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- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Matt Beleskey and Francois Beauchemin will be UFAs on July 1st, and it will be hard for the Ducks to re-sign one or both of them.
“It’s a different feeling for sure,” Beleskey said. “I’ve always loved being here in Anaheim, and I still do. I’m always optimistic and hoping for the best, but we’ll see what happens.”
The Ducks and Beleskey tried to get a deal done before the deadline, but weren’t able to get it done. Beleskey could command a long-term deal in the $4.5 to $5 million range.
“To be honest, I don’t really want to talk about it right now,” Beleskey said. “It’s kind of tough to think about. I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I’m sure I’ll talk to management here for a bit and we’ll kind of go from there. Right now, I don’t really know what to say about it.”
The soon to be 35-year old Beauchemin hopes to return. No contract talks have taken place.
“That’s no secret to anybody,” Beauchemin said. “I’ve said it all year. I hope to come back. We haven’t discussed anything yet. Hopefully it will happen in the next few weeks.”
GM Bob Murray admits that it’s going to be hard to re-sign Beleskey and Beauchemin.
“Boy, it’s going to be hard,” Murray said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s going to be hard. I do not regret not trading either one of them. I wanted to give this team every chance to run at the Cup, and they did run at it.”
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Ducks GM Murray isn’t saying yet whether Bruce Boudreau and his coaching staff will be back next year. Boudreau signed an extension before the season that runs through 2017. In three-plus years behind the Ducks bench, Boudreau has a 162-79-29 regular season record, three Pacific division titles and a 21-15 playoff record.
“I haven’t talked to the coaching staff one bit,” Murray said Tuesday after the Ducks had their exit interviews at Honda Center. “I thought the coaching staff made strides this year. But I’ve still got to talk to them. I’m not ready to talk to them. We’ve got to meet later.
“I’ve got to sort things out in my mind. I’m not one to do things quickly. I’m evaluating the whole hockey team. That’s not a yes or a no. I’ve got to evaluate everything.”
- Dennis Bernstein: Matt Beleskey won’t be returning to the Ducks. Someone will offer more money and a top-six role.
- Lance Pugmire: Murray said that players could moved due to the “tagging” rule and playoff performance.