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Ducks GM Pierre Gauthier says wins will put fans in the seats

As training camp for the Mighty Ducks hockey team approached, team president and general manager Pierre Gauthier recently told an audience at the Sports Club Irvine that signing players to contracts isn’t the toughest part of the hockey business.

“Negotiating with players around set deadlines is a routine part of business,” Gauthier said. “It’s very predictable.”

The bigger challenges, he said are in keeping players long-term and avoiding contracts that venture into “uncharted waters” that could set new league precedents,and cost more money,in the future.

Indeed, the Ducks, who reportedly lost $5 million to $8 million last year, are among the majority of NHL teams that are in the red, a situation widely blamed by management on rising player salaries.

“The way salaries have gone, we (the owners) should be arrested for mass suicide,” Gauthier said.

The Ducks had a payroll of about $35 million last year, a bit above the league average of around $30 million, but well below the league-leading New York Rangers at $58 million.

But contract and payroll issues aside, the Ducks, who ended last season a lackluster 34-36-12, missed the playoffs and saw total attendance fall 8.5% to a franchise low of 592,883, need a boost from the team to rekindle interest.

Both Gauthier and third-year coach Craig Hartsburg said they were excited about this year’s crop of players, citing speed and increased competition for positions as positives. But Gauthier said there are no special plans to bolster attendance, though team officials announced last spring that they would hold the line on ticket prices,which ranked 14th among NHL teams last year at an average of about $46 per game, according to Team Marketing Report,when the Ducks failed to make the playoffs.

“There’s only one trick (to increased attendance),” he said. “Winning.”

And, he figures, after the Ducks’ seven-year stint in OC, that’s a fair expectation.

Another challenge that overshadows player contracts, Gauthier said, is developing the fan base here.

“The perception of the market is (that it’s) Anaheim,” he said. “We need to build a sense of (the team) belonging to Orange County.”

That observation echoes one oft cited by local tourism officials, too. But other observers believe the Walt Disney Co. wants to retain Anaheim in its team names because it keeps awareness of the city high,and that’s a boon to Disneyland and, soon, California Adventure. Gauthier said there are no plans to change the team name to help create that sense of belonging.

One positive sign, he said, is that season ticket holders come from across the county and he senses a mood among locals that more cohesion is needed here. Pointing to the resurgence of fan support for the Angels this season and the youth of both the Angels and Ducks teams, he said the teams themselves could provide the impetus for creating wider community support.

“The future of the two teams is exciting,” he said.

One unexpected fan-booster for the Angels this season has been accidental mascot Katie, the Rally Monkey. So might OC hockey fans expect to see a Rally Monkey on ice?

“No special tricks,” Gauthier repeated, grinning. “Just winning.” n

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