Anaheim Ducks: Three Forwards That Must Step Up in 2019-20
The Anaheim Ducks will look to put this season far behind them come next month, but to succeed next season the Ducks need specific players to step up.
The 2018-19 season got away from the Anaheim Ducks a long time ago. There were several reasons this happened, and we could go on and on until next season analyzing them all. One of those issues was goal scoring. In the 74 games the Ducks have played this season they have only scored 173 goals.
The top team in the league, the Tampa Bay Lightning have over 100 more goals than the Ducks. 173 over 74 games equates to 2.3 goals a game. In 2019 two goals a game will not win you many games, and when you only score 173 goals your individual player goal totals take a hit.
Jakob Silfverberg leads the team with 23 and there is a realistic chance the Ducks don’t have another 20 goal scorer. Adam Henrique could possibly eclipse the mark and Ryan Getzlaf would need 7 goals to reach the mark with only 8 games to go.
Needless to say, you want many of your players to eclipse 20 goals in a season and for some to eclipse 30 or 40. So, what do the Ducks do next season? The likes of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry will be back but are their best offensive years behind them? They both still contribute and are leaders of this team but the time is now for the next wave to take the mantle.
Make no mistake, the Ducks need Getzlaf and Perry to be at their best and contributing their 50-60 point seasons. Nevertheless, the changing of the guard is coming and these three players, specifically, need to take the next steps next season under the guidance of the Getzlaf-Perry old guard.
3. Troy Terry, Max Jones, or Max Comtois
Yes, you can call this one a cop-out, but it doesn’t make it any less true. All three of these “Ducklings” look poised to make next season their official coming out party. Max Comtois was a revelation when he started the season in Anaheim and all he has done since being sent back to Canadian juniors is light up the score-sheet.
Max Jones and Troy Terry actually made GM Bob Murray look smart by sending them down to the AHL for most of the year. There, they found their games, and in Jones’ case, returned from injury, and are now making an impact and gaining valuable confidence to bring into next season. The three have been highly touted in the Ducks system and next season is the time to prove why.
With the uncertainty of Ryan Kesler, potentially some moves to shake team chemistry, and a new coach and scheme coming to Anaheim there is no time better than now. Throw in the fact there are many signs pointing to the Ducks new coach being the San Diego Gulls coach, Dallas Eakins, and these three could be ready to put the league on notice. Terry and Jones flourished in Eakins system and Comtois plays a similar style with an added nose for the net.
Whether they all play on the same line or are spread through the line-up they have the skill, speed, and offensive tools to all be major contributors for the Anaheim Ducks next season. Quite frankly, they need them too.
2. Jakob Silfverberg
Before the riots start, I understand what Jakob Silfverberg has done this season. He has posted 22-12-34 in his 65 games this season, he just signed a 5-year extension, and he has probably been the Ducks best and most consistent player wire to wire. However, right, wrong, or indifferent, I need more.
The Ducks gave Silf the extension because of his play this season, but also because they want him as part of the equation going forward. That’s evident as the extension came down towards the end of the season when. If Murray was on the fence, he could have waited until the summer. Nevertheless, he needs to do more, he needs to prove to Ducks management they made the right choice and be one of the players that guides the young players coming up.
Silfverberg is part of an interesting group. He isn’t young enough to be in the Terry and Jones crew and he isn’t old enough to be in the Getzlaf and Perry group. But, he is in the group that needs to provide a huge offensive uptick and allow the kids to flourish around him. Silfverberg has shown time and time again what he is capable of when he isn’t asked to be one of the top players on a team.
He has always been a nice complement with 40 point seasons. He now needs to be pushing 50 points and perhaps even 60 point seasons. He has the skills to do it, no doubt, and just needs the opportunity. As much as he showed great chemistry with the likes of Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano his job on that line was defense first.
Now, the Ducks are paying him and will put him in a position where scoring will be his first priority. He needs to show that was money well spent.
1. Rickard Rakell
Rickard Rakell is someone who will want to forget this season perhaps more than anyone else on the Ducks roster. The high flying Swede had a career year last season that culminated in his first All-Star selection. This season, however, he struggled to get off the ground. He is 5th on the team in points this year but, as mentioned above, that is not much of an accomplishment.
If the season ended today he would finish with just 2 more goals and 2 more points more than his all-time career low. Rakell has posted 43, 51, and 69 points over the last three seasons and this year he will be lucky to eclipse 40. When you post one point shy of 70 just one season ago people expect big things the following season. This has been a complete disappointment for Rakell and the biggest hope is he comes back motivated next season.
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There isn’t much to dive into on Rakell other than it’s a down year. They are allowed and it happens, and with the season the Ducks have had it’s better it happens now and he returns to form with the team next season.
The Ducks need Rakell to be the next big superstar while the kids learn the way. Rakell has proven he can be a 70 point player and the Anaheim Ducks need that and then some. He is shifty, quick, and has a great shot. He is equally adept at scoring as he is at making the pass to set a teammate up and all of it needs to be on display.
A bad season is allowed, but there needs to be a huge bounce back. Again, Rakell should excel in a faster more offensive based system under a new coaching staff and have a renewed energy and confidence that was severely lacking this season.
Is Ryan Kesler Done?. dark. Next
Should Rickard Rakell stumble again, the Anaheim Ducks could find themselves stuck in another tough season next year. If we start to see a declining pattern, it won’t be as easy to forgive Rakell next time around.