Are The Anaheim Ducks Set To Affiliate With Syracuse?

The Post-Standard in Syracuse, NY is speculating that the Anaheim Ducks are set to affiliate with the Syracuse Crunch. The Ducks have gone all season without an AHL team to call their own, and the Crunch were recently dumped by the Columbus Blue Jackets in favor of the Springfield Falcons.

SB Nation's Ducks blog, Anaheim Calling, reacted to the potential affiliation.

The timing of the announcement, in particular, seems to point to the Ducks, who currently do not have an affiliate.  If the Crunch were announcing an affiliation with a team currently tied to another AHL franchise, most would expect them to wait until the end of the season.    

If true, the Ducks would have an AHL affiliate for the first time since breaking ties with the Iowa Chops last summer.  The Iowa ownership had used the team as collateral in a loan, violating AHL rules, and were unable to fulfill their financial commitments to the Ducks in a timely manner.

Spending the year without an AHL team, Anaheim has farmed out experienced prospects to clubs like Manitoba, Toronto and San Antonio.  However, some AHL clubs refused to play Anaheim's less experienced prospects, like Dan Sexton, who were forced to play for the Ducks' ECHL club in Bakersfield for a long stretch before a willing AHL placement could be found for them.  The situation seemed to particularly affect Anaheim first-round picks Mark Mitera and Logan MacMillan.  The former was unable to play a full and consistent season at the pro level after coming back from knee surgery, while the latter was picked up for drunk driving in Bakersfield after a disappointing year in the ECHL.