Here is the news not covering tonight's game.
AnaheimDucks.info has a great report on the cap issues involving Scott Niedermayer
The “tagging” issue, while only brought up this past week, actually started for Anaheim the day they extended Chris Kunitz. You see the “tagging” rule in the CBA applies in different cases; whenever a player’s contract is extended or whenever a player with a multi-year deal is acquired. In this case, acquired can apply to being called-up, being traded for, coming off suspension or being signed after Dec.1st in the current season. Due to the fact that the Ducks has to keep cap room open should Niedermayer return, Anaheim was strongly up against the cap when they began the season. They signed Chris Kunitz to an extension which averaged out to 3.725 million a season. Under the “tagging” rule, since Anaheim didn’t have current cap space this year to fit the average of the extension in, the amount is set as “tagged” salary for next year (minus the current cap hit of Kunitz’s expiring deal). Thus, we end up with 2.669 million “tagged” for next season.
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Niedermayer covereage via "The Provingce"
There's no tree museum where you pay a dollar and a half just to see 'em, not yet anyway.
But the orange groves of Anaheim have long been paved over, replaced by parking lots and subdivisions and malls and roads. And more parking lots.
Anaheim is also home to Scott Niedermayer now and his wife Lisa and their three boys and, like Joni Mitchell sang, he didn't know what he'd got till it was gone.
"I was done," Niedermayer said on Tuesday morning after skating with a handful of his Ducks teammates for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup last June.
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MVN has coverage of Scott's first team practice and other team news.
He certainly doesn’t need the extra practice from the conditioning end of things. Drew Miller, who also skated yesterday, commented that “Scotty was the fastest one out there.” Coach Randy Carlyle said that he “looks like Scott Niedermayer. All the things that you remember about him were very evident again just in the morning skate. His skating ability. The effortless way he moves around the ice.” Carlyle also said that Niedermayer is lighter than he was at the end of the season. While Carlyle meant weight, you can see that Niedermayer’s shoulders are also lighter. Mentally “I feel really good. Best I’ve felt yet. It’s why I’m back here.” When asked if he was refreshed, Niedermayer agreed. “That’s a pretty good word.”
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More Niedermayer coverage from the Ducks Blog
“I was on the short end of a lot of jokes, but I guess that’s to be expected,” Niedermayer said. “It was fun, good to see everybody again and be on the ice with them.”
Instead of returning to action against Vancouver, Niedermayer is likely to make his season debut Friday against the Minnesota Wild or Sunday against the San Jose Sharks. In either case, the game would be at Honda Center, an idea that appeals to Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, who as the home coach would be better able to control Niedermayer’s ice time and matchups.
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Selanne Rumors continue
NHL sources tell us Teemu Selanne plans to follow Scott Niedermayer by putting off retirement and returning to the Stanley Cup champions for the season’s second half.
According to sources, a verbal agreement between Selanne and Anaheim management already has been reached. Before the return becomes official, however, general manager Brian Burke needs to unload a salary or two — and the likely candidates to be discarded are Sean O’Donnell and/or Todd Marchant.
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All-Star voting update
Ryan Getzlaf is eighth among forwards with 84,339 votes, Chris Pronger (133,259 votes) and Francois Beauchemin (103,071) are third and fifth, respectively, among defenseman and J.S. Giguere (68,472) is fifth among goaltenders in the XM / NHL All-Star Fan Balloting, Presented by 2K Sports.
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