Feeling Good About Themselves
Anaheim Ducks
- General Manager of the Year finalist Bob Murray wasn't resting on his laurels during the second day of the draft, as he acquired goaltender Anton Khudobin from the Hurricanes for defenseman James Wisniewski (thus freeing up crucial cap space with Wisniewski's salary off the books) and then nabbed restricted free agent Carl Hagelin and the 59th and 179th picks for Emerson Etem and the 41st pick. The moves reinforce the notion that the Ducks believe they are close to championship form. Although Etem had local appeal as a California native and had good size and great speed, head coach Bruce Boudreau lacked full confidence in his abilities, as witnessed by the fact Etem was in and out of the lineup during the Ducks' run to Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. As for Khudobin, he has shown enough stretches of stellar play in the last couple of years, playing behind a poor Hurricanes team to suggest he's got the tools to become a solid starter. It's believed the move will pave the way for top goaltending prospect John Gibson to play another season in the American Hockey League while providing support and perhaps competition for starter Frederik Andersen, who seemed to hit a wall late in the Ducks' playoff run.
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