from Lisa Dillman of the LA Times,

Newly minted Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa was musing about shifting alliances, rivalries redefined with one phone call, one trade between general managers.

"The hockey world is a weird world," Bieksa said Sunday. "You have guys you've battled with over the years. As soon as you get on the team and have a couple of conversations, you figure out they're just like you. You hated them all those years for no reason. Now you quickly become friends."

In other words, he is getting along quite well with new teammate and Ducks forward and agitator Corey Perry, once a formidable foe. Perry called Bieksa "a leader," and said those qualities trickle down to the rest of the lineup. Bieksa played 24-plus minutes in the opener, trailing only Hampus Lindholm (25 minutes 16 seconds).

"It's better when he's on your team than going up and getting punched in the face 100 times in a game when he's on the other team," Perry said. "He's a battler, a competitor, and goes out there and wants to win, and you can see it."

On Monday night, Bieksa will face his former teammates, the Vancouver Canucks, at Honda Center in the Ducks' home opener. He was dealt to Anaheim by the Canucks for a second-round pick in 2016 and had played 597 regular-season games with Vancouver.

continued