Rebuilding the Anaheim Ducks from Home-Grown Parts
How Do The Anaheim Ducks Line Up Now?
At present, the Anaheim Ducks depth chart and contract situation can be easily determined by scoping out their page on CapFriendly.com. While each has some differing opinions about how that might look in practice, it’s not a great stretch to imagine that the Anaheim Ducks are short on goal-scoring prowess.
They’ve drafted only two 30-goal scorers (Kyle Palmieri and William Karlsson) in the Bob Murray era, neither of whom scored those goals with the Ducks. With Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry no longer with the team, the Ducks are largely lacking in genuine goal-scoring threats. Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg are largely a lock for somewhere in the range of 20-25 per season, yet they will both be 30 years of age this coming season and shouldn’t necessarily be relied upon to carry the scoring load over the next few seasons.
While both Henrique and Silfverberg are currently near essential players for an extremely impotent offense, thoughts should be directed to the future regarding when, or even if, the Ducks should attempt to move on from them. Though that’s a discussion for later in the piece. It’s enough now to consider options.
In terms of playmakers, the Ducks boast Ryan Getzlaf as an older statesman who’s best days are very likely behind him. Nonetheless, Getzlaf will command a top 6 position for at least the next few seasons should he deign to extend his tenure with the Ducks.
The Anaheim Ducks also have Trevor Zegras in the fold, who is one of the superior playmakers not yet in the NHL. It remains to be seen where he will line up for the Ducks and if he’ll be able to carry his success thus far into the NHL, yet hopes and expectations are sky-high.
The rest of the Ducks forward group is more based around the two-way play type of forward. Not truly elite in any one aspect of offensive play, yet no slouches. Unfortunately for the Ducks, two-way doesn’t necessarily win championships. A great many Stanley Cup teams, or even finals teams, have elite players who can win games off their own backs when the going gets tough.
For the Anaheim Ducks to claw their way back up to the top, they’ll need to find a couple more of those difference makers. Though that doesn’t necessarily mean those two-way players are chopped liver and can’t be used. It’s merely a matter of how best to utilize them.
Given that the Ducks youth largely showed they weren’t top 6 scoring options last season, it’s maybe best to start any rebuild with what is currently in hand. That is to say, a potentially solid middle 6 group that requires few additions and a pretty good 4th line.