Fans Not Flocking as Ducks Improve

The Mighty Ducks answered some questions Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks, but raised at least one new one during a 4-4 tie before an announced crowd of 14,100 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Teemu Selanne zoomed around the ice at what appeared to be top speed after missing Sunday’s 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks because of a nagging thigh strain.

Paul Kariya, who battled a sore groin last week, also seemed sound and picked up two assists for his team-leading 31st and 32nd points.

So, there were no concerns on the medical front.

But the paltry crowd, the second-smallest in franchise history, troubled Duck President/General Manager Pierre Gauthier as much as his team squandering a two-goal lead.

To Gauthier, it’s a noteworthy sign of vulnerability for the 6-year-old franchise.

He had just returned from the NHL Board of Governors meeting in Phoenix, where escalating payrolls and declining revenues were major topics of conversation.

“It’s insane,” he said. “We’re paying players too much for our revenues. We have franchises in trouble.”

Then Gauthier dropped this bombshell:

“This team is losing money, a whole lot of money. If this franchise is losing money, you can imagine what’s happening around the league.”

That’s a startling statement considering the Ducks were believed to still be a franchise with a license to print money.

Thanks to the lucrative sale of the team’s merchandise and a payroll that ranked near the bottom of the NHL, the Ducks turned healthy profits in each of their first four NHL seasons.

The Ducks even made money during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, when most other teams took a bath.

But Gauthier said the Ducks were around the break-even point last season after finishing 26-43-13 and missing the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ducks’ $30-million payroll this season, the highest in franchise history, and an average attendance of 15,664 at the 17,174-seat Pond haven’t helped the bottom line.

“It doesn’t add up anymore,” Gauthier said of skyrocketing payrolls around the league. “It’s in our hands to stop it. We don’t have to pay so much money to the older players who are free agents because, in general, we’re not getting the return.”

Gauthier certainly got his money’s worth out of Johan Davidsson, Marty McInnis and Steve Rucchin against Vancouver.

None of the three was acquired through free agency and they can be considered bargains this season, earning $775,000, $1.1 million and $2.45 million, respectively.

Davidsson--a rookie, who had his first two-goal game in the NHL--McInnis and Rucchin scored for the Ducks Wednesday.

Rucchin also preserved the tie by stopping Brad May’s point-blank shot with goalie Guy Hebert out of position in the final, frantic moments of overtime.

The Ducks had second-period leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2, but couldn’t hang on. Markus Naslund, Bill Muckalt and Harry York scored second-period goals for the Canucks.

Vancouver defenseman Bret Hedican’s shorthanded goal tied the score, 4-4, midway through the third period. Mark Messier’s well-placed pass from the right wing to the left set up Hedican’s goal.

“We did some strong things coming out of the gate,” said Duck assistant George Burnett, who filled in at the postgame media session while Coach Craig Hartsburg attended to personal business.

“We had a couple of two-goal leads, which you can’t give up. When you get a two-goal lead, you’ve got to take control. You can’t let a team like Vancouver back into the game.”

Selanne, who had several quality scoring chances but failed to convert, agreed with Burnett.

“A tie is always good, but we still blew this game away,” said Selanne, whose best scoring chance was thwarted when Vancouver goalie Corey Hirsch made a save on a third-period breakaway. “We led by two goals. We should win those games.”

Asked how his thigh felt, Selanne said, “Now that I have my speed back, I’m going to get lots of [scoring] chances. It’s a matter of time before they start going in.”