Emerson Etem (left) and Teemu Selanne wave goodbye to fans after the Ducks’ Game 7 loss. (Getty Images)

By Adrian Dater

Anaheim’s Francois Beauchemin had a tremendous season for the Anaheim Ducks. He was in the discussion among Norris Trophy voters, anchoring the defense for a team that finished second overall in the seriously tough Western Conference.

But in Beachemin’s native French-Canadian tongue, he was the chevre of Sunday’s Game 7 between his Ducks and the Detroit Red Wings. That means goat. It’s true, he was credited with a lucky late power-play goal that accounted for the final score, but the damage from an earlier incident on the power play had already been done.

Beauchemin tried to get fancy during a game in which keep-it-safe fundamental play was the bylaw, and for that he will be shown on every hockey highlight show around the globe for the next day.

Beauchemin’s spin-o-rama blind backhand pass was intercepted and converted into a short-handed goal by Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader with 3:23 left in the first period, which broke a 1-1 tie, killed all of Anaheim’s building momentum and ultimately resulted in a 3-2 loss at the Honda Center.

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Flyers bench boss Peter Laviolette seems primed to take the fall for one of this season’s most disappointing teams. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

A notated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• Is the Peter Laviolette era coming to an end in Philadelphia? The Flyers’ rock-bottom effort in a 5-2 loss to New Jersey had all the hallmarks of a team playing to get its coach fired.

• That little deal to acquire Andrei Loktionov keeps paying dividends for the Devils. A lousy fit for the physical style of the Kings, he’s looked right at home in New Jersey.

• Is a willingness to settle games in the shootout leading to third-period malaise?

• After his effort to win tickets to Thursday night’s game in Dallas was denied, we’ll have to wait and see if Bobby Ryan shows up for the game against the Stars.

• Jamie Benn and Brenden Morrow are doubtful against the Ducks, meaning that the scouts who have been trailing the Stars may end up hanging out downstairs like they did Tuesday night.

• Sidney Crosby opens up on visors, fighting and concussions with Mike Zeisberger.

• Brad Marchand is mixing in a little more skill with his customary swagger for the Bruins. Come on, admit it…no matter how much you hate him, you’d take him on your team in a heart beat.

• It’s amazing that Jake Gardiner didn’t fire his agent immediately after Tuesday night’s freedom tweets. If he was going to be called up to Toronto at some point this season, that door has probably slammed shut.

• The Vancouver Canucks are wondering why it’s open season on Alex Burrows. No doubt he takes a beating out there, but I’m not sure he gets it any worse than anyone else who makes a living in the goal mouth.

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Signing Ryan Getzlaf may also be the key to determining Corey Perry’s future in Anaheim. (Gary A. Vasquez / US Presswire)

By Allan Muir

Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray crossed one item off his to-do list today by signing team captain Ryan Getzlaf to an eight-year extension worth $66 million.

That’s a significant commitment from the Ducks. The eight-year term is the max allowable under the new CBA and the annual cap of $8.25 million ties him for the fourth highest in the league, trailing just Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. That’s pretty thin air for a player that put up career-low numbers last season and ranked among the year’s biggest underachievers.

But Getzlaf has been among the most impactful players so far in 2013. His 27 points puts him among the league’s top-10 scorers and he’s been a consistent force for a Ducks team that has to be recognized among the few legitimate contenders for the Cup.

There’ll still be plenty of voices suggesting this is an overpayment, but this feels like a case of a team paying to hold onto one of the best players in franchise history, and fearing the alternatives if they don’t.

Yeah, $8.25 million is a chunky hit, especially with the cap going down next season to $64.3 million, but big, proven No. 1 centers like Getzlaf are hard to come by. If he’d gone to market as a UFA this summer, another team would have put up at least that much…and the Ducks would have had to settle for an inferior replacement. This was a much smarter option.

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