Ducks set in goal for foreseeable future

From Dan Wood of the Orange County Register:

Goaltending is no longer among the issues the Ducks must address this summer in pursuit of a return to their 2007 Stanley Cup-winning form.

By signing backup Jonas Hiller on Wednesday to a two-year contract that will pay him $1.3 million annually, the Ducks would appear to be set in goal through the 2009-10 NHL season. Starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere has three seasons remaining on a four-year deal he signed after the club captured the Stanley Cup championship.

Read the entire article here.

Never a bad thing to have two quality netminders locked up for the next couple of years. Giguere is the established veteran as he has won a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy award. As for Hiller, the Swiss netminder proved he is capable of backing up Giguere last season with terrific numbers. While not young (26 years old), Hiller still has time to find his groove and become a sought after commodity in the summer of 2010. Aside from maybe Hiller opting to sign a one-year contract, the deal made complete sense for both sides.

Pre-Game Report

Here are some news and notes heading into tonight's games:

• Pavol Demitra (leg) is in the line up tonight for the Wild.
• Pierre-Marc Bouchard (flu) will return to the team's line up tonight.
• Jean-Sebastien Gigure (head) is out tonight for the Ducks.
• Ryan Getzlaf (shoulder) is also out for Anaheim.
• Erik Ersberg will start in between the pipes tonight for Los Angeles.
• Scott Thornton (upper-body) is out tonight for the Kings.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers--Western Conference (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the Northwest Division morning papers:

• After last night's 5-3 victory over the Wild at Rexall place, it is fair to say that the Oilers are streaking through the quad and into the gymnasium right now. The young Oilers just cannot stop scoring, writes Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal. The Edmonton Sun hands out the grades for last night's game.
• The Wild were outplayed in all aspects of the game on Tuesday, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. Last night's game marked the end of Pierre-Marc Bouchard's consecutive game streak.
• The Oilers were hoping for the Flames for a change, but Calgary did their provincial rivals no favors last night, as they lost 2-0 at Colorado. "They were more desperate," said Flames coach Mike Keenan after the contest.
• Jose Theodore pitched a shutout for the Avalanche in their biggest game of the season, writes Adrian Dater. Jordan Leopold is trying to prove that not every Avalanche trade with the Flames turns into a disaster, writes Terry Frei.
• If the Canucks want to defeat the Flames tonight they have to control Jarome Iginla, writes Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province.

Here are the Pacific Division morning papers:

• The Sharks may play tonight's game versus Phoenix without Jonathan Cheechoo or Patrick Rismiller.
• What's old is new again, as the Stars are hoping Mike Modano can help the offense and turn around the team's recent troubles.
• The Coyotes are hoping Radim Vrbata can break out of his sixteen game goal-less drought, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• The Ducks are expecting J.S. Giguere and Ryan Getzlaf to return from injury for Wednesday's game versus L.A.

**There were no L.A. Kings articles this morning**

Here are the Central Division morning papers:

• Some of the Blues took exception to Denis Savard's comments about the team's physical tactics over the weekend.
• Dan Ellis will get the call tonight for the Predators, as they face the Blue Jackets. It has not yet been decided if Pekka Rinne will get a chance to start in any of the Predators' last few regular season games.
• While the Red Wings will be getting Daniel Cleary back in the team's line up tonight, winger Tomas Holmstrom does not seem close to a return. Bill Dow has a feature on the legendary Gordie Howe as he closes in on his 80th birthday.
• If the Blue Jackets fail to make the playoffs, they at least want to take the Predators with them, writes Aaron Portzline. The Jackets are hoping Nikolai Zherdev can break out of his slump. Here are the Jackets' projected lines for tonight's contest.
• After practice yesterday, Denis Savard did not back down from the comments he made over the weekend, writes Chris Kuc.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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