What better time for the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner to come back and help his team rise from the doldrums.
Niedermayer
When the Anaheim Ducks announce Scott Niedermayer's playing status at a 9:30 p.m. ET news conference tonight, they will say the defenseman is returning to the NHL, team sources confirmed to ESPN The Magazine's E.J. Hradek.
It is uncertain exactly when Niedermayer will be back in the Ducks' lineup, but GM Brian Burke has up to 21 days to clear cap space to make room for the defenseman on the roster.
Another star in the Ducks' drive to their first Stanley Cup championship last season, 37-year-old Teemu Selanne, also hasn't played this year and hasn't said whether he will play or retire. Unlike Niedermayer, Selanne is a free agent.
Burke and the rest of the team's management apparently were not disturbed that Niedermayer and Selanne took the time off. The Ducks, however, got off to a slow start in their defense of the Stanley Cup and were third in the Pacific Division with a 12-12-4 record heading into Wednesday night's game against Buffalo.
Niedermayer hoisted the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in June and won his first Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP. He previously played on three Cup champions with New Jersey before coming to Anaheim in 2005, when he joined his brother Rob on the Ducks.
Scott won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman for the 2003-04 season when he was with the Devils.
When this season began, he had two years and $13.5 million remaining on his contract. According to league rules, the Ducks suspended him without pay because he did not report to training camp.
When he and Selanne were on hand for the unveiling of the team's Stanley Cup championship banner early this season, the fans chanted, "One More Year!"
The team was struggling then as well.
"When things aren't going well, you'd like to be out there to help," Niedermayer said then.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: ESPN.com
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