D-FENCE

Onward towards the defensive void left behind at the Ducks blue line. On July 9 the Ducks signed Nick Boynton who most recently played on the Florida Panthers. Though I personally hadn't really heard of him, I've come to learn that he has played in more than 500 NHL games. However, my qualm about this acquisition is he fact that Boynton is only 30 but hasn't made the all-star team since 2004, as compared to Pronger who will be turning 35 towards the beginning of this coming season and last played in the all-star game in 2008. I understand that the all-star game doesn't quite measure talent, but it is a testament to the player. Boynton might be able to thrive this year, being able to work with the talents of Scott Niedermayer and Ryan Whitney, but from what I know he is going to have pretty big shoes to fill.

However, my bigger defensive concern is yesterday's acquisition of Steve McCarthy. Though he has played in the NHL before, last year he played in Russia's KHL. My concern here is the fact that in 2005 he was traded for a third-round draft pick and in 2006 was traded for a fourth-round draft pick. In my opinion, these trades place little value on the player and make me concerned about filling the void left behind from the departure of both Beauchemin and Pronger, considering the fact that he had no points in 18 games last season compared to the 48 points that Pronger had in 82 games or even the 5 points in a mere 20 games that Beauchemin played (which is due to an extensive injury). Hopefully, McCarthy has learned a lot overseas and will eventually be an asset to what was once a terrific blue line.

I'll keep ya posted.

xoxo