The first half of this week’s edition of Anaheim Ducks News & Rumors covers Ryan Getzlaf’s injury, the chances of a Ducks front office executive heading north of the border and a story on former general manager Bob Murray.
Getzlaf Injured Versus Kings
Like many of his teammates, Getzlaf has enjoyed a much more productive season compared to 2020-21. But the Ducks captain may be out for an extended amount of time after suffering a lower-body injury on Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings. His left skate caught an edge, and he may have tweaked his ankle while going for a hit on Alex Iafallo.
Getzlaf did not return to the game, and it’s unknown exactly what his status is going forward, but losing him for any amount of time will take an important figure out of the Ducks’ lineup. The power play has typically suffered whenever he hasn’t been in the lineup, so it will be up to players like Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Rickard Rakell to do more on special teams if Getzlaf is out.
Madden a Candidate for Canadiens’ GM?
With the Montreal Canadiens cleaning house in their front office, there will be several new faces in charge. Former general manager of the New York Rangers, Jeff Gorton, was hired as the new executive vice president of hockey operations this week.
Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said that Gorton would be “one of the two people that are going to do the job” of getting the Canadiens back on track. Molson also made it a point to say that the person who will be hired as the next general manager will speak French. “In our own market, we have to respect the language, but we also have [English-speaking] fans all over the world.”
Martin Madden, Jr. certainly fits the bill. Fourteen years in the Ducks organization––his second as assistant general manager––means Madden knows his way around the hockey world. Before being named an assistant general manager, Madden spent 12 years as the Ducks’ director of amateur scouting. He has also spent time scouting for both the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, most notably the 2006 Cup-winning team.
Madden is also a native of Quebec City, which means he’s quite familiar with the French language. Bringing Madden aboard would not only give the Canadiens an extremely knowledgeable executive, but they would also be getting one who can satisfy the bilingual stipulations they require.
Not only did our own Morning Skate newsletter deem Madden as a potential candidate, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also seems to think that Madden would make sense as a candidate as well. However, it’s unknown how willing someone like Madden would be to leave, with Gorton––a former GM himself––already there.
Boudreau Speaks On Murray
Former Ducks general manager and vice president of hockey operations Bob Murray was placed on administrative leave earlier this month after the team was made aware of allegations of improper professional conduct. He announced his resignation from the team the following day and enrolled himself in a treatment program.
Bruce Boudreau, who was head coach of the Ducks from part of the 2011-12 season until the 2015-16 season, recently appeared on The Bob McCown Podcast and had an interesting story about his former boss. (Story starts at 37:18 mark)
He prefaced with: “If a general manager came down to me and said, ‘I don’t want this guy playing in this situation or on this line, or I want him to sit out the next game,’ he’s my boss, I would listen to him. I would argue with him and give my point, but in the end, if he was obstinate about it, then I would do what he said.”
During the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boudreau said that he was told by Murray to scratch Teemu Selanne, who at the time was in the final season of his career, having announced earlier that year that he was planning to retire at the conclusion of the season. Murray told Boudreau that Selanne was ruining the team and that Boudreau would lose the locker room if he let Selanne play.
Selanne was subsequently scratched for Game 4 of the Ducks’ series against the Dallas Stars and was sensibly upset about not playing. But when Murray was asked by the media about Boudreau’s “decision” to scratch the “Finnish Flash,” he told them that Boudreau is the coach, and it’s his decision, essentially removing any possible blame from himself.
This moment fractured the relationship between Boudreau and Selanne for a number of years up until the truth was revealed, with Selanne taking shots at Boudreau in his book that was released later that year. Selanne did end up apologizing for his comments.
Related: Ducks Have 5 Good Choices to be Captain After Getzlaf
The Ducks have a tough slate of games this week, having already played the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday and the Kings last night. They’ll play the Vegas Golden Knights at home tonight before facing the Calgary Flames on Friday, also at home.
