Ducks review 2024

[yave1964]

OFFSEASON OUTLOOK Most people disliked the Ducks, thought they were going to be bad as usual, I really thought they would take a step up, lots and lots of good young kids especially on defense. Nobody took them serious as a playoff contender, it was just hoped that they would show progress.

 

FINAL RECORD 27-50-5 59 points. Thanks to the Sharks, they didnt come in last.

 

STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR Leo Carlsson led the league as the worst faceoff man in the past five years among any center who had at least 500 attempts. His futile 34.8 percent faceoff win was awful.

 

 HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR tHEY LOST 4 OF the first 5, then caught fire. They won six straight, lost two and then beat San Jose and Nashville, bumping their record to 9-6. Most importantly, they scored 4 or more goals in 7 of the first 15 games showing signs that the offense was improving.

 

 LOW POINT OF THE YEAR, Well pretty much everything else. After the surprise 9-6 start, they lost 8 in a row, all in regulation. Then beating Colorado in a shootout, they lost five more in a row, going 1-13 during that stretch. During that 14 game stretch they only scored 4 goals in a game twice and the season was over before Christmas. After scoring 4 goals in a game in 15 games, nearly half, they only scored 4 goals in a game 7 times in the next 37.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT Frank Vatrano had a very satisfying season with 37 goals. Troy Terry came on strong after a slow start and had a good year. Mason MacRavish had a decent year and surprised with 86 penalty minutes showing a fire in his game. Leo Carlsson has a mixed bag but at 19 didnt embarrass himself. Pavel Mintyukov as a solid rookie on the back end did a solid job. Gudas was a solid player. Jackson Lacombe and Olen Zellweger were a couple of blue chip defenders who got their feet wet and held their own. Lukas Dostal was not great but was better than Gibson, granted that bar was pretty low.

 

WHAT WENT RIGHT Lets start with Trevor Zegras. He has developed a rep among Ducks fans and coaching staff for lack of heart, he missed a lot of time with injury, did very little when playing and floated around a lot. John Gibson had yet another bad year, this one his worst ever. Killorn came over from Tampa, missed 19 games and looked like he was simply there for a last check and playing in California. Jakob Silferberg hit the wall, had nothing left and is gone to Europe literally one day at the end of the year. 

  Vatrana had a fluky 37 goal season, nobody else on the team scored 20 except Terry who scored exactly that. The offense was offensive.

 

FREE AGENTS Silferberg is gone, nobody else will be missed. No RFA will break the bank

 

TOP PROSPECTS LOTS OF YOUNG KIDS have established themselves in the NHL already and should be fixtures, but they still have more. Jacob Perreault could be a 3rd line winger. If one of the kid blueliners slips, Tyson Hinds is highly thought of, as is Tristan Luneau. They have a power froward in Nathan Gaucher who looks like the real deal. Of course their prize possession who will almost certainly stick is Cutter Gautheir who came over from Philly.

  Lots of kids in the NHL, lots of kids still coming and may get lucky and get a top two or three pick.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTION MARKS Gibson is down to two years at a highway robbery 6.4 million per, can tehy move him? Will they give up the picks prospects to do so? Do they give up on Zegras and move him now before his career completely derails and he loses all value? 

  Most importantly, the team is being built around good, solid B and low A prospects who are already in the NHL or will be next year, the question is, do they go all out by signing one or even two real deal free agents? 

 

  Look, i like what i see here, this is the deepest batch of young kids in the NHL today with more on the way, but the vets are a lot of guys just chasing their paycheck. I do not see anyone who i would consider a leader of the kids excepting Mactavish. I truly believe this team needs Guentzel, Stamkos, Reinhart, at least one of them sends a message down the roster that the club is buying in on their progress.I am very intrigued by this team.

 

Edited April 29 by yave1964