Tavares Unhappy With New Players

Team President Tony Tavares said he agreed with Coach Pierre Page’s comments Wednesday about the failure of the Ducks’ off-season acquisitions to produce.

“We didn’t come close to winning the Stanley Cup last season and we tried to make some moves in the off-season designed to make us a better team. Those moves haven’t paid off,” Tavares said, echoing Page’s criticism of Espen Knutsen, Tomas Sandstrom, Scott Young and others.

“We thought we were adding toughness with Brent Severyn and he got hurt [when he suffered a herniated disk early in the season]. We were expecting Tomas Sandstrom to get better. In hindsight, they weren’t very good moves.

“We identified problems. We had a plan. Whether we’ve stuck to it is another question.”

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Toughness, or a lack thereof, has been a key issue this season and Tavares expects it be to addressed before the March 25 trading deadline.

Team insiders report Tavares was incensed when the Ducks failed to retaliate against Chicago’s Gary Suter after he gave Paul Kariya a concussion with a cross-check to the jaw Feb. 1.

Kariya continues to suffer from post-concussion syndrome and his return this season remains in doubt.

On the record, Tavares would say only, “I’m not going to speak about the Suter matter. What I expect is a group of people trying to play a team concept. And a team concept includes sticking up for your teammates. Do I expect that? You bet I do.”