Sharks play spoilers for Niedermayer's return

A Joe Thornton shoot out goal spoiled the good vibe feelings in Anaheim on Sunday, as the San Jose Sharks squeaked by the Ducks 2-1.

It marked the first game for the former Duck captain since he last hoisted the Stanley Cup high in Anaheim's Stanley Cup victory lap at the expense of the Ottawa Senators.

After a summer and fall of deliberations, Niedermayer rejoined the team a few weeks ago and finally was game ready to take to the ice on Sunday.

His play was reported to be fairly consistent, with little rust showing after his extended summer vacation.

Also lost in the Shark victory was the debut of Doug Weight in a Duck's uniform, part of the maneuvering to bring Niedermayer back into the Ducks nest, was the need to drop some salary which the Ducks did with a trade with St. Louis sending Andy McDonald to the Blues in return for Weight.

On Sunday Weight showed his new home town fans that he may be a solid factor in upcoming Duck games, assisting on the Ducks only goal of the game as he sent a cross ice pass over to rookie Bobby Ryan for the Ducks marker.

While it may take a few games for both Niedermayer and Weight to become more familiar with the Ducks play, they will certainly in the long run prove to be solid additions to the defending Cup champions.

USA Today--Niedermayer's return to Ducks spoiled by Sharks
Associated Press--Thornton Lifts Sharks, 2-1
Long Beach Press Telegram--Ducks optimistic despite shootout loss
Canadian Press--Defenceman Scott Niedermayer returns to lineup for Anaheim Ducks
Orange County Register--Ducks can't get a victory, even with Weight and Niedermayer in lineup
Orange County Register--With Niedermayer's return, Ducks can play catch-up

Niedermayer’s coming back, but another Duck will have to pack

Scott Niedermayer’s off season is about to come to an end, the one time captain of the Anaheim Ducks and long time team leader has decided that he still has some hockey left in him after all and once he gets his fitness up to game level he’ll be back on the ice.

Good news for Anaheim fans, good news for Brian Burke who has watched his Stanley Cup winners struggle through this early part of the season, but it’s decidedly bad news for somebody currently on that Ducks roster.

Salary cap concerns mean that in order to bring the prodigal bird back into the Ducks nest, somebody else will have to take flight.

A scenario which should make for an interesting situation where Brian Burke will have to be making a few phone calls in the next few days, looking for teams with some cap room to play with.

It’s expected that Niedermayer’s conditioning phase will last a minimum of ten days or so, so watching for healthy scratches on the Ducks will become a key activity for NHL fans over the next few weeks.

The apparent name to watch is Mathieu Schneider, who assuming the Ducks can find a team willing to take on his $5.625-million annual contract could be finding that California sun was fun, but it’s time to move on.

While it will be interesting to see if he can contribute quickly or not, assistance is required on the Ducks this year, as they have not performed at a level that would put them in the running for a repeat of last years Stanley Cup victory.

The next bird that could possibly be migrating back to a more traditional home might be Teemu Selanne, who is reportedly staying in shape but hasn’t spent much time on any ice in recent months. Like Niedermayer, he too retired after picking up Lord Stanley’s Mug last spring, what remains to be seen is if he has the same sense of one more year in the tank.