17 Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Surely the folks who run the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim know what they're doing. This is Disney , after all, not some Mickey Mouse organization. These guys are emperors of entertainment, kingpins in the corporate world, maestros of management. Why, Michael Eisner himself, Disney 's CEO, usually makes it a point to appear front-row center in the Ducks ' annual team photo just to reassure everyone that the team is in good hands.

So you just know there's some superior reasoning behind the fact that the Ducks 1) fired coach Ron Wilson after he led the team to its best season ever in 1996-97; 2) fired Wilson 's successor, Pierre Pag� , after a 10-month tenure that was undercut by the prolonged absence of top player Paul Kariya ; and 3) hired Craig Hartsburg , who as coach of the Blackhawks mocked Kariya . After Hawks defenseman Gary Suter cross-checked the Ducks ' star in the jaw in February, sidelining him with a concussion for the rest of the season, Hartsburg said that Kariya "had to pay the price" for being near the net.

Hartsburg and Kariya apparently smoothed over any potential tension with a face-to-face discussion at the start of training camp, and it's a good thing. Kariya , the league's most talented left wing, and Teemu Selanne , the NHL 's most talented right wing, will have to be as happy as Ducks on a Pond for Anaheim to make the postseason. In a further display of its elusive logic, Ducks management has provided that duo with scant support. After Kariya (277 points in 220 career games) and Selanne (two straight 50-goal seasons), the Ducks possess exactly zero offensive threats. Worse, Anaheim has the NHL 's least intimidating defense, an anonymous group that surrendered the second-most goals in the Western Conference last season. Goalie Guy Hebert , usually a bright spot, is coming off a mediocre season (.903 save percentage) and shoulder surgery.

At least the players have responded well to Hartsburg 's demanding practice and conditioning regimen, leading him to predict, "We're going to surprise people." Maybe they will. After all, the folks who run the Ducks must surely know what they're doing.