After the draft had concluded and players had reported to their respective camps, the Ducks started to realize just how hard GM Morgan Smith was trying to sabotage hockey in Southern California. Calling a team meeting just a few hours into their first practice, Smith announced that left winger Paul Bissonnette was to become the team's captain with Alexander Ovechkin and Vincent Lecavalier as his assistants. The move came as a shock to the Ducks faithful, but was widely accepted, much to GM Smith's chagrin, as a shrewd move from within the locker room.
"I like BizNasty he funny! Hahahahaahaaaha!!!!!" Ovechkin later tweeted. Bissonnette, who once again devoted his time to exploring what he called "the talent" in Anaheim's Whole Foods supermarket, was unavailable for comment.
As the first preseason game against San Jose approached, there was much mystery surrounding the Ducks camp. All of the practices had been off-limits to the public, but sources from within the team claimed that GM Smith had the team practicing the famous "Flying V" formation and using eggs in the place of pucks to promote "soft hands".
The lack of real practice didn't seem to slow down the Ducks, however. In the first game of the pre-season, the team won 3-1 on goals from Simon Gagne, Mike Ribeiro, and Tim Connolly. GM Smith was said to be furious with the fantastic display of puck movement and relentless physicality.
The next two games against division rivals Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings, respectively, both ended with 3-0 wins with Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov looking impressive in two shutout outings. Captain Paul Bissonnette got on the scoresheet against his former team, while Ovechkin provided a pair of goals in both games.
The teams' biggest test of the preseason came against GM Smith's favorite team, the Dallas Stars. Before the game, the GM burst into the locker room with a picture of Stars legend Mike Modano lifted high above his head, screaming that "NONE OF YOU WILL EVER BE AS GOOD AS HIM" before starting to run laps around the locker room in a Stars jersey.
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle quickly pointed out that Modano signed with the Red Wings the year before only to receive a reprimanding glare from Smith, who promptly fired him on the spot. The team started the game coached by head athletic trainer Tim Clark, but midway through the second period, Smith fired his impromptu coach because "the Stars still weren't winning". Smith then appointed defenseman Adam Larsson, who was filling in for the injured Scott Hannan, as temporary coach. Minutes after the appointment, the Stars scored to take the lead, which they would hold until the final whistle.
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