What's a Mighty Ducks fan to do?

For years, you wait and wait and wait for your franchise to go pull off a trade for a big-name player. And then, when they finally do, you can do nothing but cringe.

	CHIRPIN'
	"The Calgary Flames haven't beat Phoenix since Christ was a child." -- Flames coach Darryl Sutter, chiding his team on its 1-14-4-2 record against the Coytotes over the past 21 meetings.
	THE NUMBER
	.937 That's the save percentage for Detroit goalie Manny Legace, who has a 46-15-10 record since joining the Red Wings as a backup three and a half seasons ago. "If I'm making their choice difficult, I'm doing my job,'' Legace said.
	WHO'S HOT
	San Jose Sharks captain Owen Nolan has responded tremendously to rumors that the Sharks were ready to trade him. He has seven goals and an assist in the past five games and the Sharks have gone 3-1-0-1 in that span.
	WHO'S NOT
	Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier coasted into the All-Star break on fumes. He gave up 3.15 goals a game and posted an .876 save percentage during an 0-2-2 slump.
	THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
	... the world isn't off its axis, after all … Patrick Roy has his game back. He has posted a 0.72 GAA and a .966 save percentage in the past four games, and the Avalanche entered the break on a 2-0-2 run.

Sandis Ozolinsh is a decent enough guy, an NHL All-Star Game selection. He can be relied upon for 50 points almost every season, and he can play 30 minutes a night if that's what you need.

So why do so many teams not want him?

When the Ducks acquired Ozolinsh and Lance Ward from Florida for Matt Cullen, Pavel Trnka and a fourth-round draft pick, they became the fifth team to take a flier on Ozolinsh during his 11-year career. This will be the third team for the Latvia native in the past two seasons.

OK, they didn't mind him in San Jose and used him as trade bait to acquire Owen Nolan from Colorado back in 1995. In his first season with the Avalanche, he helped them win a Stanley Cup.

But the Avalanche eventually soured on him and moved him to Carolina in 2000, despite his 52 points and plus-17 rating. Once in Carolina, he signed a five-year, $25 million deal -- and then the Hurricanes couldn't get rid of him soon enough. Ozolinsh posted 44 points and was minus-25 in his first year with Carolina and in 2002 was dumped on the Florida Panthers for bits and pieces.

Ozolinsh bonded well with Panthers coach Mike Keenan and was given 28-30 minutes of ice time on most nights. But while he has 24 points this season, he is a minus-16 -- and that's why he was traded.

He told California reporters, "I think I have changed my playing style. I'm a little more defensive, not as reckless as I used to be. I learned a lot playing all these years. I think I'll be more reliable defensively."

If Ozolinsh is improved, the Mighty Ducks could have added to a pretty decent group of blueliners and given players like Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora and Steve Rucchin a huge boost on the power play. If Ozolinsh is improved, the Mighty Ducks might continue the type of play that has led to a 7-2-0-1 run heading into the All-Star break.

The problem is that if he isn't, then the Mighty Ducks might have invested $5.5 million a season (for this season and two more after) on a player who won't solve their problems. And with a seeming bumper crop of available players coming up in the next month, you wonder if this was the best way to spend the only money Anaheim had left to spend.

"The way the game is and the way our coach likes to coach is to include the defense on the rush,'' said Anaheim GM Bryan Murray. "This guy is as good as there is out there at that.''

You just wonder why four other teams haven't thought that.

In fact, Panthers GM Rick Dudley sent Ozolinsh off with a firm boot in the pants.

"The one thing that concerned me was that he was the key member of both our special teams, playing virtually every second of both, and we were minus-19,'' Dudley said.

Ouch.

Hey Canada, bring it on
In one of the stranger statistical anomalies, the Dallas Stars haven't been beaten by a Canadian team this season. That's right, strike up "O Canada" and the Stars give you everything they have.

After a recent run through Ottawa and Calgary at the American Airlines Center, the Stars ran their record to 10-0-1 against teams north of the border.

Goalie Marty Turco has been a big reason. He carried a 12-game overall unbeaten streak into the All-Star break and is among the league leaders in goals-against average and save percentage. But he really ramps up his play against his native country. Turco is 9-0-0 this season against Canadian teams with a 1.22 goals against average and a .951 save percentage.

What next? Locusts?
Maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. Maybe Jamie Storr will come in as a No. 1 goalie and lead the Los Angeles Kings out of the worst slump they have suffered in years. Maybe the franchise will look to a younger, more promising goalie.

Still, Felix Potvin did a lot for the Kings, including leading them to two seven-game series against Colorado in the past two seasons. So it was bad news when the 31-year-old goalie sprained his right knee last week. Potvin will be out 6-8 weeks and faces an even more uncertain future.

He can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer, so he might not play another game for the Kings if he returns and Los Angeles is expected to miss the playoffs. It would only make sense that the Kings get a look at younger goalies.

Storr, 27, earned a shutout against Ottawa last Thursday and should get the lion's share of the games in the next month or two. Rookie Cristobal Huet will be his backup.

Depth chart