Anaheim Ducks Monthly Mailbag, September 2018: Carlyle, Murray, Perry, and Dinner With Our Favorite NHL Players

On the fourth Friday of the month, we feature our monthly mailbag. You asked, and the staff at Pucks of a Feather is here to answer. In our last mailbag before the regular season starts, we cover everything from Corey Perry‘s knee injury to having dinner with our favorite NHL players.

Here are our last few monthly mailbags: August 2018, July 2018, June 2018, May 2018.

1.) Could another poor start to the season result in the firing of Carlyle?

Eddy Jones – I think it would have to be a horrible start. Like winless in the first 10-15 games. I would’ve probably said it was more likely before the Perry injury, but now Carlyle has another slew of injuries to fall back on with Eaves, Kesler, and Perry all out. I’m not saying he’s out of the hot seat, but it would take a horrible start for him to be fired.

Chris Bushell – I think Carlyle would be on a short leash anyways with how last season ended. He got a pass for the first half, but with everyone back and making a run to second in the division, he should’ve been able to get through one round. This year he has no leeway, even with the injuries, because the kids are here and can play fast. If it’s slow, he’s out before Thanksgiving and Eakins is the new coach.

Jake Robles – I could see it happening, but it would have to be an abysmal start to happen right away. I think if we’re really bad, say around the All-Star break, I could see him being fired.

Ciara Durant – Randy Carlyle has, yet again, too many excuses to fall back on early in the regular season. As Eddy already stated, Patrick Eaves, Corey Perry, and Ryan Kesler are all out. That is excuse number one. Secondly, even though I think the rookies are going to help the team tremendously, he still has the option to point the finger at them. Especially since most of them don’t have a lot of NHL seasoning.

The only way I see Randy Carlyle getting fired this season at all is if a.) the Ducks don’t make it into the playoffs at all or b.) they don’t make it past the second round. If he does get fired early in the season, it’s only because the Ducks are on a losing streak like nothing we’ve ever seen before. For the sake of the team I love, I hope this doesn’t happen. Besides, we still have a lot of talent on our team. I do, however, think that Carlyle will be replaced within the next two seasons.

2.) What was Bob Murray’s smartest move of the offseason?

Jake Robles – Getting the majority of the RFA’s signed is really the only thing I can think of. Brian Gibbons and Andrej Sustr have shown potential and I think they’ll be decent additions if things need to be shaken up. Other than that, there really isn’t much that stands out to me. It’s obvious that we’re trying to work on ourselves from the inside via the farm, but there were some quality players on the market that were worth taking a look at.

Ciara Durant – Obviously his smartest move included getting guys like John Gibson, Adam Henrique, Brandon Montour, and Ondrej Kase signed to contract extensions. However, there is one more thing Bob Murray did this summer that I think deserves to be noted. The Anaheim Ducks first-round pick of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft was 18-year-old Isac Lundestrom.

Shortly after the draft, I was honestly under the impression that the Anaheim Ducks settled with their first-round pick. However, after doing the research and watching him play during the rookie faceoff, camp, and preseason, my opinion has completely flipped. He may not play with the Ducks this season, but I think he is going to be a great asset for the Ducks. It is an added bonus that he has played in the SHL, which is considered the second-best hockey league in the world.

Eddy Jones – I can’t bring myself to praise any of the off-season additions, so I’ll shift my focus to other work he did. Being able to lock down Kase and Montour on bridge deals and signing Gibson long-term were excellent moves, in my opinion. The Ducks now have a Top 4 on the blueline that is set for the future. They also have a franchise goaltender between the pipes for the next nine years.

Chris Bushell – I find it hard to like any of the addition he’s made as far as bringing people in. I’ll give home credit for locking up Gibson, Henrique, and Kase long term. As well as, by all indications, letting the kids come in and make this team. If I had to pick an actual FA addition, it looks like Sustr has some game and could help as a bottom pairing D man.

3.) Who do you think takes Corey Perry’s spot in the lineup?

Ciara Durant – To be quiet honest, I wasn’t expecting Corey Perry to play on the top line with Rakell and Getzlaf this season. Troy Terry has been paired with the two of them a lot during preseason, so I automatically assumed that Carlyle has already made up his mind that Perry was no longer his number one right wing. I definitely think Henrique and Kase make the jump to the second line, and I am really loving Jakob Silfverberg playing his off wing with them.

I really liked the Gibbons on right wing experiment during the Arizona preseason game on the 24th. I think he showed promise and is a good contender to be Perry’s “replacement.” I definitely liked the Cogliano-Steel-Gibbons line as well. I think there is a possibility we could see Kiefer Sherwood as long as Patrick Eaves is out. Once Eaves comes back, I can either see him taking the third line right wing spot, or easing in on the fourth line.

Eddy Jones -Well, that depends where you expected Corey Perry to play. If you mean who plays beside Getzlaf, then I think for the time being it will be Troy Terry. Now, how long he stays there is up to him. Whenever Eaves come back, that’ll make things interesting. So, it seems Terry and Kase will be the top two Top 6 right wings, essentially replacing Perry and Eaves for the time being.

Chris Bushell – By all indications, it looks to be Troy Terry. Although I’ve been high on him all summer, he’s had a quiet preseason comparatively speaking. However, on a line with Rakell and Getzlaf, he’ll get his chances. You get the sense with him it will only take 1-2 going in to get his confidence booming and he will take off from there.

Jake Robles – I have to piggyback off of what Eddy said. It really depends on where Perry’s spot in the lineup would have been. Terry seems like the obvious choice to me, given he has some prior NHL experience.