Anaheim Ducks are Stanley Cup contenders despite their latest struggles

Do you still think the Anaheim Ducks are Stanley Cup contenders despite their latest struggles?

The Ducks are definitely still contenders, but I think they took a step back at the deadline when they traded Dustin Penner and didn't acquire one of the marquee left wings who were available to replace him. Ducks GM Bob Murray certainly tried to get someone in to play with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, but Thomas Vanek went to the Canadiens, Matt Moulson went to the Wild and Mike Cammalleri stayed with the Calgary Flames. Had the Ducks acquired any of them, I think it would have boosted their chances of getting to the Stanley Cup Final. Now I do wonder if they are good enough in what is a brutally tough Western Conference.

Simple one: Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs, yes or no, and why?

Simple? Uh, no, not so simple. This is maybe the toughest prediction to make at this time of the year. I'm going to say that yes, the Red Wings will find a way. I believe in Mike Babcock as a coach and I think some of their lesser-known players like Tomas Jurco, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan have the ability to step up. For me, Babcock is doing one of his best coaching jobs of his career this season. To have the Red Wings in playoff contention in spite of the massive number of injuries to key players, star players, is impressive. I think they'll get in, but I obviously would not be shocked if the playoff streak ends at 22 seasons either.

Are you sticking with your preseason playoff predictions?

I have to. Why make the predictions if you're not sticking to them? I said it'll be the Sharks vs. Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final and I'm sticking with it. The better question is do I feel good about it. The answer is no, obviously, because Detroit is far from a lock to even make the playoffs.

"Over the last few seasons, Matt Hackett played more games than Darcy in the American League, and Darcy had to go to the ECHL and play overage as a junior," Fletcher told NHL.com. "He had never been our marquee guy in the developmental system. We really felt he needed that. He needed a year where he'd be a 40-50 game guy for his development, knowing fairly soon he'd challenge in Minnesota. Now, of course, the future came very quickly."