Anaheim Ducks Defense Could Have A New Look To It

The Anaheim Ducks defensive pairings appeared predictable coming out of the 2014 training camp, preseason and heading into the ’14-’15 regular season. The top four seemed to be set. Cam Fowler and Ben Lovejoy would once again play together while veteran Francois Beauchemin would be paired with the young Swede, Hampus Lindholm, for a second consecutive season.

It was the third defensive pairing that left some question marks but when Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray signed free agent Clayton Stoner to a four-year $13,000,000 contract, it appeared as though Stoner would be the man playing alongside Sami Vatanen, rounding out the Ducks defense.

That’s exactly how things shook out until injuries forced some re-grouping and the Ducks eventually looked to improve defensively.

At the deadline, Lovejoy was traded for Simon Despres, a trade that I believe many will look back on and declare one of Murray’s best as a GM. The Ducks also acquired Korbinian Holzer at the deadline, a move that took Eric Brewer off the books for the Ducks and replaced departed defensive prospect Matt clark who was part of a trade that sent him to Colorado.

Then this summer, Beauchemin left for Colorado in free agency and Murray quickly acquired pacific division veteran Kevin Bieksa, signing him to a two-year extension days after the trade. The Ducks also bought out the contract of Mark Fistric who played the 7th defensemen role for the Ducks during parts of the past two seasons.

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The Ducks have essentially gone from a depth chart that appeared as Cam Fowler, Francois Beauchemin, Hampus Lindholm, Ben Lovejoy, Sami Vatanen, Clayton Stoner and Mark Fistric to now Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Kevin Bieksa, Sami Vatanen, Simon Despres, Clayton Stoner, Josh Manson, Shea Theodore and Korbinian Holzer.

A lot of defensive change in just one calendar year.

You may be asking why Josh Manson and Shea Theodore’s names were included on the list. If you’ve been paying attention to the preseason games, you have probably noticed that the two are making a strong push to shake up Anaheim’s defensive depth chart.

Shea Theodore and Josh Manson have gotten a ton of playing time to start the preseason. Theodore played in the opener against Colorado and was back in the lineup last night against San Jose, playing with defensive partner Simon Despres in both games.

Manson was in the lineup for the first two preseason games, racking up nearly 20 minutes of ice time in each game. He also spent a good amount of time playing special teams, totaling almost five minutes of ice time on the power play against the Kings Friday night.

The stat line for Theodore thus far in preseason is 1 PP assist, even rating, 4 penalty minutes, 3 shots on goal, 22:24 TOI per game. Manson’s stat line reads as 0 points, +2 rating, 0 penalty minutes, 2 shots on goal, 7 hits credited, 20:41 TOI per game. Each has played in two out the three preseason games to this point.

Korbinian Holzer was also injured at the beginning of last nights game. He was held out the remainder of the game for precautionary reasons. If this injury is serious or causes Holzer to miss some time, it could shake things up on the Ducks blue-line as Holzer looked as though he was going to become the Ducks 7th defensemen to start the season.

Clayton Stoner is also effecting the Ducks blue-line due to a report stating he is being charged for killing a grizzly bear while hunting in British Columbia. Stoner’s reported court date is on October 9th, the day before the Ducks regular season opener. He is not facing jail time, but will receive some hefty fines.

Stoner is also dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of camp and the first three preseason games. If the injuries to Holzer and stoner continue to linger it will put Josh Manson or possibly Shea Theodore into the Ducks lineup opening night.

Hampus Lindholm, Kevin Bieksa, Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen essentially have their spots locked up while Simon Despres should also be locked in.

Despres has appeared in two preseason games, playing with Shea Theodore in both. This pairing, along with the Fowler and Manson pairing that we saw against the Kings, have led to some interesting thoughts about the Ducks shaking up their blue-line.

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Anaheim Ducks

With Beauchemin gone, it appears that Lindholm could play with Bieksa this season. Lindholm was in the lineup last night against San Jose and Bieksa was in the lineup against the Kings, but each played over 26 minutes.

This is by no means a pairing set in stone, but it is a possibility that gives flexibility to the second and third pairings.

So what if Fowler begins the year playing with Manson and Despres with Theodore. Well, that leaves Vatanen out of the lineup and that won’t happen.

So what is Fowler plays with Vatanen and Despres with Theodore? Or what if Manson finds his way into the lineup instead of Theodore?

The advance statistics suggest that Manson was far better than Stoner last season. While Manson did only play in 28 games, his possession and shot/scoring chance suppression numbers are all better than Stoners.

There is also no big drop-off of physicality and toughness with Manson replacing Stoner. Manson was credited with six hits in the preseason opener and has proven that he can play a tough physical kind of game. With 28 games of experience, he is a reliable and experienced option.

The case for Theodore is different but another interesting one. Theodore and Stoner are polar opposites in terms of the type of game they each play and there is no statistics to compare the two as Theodore has yet to make his NHL debut.

Theodore has dominated in juniors over the past three seasons and at the end of the ’14-’15 season he received the Bill Hunter trophy, an award given to the WHL’s top defensemen.

Theodore has been criticized for his defense at times but he silenced the critics with his incredible play at the world juniors. Theodore played alongside Edmonton prospect Darnell Nurse and the two served as Canada’s “shutdown pair”.

So what if the Ducks give Theodore a shot to start the season in the NHL? Murray did it last year with William Karlsson who was given a spot with the Ducks right out of camp.

If Murray gives Theodore a spot with the Ducks to start the season, he may get a chance to find out what kind of player his top prospect is going to be. Theodore will not be traded, but finding out that Theodore is going to become a top pairing defensmen down the road may allow Murray to consider dealing other defensemen.

Whether it is Theodore or Manson, there is a chance that one will start the year in Anaheim. I aslo would not rule out the possibility of both starting the year in Anaheim due to the uncertainty of Holzer and Stoner’s injuries.

It’s an interesting thing to think about and it all boils down to trust and patience. How much does Boudreau trust the young guys Manson and Theodore and more importantly, how much can he trust their defensive partners.

Murray would also be walking the fine line of patience with a top prospect. How much time should Murray give Theodore to develop? Is Manson ready for an everyday role with the Ducks?

Are either of them ready?

Next: Anaheim Ducks Preseason Opener Takeaways

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