Return sparks guessing game

There is one overriding question these days in the Ducks locker room: When will Scott Niedermayer play in his first game this season?

“It’s a secret,� Coach Randy Carlyle said with a grin after Thursday’s practice at the Honda Center. “Does Kohl’s tell Macy’s� its secrets? “We are not going to make any statement about when Scott Niedermayer� is going to play.

Niedermayer, one of the NHL’s top defensemen, announced about a week ago that he was rejoining the defending Stanley Cup champions after sitting out the first part of the season to contemplate retirement. Thursday, after participating in his second straight full-team practice, he said he was ready to play as early as tonight, although “I’m not 100%.�

“Scotty is a special player,� Carlyle said. “He could go away [from hockey] for four or five years and then come back and put the skates on and he’d be ready. That’s how effortless a skater he is.�

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For Niedermayer to play, the Ducks must make a trade to create enough salary-cap room. Trade speculation has centered on defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Sean O’Donnell, and center Todd Marchant, but as of late Thursday the Ducks had still not made a deal.

“I’m not comfortable with the whole situation,� Niedermayer said of the trade scenario. He is comfortable, however, to be back with the team

“It was an interesting learning experience, kind of feeling retired,� he said. But as time went on, he realized “I felt like a player the whole time.�

Now that he’s back, he says, “my teammates have picked up where they left off.�

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One might think that the continuing Niedermayer watch might be wearing a bit thin on those teammates, but they say it’s just good to have him back.

“A lot of things off the ice people just don’t see,� said defenseman Joe DiPenta. “He has a lot of respect from his teammates. Just having Scotty around is great.�

Added left wing Chris Kunitz, “It’s a huge deal to have him back. He’s a leader. He makes players around him better.�

But until Niedermayer is playing in games, Kunitz says, the Ducks will have to continue to do their best with “whoever is in the lineup.�

Niedermayer said his goal is to win the Stanley Cup again. “But you have to feel it,� he said. “You can’t just say it.�

TONIGHT

vs. Minnesota, 7, FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- Honda Center.

Radio -- 830.

Records -- Ducks 15-14-4, Wild 16-12-2.

Record vs. Wild -- 0-1-0.

Update -- After winning four straight games, the Wild has lost three of four, including a 4-1 loss at San Jose on Tuesday. This is the Wild’s fourth game of a five-game trip.

Tickets -- (877) 945-3946.