Ana-who? A look at the Ducks’ roster, past, present and future.

After a curious deadline day, I look at the Anaheim Ducks’ roster and I’m at a loss for words. Is this the same Ducks team that I wildly cheered on as they powered their way to a Stanley Cup Championship just two years ago? Quite frankly, no, it is not.

First, let’s look at the 26 names eternally engraved on a ring of Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Goalies:
Giguere, Bryzgalov
Defensemen:
Beauchemin, DiPenta, Huskins, Jackman, S. Niedermayer, O’Donnell, Pronger
Forwards:
Carter, Getzlaf, Kunitz, Marchant, May, McDonald, Miller, Moen, Motzko, R. Niedermayer, Pahlsson, Parros, Penner, Perry, Selanne, Shannon, Thornton



Two years later, only twelve—count them, twelve—remain on the Ducks, and one of those (Drew Miller) is still being yanked back and forth between the AHL and the big club.
A look at those that remain: Giguere, Beauchemin, S. Niedermayer, Pronger, Carter, Getzlaf, Marchant, Parros, Perry, Selanne.
The rest of the current roster (according to http://ducks.nhl.com 3/7/2009) is as follows: Bodie, Brookbank, Brown, Christensen, Ebbett, Festerling, Hedican, Hiller, Larsen, Nokelainen, Ryan, Whitney, Wisniewski.

Now let’s look at the status of this team going into next season. The Ducks have 16 players (10 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 2 goalies) locked up for next year. 6 are currently headed for unrestricted free agency, and 6 (3 of which are minor-leaguers) are restricted free agents.
Without regard to potential trades, the Ducks locked in for next year are: Beauchemin, Belesky, Brookbank, Carter, Ebbett, Getzlaf, Giguere, Hiller, Mikkelson, Miller, Nokelainen, Parros, Perry, Pronger, Ryan, Selanne, Whitney.

For 2010-2011: Belesky, Carter, Getzlaf, Giguere, Parros, Perry, Whitney.

This means next year (again disregarding potential trades and re-signings), only 9 Ducks remain of the 26 members of the Cup team. The year after, only 5.

What does this mean for the Ducks? Youth. Restructuring. Rebuilding. A fresh start. However you want to look at it, it means change. As much as I would have loved to keep that Cup team in tact for ever and ever, I have to accept this for what it is. Yes, it killed me when the Ducks started disappearing, starting with those who didn’t re-sign after 2007, to the Andy Mac trade last year, to the recent deadline day deals. However, this is also an exciting time for Ducks fans. With so few players locked in for the upcoming years, Ducks management will be busy bringing in new players from free agency, trades, minor league affiliates, and draft picks. No, this will not be the same team that we have gotten used to, but with patience, hopefully it can grow into another special group of Ducks.