As promised, it’s time to delve into the three parts of Bob Murray’s 3 Point Plan for the Anaheim Ducks.  Starting with part 1: get bigger.

January 25, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sheldon Souray (44) controls the puck against the defense of Vancouver Canucks center Andrew Ebbett (25) during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

During this past offseason Bob Murray brought up an interesting point regarding the size of NHL teams.  As can be seen via YouTube, Murray stated:

“In an attempt to get a little bit faster in the way the game was supposedly being played at the moment, we got smaller. And we need to get bigger, again, and you can’t do that unless somebody goes and somebody new comes in.”

Well that pretty much sums up the Lubomir Visnovsky trade right there doesn’t it?  Lubo last year showed that he was getting older and becoming more injury prone, and his incredible offensive output from just a year before dropped significantly.  Now I know some may blame the system he was playing in, (more on that in the next article in this series), and the talent he was surrounded by, but getting older is getting older, (unless of course you’re Teemu Selanne).

With all that aside let’s talk about Lubo purely from a size perspective shall we?  Lubo is 5”10”, and listed at 197 pounds.  Since trading Lubo, (for a second round draft pick), Anaheim has added Sheldon Souray, (who is 6’4”, 237 lbs.), and Bryan Allen, (6’5”, 229 lbs.) to the blue line.  That’s a significant size upgrade from Lubomir Visnovsky.

It would be wrong to forget other significant additions to the lineup who also help in terms of size, perhaps most notably recent fan favorite, Daniel Winnik.  Winnik is listed at 6’2”, 213 lbs., and adds great size to a third line that most often consists of Saku Koivu and Andrew Cogliano, both under 6 feet and 200 pounds.  We’ve already seen those three guys clicking, and don’t discount Winnik’s physical presence as part of the reason why.

Guys like Emerson Etem, (6’1”, 210 lbs.), and Devante Smith-Pelly, (6’0”, 225 lbs.), certainly help as well, and we can’t forget Brad Staubitz, (6’1”, 203 lbs.), brought in to help replace some of what we lost with George Parros.

In short, the Ducks look much bigger with the guys they have coming up in the system, as well as the off-season acquisitions.  The question then is, does this really help the Ducks?

It’s rare for a team to go deep into the playoffs without both mental and physical toughness.  Despite their talent, the Vancouver Canucks have been criticized for years as being too soft, and perhaps it’s the reason they still haven’t won the cup.  Should we then be surprised that some of Vancouver’s more recent moves have been attempts to add toughness?

Look at the Zack Kassian/Cody Hodgson trade for instance.  Both are great players, but the Canucks traded Hodgson in order to get Kassian, who is 4 inches and 25 pounds larger than Hodgson.  Should we be surprised?  I think not.

The Ducks got destroyed in their own end last year, and the team’s size had much to do with it.  With it however the reality was revealed that most of Anaheim’s defensive corps last year was not meant to play in shut-down roles.  Cam Fowler, for example, needs to play good defense, no doubt, but he is at his best when playing along a shut-down defender, who then allows him to jump into the offense when possible.

In other words, last year we not only lacked size, but we were trying to get players to play in roles they weren’t really suited for.  Trading Lubo and acquiring Allen and Souray however, changes that.

So Part 1 of Bob Murray’s plan to improve Anaheim makes perfect sense.  In the aforementioned video Murray alludes to the fact that when the Ducks won the cup they were a larger team, and in order to get back to the cup, they need to regain that size.  It all makes sense, and while it may not be an overnight process, the 2012 offseason proved it could be the start of good things to come in Anaheim.

So, do you agree or disagree?  Was trading Lubo a horrible move, especially considering all we got back was a second round draft pick?  How about signing Souray and Allen?  Did we overpay?  Are they too old?  Or could it be Bob Murray is proving the petitioners wrong?  Please feel free to share with the class.

Hampus Lindholm poses for a photo after being selected as the number six overall draft pick to the Anaheim Ducks in the 2012 NHL Draft. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

In the picture shown the Ducks number 6 draft pick, (Hamphus Lindholm), has his arm around a man that many Anaheim Ducks fans consider to be the enemy: General Manager Bob Murray.

Just a couple of days ago I wrote about why the Ducks should not re-hire Brian Burke.  Perhaps more surprisingly I alluded to the fact that the Ducks should also not fire Bob Murray, (at least not yet).  With a petition out to get Murray fired I know a number of Ducks’ fans must be wondering what I am smoking.  Well allow me to explain my reasoning, (and for the record, I don’t smoke anything).

To begin, I should state that Bob Murray has not publicly announced any official plan to help the Ducks again find success.  This 3 Point plan is based purely on my own observations of the moves that have been made in Anaheim, in combination with some comments made by Murray this past summer, (see video).

Murray’s comments and the moves made by the Anaheim organization clearly indicate that the Ducks first of all learned some badly needed lessons, and than responded by making moves in the off-season, (before the chaos that was the lockout ensued).  Let’s start by looking at the lessons learned in the past few seasons, but in particular from the 2011-2012 season and post-season.

Lessons Learned

1 – Get Bigger

When you look at the teams who made the playoffs, and especially those that went deep, they were bigger and stronger.  Murray commented this past summer that a phase occurred in the NHL where teams, in an effort to get faster, also got inherently smaller.  The Ducks were no exception.

2 – Four-Lines of Offense

The Ducks won a cup with 2 scoring lines and 2 checking lines, (or as Bob Murray put it, with “two and a half lines”).  Since then the NHL has evolved and got away from a 2 and 2 system, or even a 3 and 1 system, and more towards 4 lines with stronger scoring capabilities.

3 – Build from the Goal Out

Look at the playoffs last year: The teams that went deep went deep thanks to goaltending.  The team that won the cup had the hottest goaltender and Conn Smythe winner, Jonathan Quick.  Additionally we would be fools to forget Mike Smith, Marty Brodeur, Braden Holtby, Pekka Rinne, or Henrik Lundqvist; all of which were goaltenders to teams that went at least to the second round of the playoffs.

Murray’s Response

1 – Get Bigger

I didn’t enjoy seeing Lubo traded as much as the next guy, but in all reality, it makes sense.  We got a good draft pick for him, and more importantly our blue line got much bigger.  Sheldon Souray is 6’4” and 237 pounds, while Bryan Allen is 6’5” and 226.  To contrast, Lubo is 5’10” and 197, a good 4 inches and 40 pounds smaller than Souray.  Sure we’ll miss Lubo’s offensive production, but that hopefully will come from other areas.

2 – Four-Lines of Offense

This one is huge for me.  This was the point of firing Randy Carlyle, and more importantly why firing him was a good decision.  The system wasn’t working, and we were able to run the system on fumes for a few years, but it clearly ran out of gas last season.  Bruce Boudreau is a great choice to try to build a four-line system where we can attempt to have real offensive depth.  Anaheim prospects will have a lot to do with the success of four-lines of offense.

3 – Build from the Goal Out

Hiller began to return to form under Boudreau, which means great news for Anaheim fans.  Hiller could be elite goalie talent, as we have seen glimpses of over the last few seasons.  Additionally, the Ducks have really worked to build up their goalie prospect pool with the likes of Viktor Fasth, and of course through the great up-and-comer, (and World Juniors Champion and MVP), John Gibson.

Conclusion

Give Bob Murray some credit.  Last year was dismal and yet he didn’t make any stupid trades, all the while teams must have been going nuts thinking they could get Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry, or Ryan Getzlaf.  Murray recognized that it might not be a change in players that’s needed in Anaheim, but a change in system and with it, coaching.  He made that change and although the Ducks didn’t make the playoffs, things did improve.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be breaking down the different points of the plan in greater depth and perhaps shed light on why we can all again be hopeful in Anaheim.  Let us all hope that Murray can get this ball rolling again, because for now at least, it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.

What are your thoughts?  Is Anaheim doomed under Murray?  Is my observed plan a bunch of malarkey? Or is the future bright for the Ducks?