Trebil a Defensive Mainstay

The defense has survived the rash of injuries that hit last month, with Ken Baumgartner coming off injured reserve Saturday, the day after Dave Karpa returned to the lineup.

As a result, rookie Nikolai Tsulygin, a regular scratch, was assigned to Baltimore in the American League, and first-round pick Ruslan Salei was sent to his former International League team, the Las Vegas Thunder.

Rookie Dan Trebil remains in Anaheim, jumping over both higher-profile players to claim a regular spot. Darren Van Impe, not Trebil, might be the odd man out if Baumgartner stays at defense instead of returning to forward.

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Don Baizley, the agent for Paul Kariya, was in Anaheim this week but isn’t yet negotiating a new deal for Kariya, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. “It’s going to be a while,” Baizley said, adding that Kariya and the organization are focused on trying to make the playoffs. Though re-signing Kariya will be the Ducks’ biggest off-season task--and a very expensive one--they have the right to match any offer and have been emphatic they will.