NHL.com's review of the Ducks

[Snap Wilson]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=4...d=rss-stephens

Only glanced at it; I'll read it later. Not sure how deep it is, but it's long, at any rate.

[bumperkisser]

Pretty good read... Most of it just talks about how we dont get as much marketing and stuff because we are in california and how we're usually underestimated at first lol Also says we arent the elite level of detroit which can be discussed lol.. then quickly talks about our draft and how we rebuild on the fly.. basically just a review of this past season inc. free agency

[iLau]

Not a bad read, I wish their prospects analysis was a little more indepth.

[fez]

no mention of the farm team situation either

[snarktacular]

It's Eric Stephens, the ex-LA Times beat writer!

This part was interesting

"First and foremost, you have to have a staff that finds players," Murray said. "Obviously, if you're not rebuilding, you're finding players somewhere else. You're re-energizing your lineup with people other than draft picks.

"The only other way to rebuild is to go to the bottom, like say Pittsburgh, Chicago and Phoenix, and do it that way. There's different ways but you have to have a good staff. [Detroit GM] Kenny Holland will tell you have that he has a great staff. You have to have a good staff and you have to trust your staff."

Another thing that drives Murray to remain competitive is the widespread and fickle Southern California market, where casual fans tend to follow a winner. Falling to the bottom of the standings and starting anew means you'll be ignored.

"I don't think our market would accept that," Murray said. "I think some markets who will have fans no matter what will. But Chicago didn't really like it. Pittsburgh didn't like it. Some places like Toronto -- you can do it and not hurt your base. Doing it in Anaheim would be a recipe for disaster."

The fact is the savvy GM saw no reason to tear things down when his team was sitting outside the playoff picture at the trade deadline last March. And with Niedermayer and Selanne back for perhaps a final season – something that's now closer to reality – Murray is again willing to go for the Cup while also building for the future.

[bumperkisser]

What part of that catches your eye?

[Bleak]

Saying how bandwagon fans in LA won't go back to ANA games if they are losing. We couldn't compare to the Hawks/Pens/TO fanbase because the fact that hockey has been there for along time and also winning. People tend to get attached to the winning and stay with that team. But since being an expansion team, with baseball being so huge in America, you need to win to get the fans. Fans = Money