Ducks More Than Welcome To First Place Expectations

They're not Mighty anymore, but they're still just ducky.

The Anaheim hockey team in the NHL dropped the word "Mighty" from their name, so now they're going by the more streamlined Anaheim Ducks. It's not an unprecedented switch. Another left coast team, the California Golden Seals, decided to be known as just the California Seals in the mid-1970's. The Chicago Black Hawks made a subtle change several years back, squishing their nickname into one word: Blackhawks.

But enough of the history lesson. The Ducks are terrorizing the NHL, 25-3-6 and setting a league record for most points mustered after a season's first 15 road games. Their 56 points puts them on top of the league standings, and fairly comfortably.

Fine. They can have all that.

I don't know about you, but I'm pleased as punch to let the Anaheim Ducks run away with the NHL's Presidents' Trophy. Let them set expectations for themselves as high as possible. Let them put the pressure of a "Stanley Cup or bust" mentality on their shoulders. They have my permission, and then some.

As I said before the season, I'm fine with the Red Wings lying in the weeds as a lower seed going into the playoffs. I've had enough of wrapping things up with 15 games remaining, and going into cruise control leading up to the postseason. And what normally happens? Our Hockeytown Heroes run into the buzzsaw of a team that's been battling like the dickens to even qualify for the playoffs, sometimes right up until the final weekend of the season.

Doubtless, if the Ducks stay hot, the jabbermouth experts on the ESPN and Versus networks will make Anaheim their Stanley Cup frontrunners. They will appear to be too strong, too well-balanced, too focused, to NOT win the Cup come June. As their regular season wins pile up, so will their lofty expectations.

Again, they can have it. I'm done -- and blissful.