Well it was no surprise that the Ducks made a move. The Ducks traded Hnidy, a 6th round pick and eliminating part of the Chistov deal to get Brandon Bochenski. There is also a new Duck Cast among a lot of other news.
New Duck Cast featuring Marchant, Moen, Miller and DiPenta having a round table discussion of the Winter Classic- Link
Bochenski NHL Profile - Link
Bochesnki in Action - Link
Ducks trade Hnidy
The Ducks announced on Wednesday that they have acquired right wing Brandon Bochenski from the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenseman Shane Hnidy and Anaheim’s sixth round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. In addition, the Ducks relinquished their option to exchange fourth round picks with the Bruins in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (as part of the Stanislav Chistov deal, Nov. 13, 2006).
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Ducks Blog coverage of the trade
While the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Bochenski might give the Ducks more depth up front, a bigger part of this deal is getting out from under the two-year, free-agent contract the club had given Hnidy last summer, when Niedermayer appeared destined for retirement.
Whereas Bochenski’s $600,000 contract runs only through this season, after which he will become a restricted free agent, the Ducks would have been on the hook for a salary-cap hit of $757,500 to Hnidy next season. While that is a relatively small number in today’s NHL, being free of it does provide a little more wiggle room for the Ducks in their quest to re-sign budding star right wing Corey Perry.
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Pahlsson still injured
“I think we found out the reason,” Pahlsson said Wednesday. “I was compensating for the injury and put stress on some muscles because of that.”
In all likelihood, bad habits Pahlsson developed while playing with the sports hernia last season, all the way through the club’s playoff run to the Stanley Cup championship, came back to haunt him.
Obviously, the hope had been that the off-season surgery would leave Pahlsson good as new. Now it appears he will have to manage the situation for the remainder of this season, and then hope that rest and further rehabilitation and strengthening work next summer will resolve it once and for all.
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The OC Register takes a look at the Ducks
As the NHL's first team to reach the season's official halfway point — 41 games — the Ducks have played anywhere from one to four more games than all but one of their conference rivals.
A more accurate indication of where the Ducks truly stand is winning percentage, which places them 11th in the West with a 19-17-5 mark entering tonight's matchup with the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.
"Yeah, we're right near a playoff spot, but we've played so many more games than other teams," Ducks right wing Rob Niedermayer said. "Everyone looks at where we're at in the standings. We know it's very urgent. Forty-three points — double that is 86. That's not near enough."
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Brad May interview (thanks to BuchananHermit at the official Ducks board)
Ducks forward Brad May is out of the lineup because of a broken right foot, but it freed him to represent the team and the city of Anaheim in Tuesday’s Rose Parade.
May, who came to the Ducks via trade in February 2007, appeared in 18 playoff games to help the Ducks win their first Stanley Cup championship last season.
Before his early wake-up call for Rose Parade duty, May answered five questions from The Register. Here’s what May had to say:
Question: What is the first thing you bought with your first pro paycheck?
Brad May: I bought a Dodge Daytona hatchback. It was a used car. A Dodge Daytona, red with a white stripe. … It’s just because I needed a car. It was $3,000. It cost me $3,200 Canadian. And it was the coolest car. … I was 18 years old.
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