, the team he has spent the past eight seasons with. It appeared that the Canucks were hoping Morrison would be their 'fall-back' position if they are unable to sign Mats Sundin. He wasn't prepared to wait.

The move will reunite Morrison with the former Canucks general managers Brian Burke and Dave Nonis, who both work in Anaheim's front office.

Morrison, 32, scored nine goals and 25 points in 39 games with the Canucks last season and spent most of the campaign on the shelf with wrist and knee injuries. In 674 career games with Vancouver and the New Jersey Devils, he has 159 goals and 474 points. If he can stay healthy, Morrison could be Anaheim's second line centre behind Ryan Getzlaf.


SOURCE:http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242774&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl

Ducks Announce Pre-Season Schedule:

The Anaheim Ducks announced the club’s 2008 preseason schedule on Monday. The Ducks will compete in eight preseason contests before the start of the 2008-09 regular season campaign in October.

The preseason opener will take place Wednesday, Sept. 24 at Honda Center when the Ducks host the San Jose Sharks. Anaheim’s preseason schedule consists of home-and-home series with four Western Conference opponents, including Pacific Division rivals San Jose, Phoenix and Los Angeles. The club will also take on the Canucks of the Northwest Division twice, closing out the preseason schedule on Sunday, Oct. 5 in Vancouver.

Tickets for Ducks preseason home games will go on sale on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at anaheimducks.com. They may also be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (714) 703-2545, or in person at the Honda Center box office on a first come, first served basis. Regular season home dates will go on sale in September. The entire NHL regular season schedule is expected to be released in mid-July. Fans interested in purchasing season, premium or group seats can call 1-877-WILD WING. Tickets are available in several price ranges. Honda Center seats 17,174 for NHL games.

Below is the Ducks’ complete 2008 preseason schedule:

DATE OPPONENT VENUE TIME (Pacific)
Wed., Sept. 24 SAN JOSE Honda Center 7:05 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 26 @ San Jose HP Pavilion 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 27 @ Phoenix Jobing.com Arena 7 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 28 VANCOUVER Honda Center 5:05 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 30 @ Los Angeles STAPLES Center 7:30 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 1 LOS ANGELES Honda Center 7:05 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 3 PHOENIX Honda Center 7:05 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 5 @ Vancouver GM Place 7 p.m.

SOURCE: http://ducks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=367930

DUCKS SIGN PERRY TO 5 YEAR DEAL

The Ducks announced today that they have signed right wing Corey Perry to a five-year contract, which runs through the 2012-13 NHL season. Per club policy, no financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

"It’s pretty amazing. It’s something special," Perry said. "I really wanted to stay in Anaheim. That’s home now and I didn’t want to leave there. It’s a great place to play hockey and it just shows how well that organization is run. You can’t ask to play for a better organization than the Anaheim Ducks."

Perry, 23 (5/16/85), scored 29-25=54 points with a +12 rating and 108 penalty minutes (PIM) in 70 games with Anaheim last season. A 2008 NHL All-Star, Perry established career highs in most offensive categories, including goals, points, plus/minus, power play goals (11), game-winning goals (4) and shots (200). Among team leaders, Perry ranked first in goals, second in points and tied for second in game-winning goals. During the 2008 NHL Playoffs, he recorded 2-1=3 points with eight PIM in three games.

“Corey is one of the top young players in the NHL today,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke. “He’s a true Duck, a hard-nosed goal-scorer who’s difficult to play against.”

A native of Peterborough, Ontario, Perry won his first Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007, playing in all of Anaheim’s 21 postseason games. He concluded the 2007 playoffs tied for second in club history for most points in a single postseason (6-9=15) behind teammate Ryan Getzlaf, while finishing tied for seventh in the NHL in scoring. Among all active NHL players aged 23 or younger, only Perry (21 points), Evgeni Malkin (26), Getzlaf (29) and Sidney Crosby (32) have at least 20 career playoff points.

Originally selected in the first round (28th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Perry has collected 59-64=123 points with a +25 mark and 213 PIM in 208 career NHL games with the Ducks. He has also appeared in 35 career playoffs games with Anaheim, scoring 8-13=21 points with 61 PIM.

For transcript with Perry and Burke click here: Full Story