Minnesota cold jogs Ducks' memories

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: January 30, 2008 - 10:05 PM

Ryan Getzlaf is from Regina, Saskatchewan, and played four years of junior hockey in Calgary.

He has experienced cold weather before, but when the Anaheim Ducks forward walked out of the St. Paul Hotel on Wednesday morning, he immediately took an about-face.

"This is brutal," Getzlaf said of Minnesota's arctic blast. "Minus-10, minus-15? I didn't go outside. I walked through the tunnel to get to the rink. Most of us did. We all got soft living in California."

Ducks forward Rob Niedermayer didn't know there was an underground way to get to Xcel Energy Center, so he speed-walked through Rice Park. The scamper was enough for Niedermayer to realize how fortunate he has been to spend most of his 14-year career in South Florida and Southern California.

"I've been pretty lucky," said Niedermayer, who goes to most Ducks practices in shorts and a T-shirt.

Teemu Selanne, who skated 90 minutes after signing a one-year deal Monday, said it's "not this cold" in his native Finland. "Only Winnipeg," said Selanne, who spent four seasons with the old Jets.

The trip to Minnesota was a frosty way to begin an eight-game, 15-day odyssey for the Ducks. Asked how you pack for such a road trip, Getzlaf quipped, "Move out."

Road trips are usually bonding experiences for teammates, but Wild coach Jacques Lemaire quipped this is "too much bonding. They'll be glued together."

On Feb. 6, between games against the Islanders and Rangers, the Ducks will head to Washington, where they'll be honored at the White House for winning the Stanley Cup last June.

"It'll be a lot of fun to take a day away from hockey and go enjoy ourselves," Getzlaf said. "It'll be a fun thing to go do for our group from last year, one last reward this late in the season."

Lemaire raps his team

Lemaire said the Wild is "not as good as Detroit and [Anaheim]" because the Wild hasn't proven to be as mentally sharp.

"It's doing little things," Lemaire said. "You don't lose pucks at the blue line, you know who you're playing against. Take [Corey] Perry's goal [against the Wild on Jan. 18].

"What a mental mistake from us. We've got three, if not four, guys there and we're all looking at Perry shooting the puck. Top of the circle, he's got about 150 goals this year and we're looking at him shoot the puck. No one makes an effort to go there. Come on. Give me a break. ... Poor goalie."

Sales meeting today

This morning, incoming Wild owner Craig Leipold is expected to meet with the more than 20 minority investors to disseminate information on the sale. On Jan. 10, Leipold said he expected "most of them, if not all of them, will" stay on as investors.

It's also believed another recognized minority investor could be announced soon, although Leipold said Wednesday he couldn't divulge that because of "cross-confidentiality agreements."

Etc.

• Wild left winger Derek Boogaard, hampered by a herniated disk since November, will be placed on injured reserve today and is considered week-to-week. "We prefer to wait until it completely settles down for a period of time so he has a better chance to play the rest of the season," assistant GM Tom Lynn said.

• Keith Carney replaced Petteri Nummelin in the lineup, and Mark Parrish (foot) returned for Matt Foy.

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