Anaheim, CA (AP) - The Anaheim Ducks have broken off negotations with the Chicago Blackhawks. According to TSN, the two teams have been trying to reach an agreement that would send center Vincent Lecavalier to Anaheim in exchange for several high-end prospects. The discussions came to an end on Thursday morning with Lecavalier remaining a Blackhawk.
"We just can't give up the guys they were looking for." Ducks GM, Rob Ives, was quoted as saying. "We tabled what we felt was a generous offer, considering the salary that we'd be taking on, but at the end of the day, the price just got too high."
It has been reported that the Hawks were looking for a three-player package that may have included forwards Kyle Turris, Nikata Filatov and another top prospect.
"We would have been fools to make the deal they were proposing. We want to improve this team and guys will be move to do that, however, a rebuild takes time and we are not going to start moving all our future stars in the hopes of reaching some level of success in the short-term. This is a team that is going to be competitve for many years to come. If it takes two years to be a playoff contender, than it takes two years. But, we are now going to do a number of things to turn things around this year, which includes improving our team through free agency."
The Ducks are expected to be big players on Monday when the free agency window opens. Shane Doan, Nik Lidstrom and Alex Kovalev are expected to be made large offers by the Ducks.
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2007-08 - missed playoffs (29th overall) 2008-09 - missed playoffs (26th overall) 2009-10 - 7th place in Western Conference (99 pts), Conference Semi-Finals 2010-11 - missed playoffs (19th overall) 2011-12
Was this after Lecavalier demanded a trade but rejected going to the Ducks despite Chicago accepting an offer for him? Or am I thinking of a different player?
"We had significant talks. And Rob is a pleasure to deal with. We talked tons of scenerios. We just felt that the key piece in the negotiations for one of the best players in the game shouldn't be a guy that we 'hope' pans out. We might regret this one, but if the return on Vincent Lecavalier is question mark, a young defensive defenseman, and a good prospect, it isn't enough. We need to get some certainty on the return. We discussed some good players, but not enough for Vinny.
Seriously, if a malcontent like Heatley can garner a three competent young NHLers, then Lecavalier should garner at least one."
* stand for "Dany Heatley rejected his trade so he wouldn't have to play with Dustin Penner"
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"Theres also talk of creating more room at the end of the rink by making the nets more shallow, which would be accomplished by encouraging them to spend all their time listening to pop music and reading Twilight books."
