Niedermayer given more time by Ducks

Jun 20, 2008 - 2:09 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Scott Niedermayer has been given a bit more time to decide whether his career will continue.

Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke on Thursday stated that the team is giving Niedermayer until July 1 to come to a decision on his playing days.

It was reported that Burke told the veteran defenseman he had until this year's draft, which begins Friday in Ottawa, to inform the Ducks whether he would retire or honor the final year of his four-year contract. However, Burke claimed he did no such thing.

"Here's what I told Scotty," Burke said Thursday during a conference call. "His agent said that he's going to decide by Friday. That's not the deadline we've given him. His wife is expecting a baby. What I told Scotty is, 'You take the weekend.' He's got much bigger fish to fry right now.

"(Team owners) the Samuelis are family first, and that's how we've always done things, and that's how we'll always do things. You look after your family right now. We can wait until Monday. The operative date for us is July 1, not tomorrow."

After helping the Ducks win the Stanley Cup championship in 2007 and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, Niedermayer was given the luxury of determining his fate in the NHL on his own terms. The 34-year-old announced he would return to the team on December 5 and made his season debut 11 days later.

"Scotty earned that right," Burke said. "What I told him this year is, because of the budget and the (salary) cap situation it's resulted in, I'm not doing that again."

A five-time All-Star and former Norris Trophy winner, Niedermayer recorded eight goals and 17 assists in 48 games last season. Anaheim benefited greatly from his return, going 31-12-4 thereafter to secure the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Burke once again is hoping to have Niedermayer lace up the skates for another season.

"I don't have a sense which way he's leaning," Burke said. "I know which way I hope he's leaning."

Drafted third overall by New Jersey in 1991, Niedermayer won three Stanley Cups with the Devils before joining Anaheim as a free agent in August 2005 in order to play with his brother Rob. The native of Alberta, who represented Canada at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, has collected 148 goals, 485 assists and 676 penalty minutes in 1,101 career games with the Devils and Ducks.