| MIGHTY DUCKS DOO WOP July 16, 2003 [Note: The Ducks have signed Vaclav Prospal. (July 17, 2003)] [Note: The Ducks have signed Sergei Federov (July 19, 2003)] Once in a Blue Moon a super star player voluntarily signs a contract for less than the league average. Speedoo Paul Kariya shocked the hockey world when he did just that. Alojamiento en hotel barato HvolsvollurPaul doubled the shock when he convinced Teemu Selanne to Come Go With Me to Colorado. Teemu agreed, apparently Just to be with You. Rimini luxury hotelsDucks management should Sincerely be congratulated for reaching the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. But past glory does not lessen the present challenge.. Since I Dont Have You, the Kariya-less Ducks may well be without hopes and dreams. But, although Lovers Never Say Good-bye, the rules are different as regards players and management. Ducks management must come up with some plans and schemes. Faced with the unexpected, the temptation is to become The Great Pretender. The Ducks could pretend that Paul is still around and make no significant changes. This approach will not work. Although management might seek to wear a smile; ownership and fans will not likely disguise their frowns. Notwithstanding past heroics, some may have to Get a Job should they ignore Pauls departure as just one of those things. Fans in particular will look at the Tears on My Pillow; and will expect some form of response from management so that they once again can feel like A Teenager in Love. With Adam Oates gone as well, those who wish to perform the math might conclude that the money that would have been spent on Paul and Adam might lure a Federov; or, perhaps with some financial subsidy, permit a trade for Jaromir Jagr. Either one would be expected to add some Zoom to the line-up. Will Ducks management look out the window, see that Theres a Moon Out Tonight, and decide that theres a superstar in their dreams? The guess is that they will not. Kariyas departure was clearly a money issue. It would be dangerous to fail to pay the required salary to a man who was a franchise icon and then turn around and spend comparable money on a stranger, regardless of how good that stranger may be. Moreover, one can legitimately ask Why Do Fools Fall in Love with superstars anyway, when it seems so often that a few years later the once giddy team is now trying to move a large contract. Rather than a big star, expect the Ducks to sign a Little Star, or perhaps two. A handful of $2MM to $3MM players remain available. The type of player the Ducks seek may depend in part on how they view the role of Sykora now that Kariya has departed. Its impossible to replace Paul. So the sensible strategy is to examine the Heart and Soul of the team without Paul and build on that basis. That heart and soul would appear to be strong goaltending and defense. In the extreme case Sykora might be traded. As a consequence it is not outside the realm of possibility that the Ducks will use Kariyas departure to further remodel the team into a defensive posture. The danger however is that, notwithstanding any success on the ice, fans may be further alienated. If the music is too dull no one will show up At the Hop. They will instead be enjoying the warm California sun. Of course all of this is just Yakety Yak. | 