The Anaheim Ducks may have ended the 2025-26 season on a high note, by not only making the playoffs and winning a round in the process, but the events that have transpired over the course of the offseason have stifled that momentum. In a recent fan survey conducted by The Athletic, it would appear that the fan base and the hockey world at large, have been rather displeased with the Ducks front office on a multitude of fronts. Despite having a one of the most promising young cores in the league, the Ducks should be rocketing towards the top of such rankings, not being stagnant at the bottom.
Just average
Roster building, trading, and vision; three areas were the Ducks front office scored as average. A look at the projected roster for the upcoming 2026-27 season, via PuckPedia, highlights the inherent flaws in GM Pat Verbeek's construction of the team. The Ducks top six features the high-end talent of Leo Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, Cutter Gauthier, while supplemented with veterans like Chris Kreider, Mikael Granlund, and Alex Killorn. Outside of Ryan Poehling, the bottom six leaves a lot to be desired though, as known quantities like Mason McTavish and Jeffrey Viel, have been moved out.
The blue line is even more concerning, as Jackson LaCombe and newcomer Nick Jensen, are the only defenders who would be considered reliable and at least have some experience. The rest of the blue line will be piecemealed together with youngsters with high upside, but still unproven, as the Ducks lost veterans like Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas, and John Carlson over the offseason.
The bad
Before the results of the survey were even published, Ducks fans could have easily earmarked cap management and free agency as areas of weakness from Verbeek and the front office. On the cap management side of the equation, the Carlsson offer sheet debacle set the standard on how not to negotiate with the most important player on your roster. The trickle-down effects from that situation are still unresolved, as Gauthier is still without a contract and the Ducks will have to move out salary to keep the 41-goal scorer on the roster.
Free agency has been mostly an underwhelming affair, as Verbeek has been unable to land that one true piece that would put the Ducks over the top, despite having ample room to do so, prior to the Carlsson extension. Granlund was a solid addition last offseason, but when the highlights are the aforementioned Jensen, Jeff Malott, and Laurent Brossoit from this year's crop of free agents, something has definitely gone amiss in attracting a higher quality of player.
The good?
The lone bright spot that both Ducks fans and the larger hockey world can both agree on, in regard to the front office, is their ability to draft and develop talent. A core featuring Carlsson, Sennecke, Gauthier, LaCombe, and Lukas Dostal, is a solid foundation for the future of the franchise. Even though he'll be on the shelf to start the season, Troy Terry is part of that group too. And that's without considering the upcoming group of talent yet to play in the NHL like Roger McQueen, Stian Solberg, and Nikita Klepov. For all of the failures from the front office, the homegrown talent is at least one positive aspect for Ducks fans to hang their hats on.
The rest of the division
Unsurprisingly, both the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights were ahead of the Ducks in the front office survey. The Sharks may not be contenders anytime soon, but between Macklin Celebrini and the young talent being acquired, the vibes are high in San Jose. Vegas is Vegas; they made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season and may have an aging core, but their front office is not afraid of making the team better, no matter the cost.
More surprisingly though, the Calgary Flames were ahead of the Ducks in the survey. While the hockey world may be down on the Flames, their fans at least seem to be excited to see the team finally embracing a much needed rebuild. At the very least, Ducks fans can have a little pride in being ahead of the Oilers, Kings, Canucks, and Kraken, however slim those margins may be.
Must go up
Like an oppressive humid summer day, the unresolved Gauthier contract extension still lingers around the Ducks front office. A veteran piece or two will have to be moved out to make the money work, but Gauthier should be priority number one now. When that situation gets resolved, not only will the Ducks have clarity on the roster makeup, but they'll be essentially locked in with the players they have without much cap room to spare. If the Ducks make another deep playoff run, the tune might change around the Ducks front office. But if the Ducks fail to make the playoffs, especially after such a tumultuous summer, expect more apathy from their fans and the hockey world.
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