Dollas Stays in Touch After Being Traded

The Mighty Ducks made a much-anticipated trade Friday, sending disgruntled defenseman Bobby Dollas some 20 paces down the hallway to the visiting Edmonton Oilers’ dressing room at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Defenseman Drew Bannister made the walk in the other direction, joining the Ducks a few hours before the game. Both players then made their debuts with their new teams in Edmonton’s 5-1 victory.

The Ducks’ loss, their first in nine games against Edmonton, underscored their desperate need for change. But is one trade enough?

Or does General Manager Jack Ferreira need to make more deals to lift the Ducks from a 3-12-3 slide since they defeated the Oilers, 3-1, Nov. 28?

Can the present lineup put together the sort of late-season run that enabled last season’s team to post its first winning record and make the playoffs for the first time?

Ferreira was attending meetings with scouts in Cincinnati, home of the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate, and was unavailable Friday to answer those questions.

At first glance, the Dollas-for-Bannister deal seemed to be merely a blip on the radar screen when compared to other, bigger trades around the NHL recently.

For instance, the Oilers acquired Bill Guerin, Roman Hamrlik and Valeri Zelepukin in the past two weeks. All played key roles in Friday’s victory.

In time, Bannister could prove to be a useful player for the Ducks. After all, he is only 23. Dollas will turn 33 later this month.

Trading Dollas also can be viewed as a case of addition by subtraction. Wednesday, he expressed his anger at being scratched twice in three games and said he asked to be traded several weeks ago. He also indicated he was particularly upset with Coach Pierre Page.

“If he wants to play head games with a veteran, a 14-year pro, that gets old after a while,” Dollas said Wednesday.

But Dollas and the Ducks apparently parted amicably Friday.

Said Duck team president Tony Taveras in a prepared statement: “Bobby Dollas will forever remain a special part of the Mighty Duck history. Bobby was great with fans and gave his all every time on the ice. The organization is grateful for all his efforts during his tenure here.”

Said Dollas: “I owe a lot to the Ducks. They rejuvenated my career. I was thinking about quitting hockey a few years ago. I think I helped this team, this organization. But sometimes it’s time to move on.

“I called Jack and told him, ‘No hard feelings. If I see you in the summertime, we’ll have a beer and talk over old times.’ ”

Dollas left Anaheim as the Ducks’ leading career scorer among defensemen with 89 points. He and Joe Sacco are the only Ducks to play in more than 300 games.

Dollas’ departure leaves Sacco and goaltender Guy Hebert as the only players remaining from the Ducks’ opening-night roster in 1993.

On Friday, Dollas wore No. 6 for the Oilers instead of his familiar No. 2 with the Ducks. He received a smattering of boos from the sellout crowd of 17,174 when he came onto the ice and handled the puck for the first time.

Bannister’s debut as a Duck was met by indifference by the fans, although Page was excited to have him.

“Today, we acquired a young leader,” Page said. “This kid is a player. He’s a winner and has good character. Most of all, he has a history of being a leader. We’re very excited to have him join our club.”

Page paired Bannister with veteran J.J. Daigneault to start the game. Bannister picked up the second assist on Sacco’s second-period goal for his first point in 33 games.

But Bannister’s acquisition did little to jolt some life into the Ducks. They turned in a flat performance, falling behind, 3-0, only 6:44 into the second period.

The spark that seemed to be emerging on their six-game trip and in the first 55 minutes of Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres was sadly lacking against the Oilers.

Sacco’s goal, on a backhander that cut the Oiler lead to 3-1 at 14:57 of the second period, was all the Ducks could manage against goalie Curtis Joseph.

Rem Murray, Mike Grier, Tony Hrkac, Todd Marchant and Guerin scored the Oiler goals.