2023-24:
Record: 27-50-5 59pts; 7th place in Pacific Division
Playoffs: Did Not Qualify
Key Losses
F Jakob Silfverberg, F Max Jones, D Gustav Lindstrom
Key Additions
F Robby Fabbri, F Jansen Harkins, D Brian Dumoulin
Overview
It’s a rebrand in Anaheim with the Mighty Ducks logo back with some minor changes and the long awaited colour change to orange, which should make things look a little brighter. The Ducks have not been in the postseason since the 2017-18 season and with the young line-up, the hope is that Anaheim can exit the rebuild soon.
Anaheim entered the start of free agency with cap space north of $20 million, only to come away with none of the big names signing for a team that badly needed veteran prescence. Anaheim has a lot of great young talent, but it’s not a great sign when the rebuild has taken a lot longer than it should.
Offense
Anaheim has been in last place in the last five consecutive seasons when it comes to scoring. Teams would be foaming at the mouth due to the amount of young talent they contain. F Leo Carlsson showed a lot of skill last season, scoring 29 points in his 55 game rookie campaign. LW Cutter Gauthier, acquired from Philadelphia, very well may join Carlsson’s line, which could make for a dangerous and exciting line.
Trevor Zegras does need to return to a form as last season he was only available for 31 games due to injuries while learning two-way hockey. Frank Vatrano does return after topping the Ducks scoring leaders with a 60 point campaign in 2023-24 and Troy Terry looks to have his fourth straight 20-goal season.
Defense
Anaheim had a slight improvement with their blue liners but there is still work to be done. The new name on defence is Brian Dumoulin, and while he is a solid D man, he does not bring that much of a change. Cam Fowler and newly named captain Radko Gudas will lead the way with Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zelleweger, and Jackson LaCombe looking to improve on their young careers/
Goaltending
The job is John Gibson’s to lose but Lukas Dostal is looking to be the top goalie for the Ducks. Gibson does need to have a better season or he could be back on the trade block, if a team is willing to add on his $6.4 million cap hit that is set to expire upon the conclusion of the 2026-27 season
Special Teams
Anaheim badly needs to improve on both these metrics. They were 25th on the power play, scoring 42 PPG, and 31st on the pentaly kill, allowing 91 goals. With hopefully an improved special teams unit, both of these metrics can be back in the top half of the league.
Overall
Anaheim is still a young-ish squad and with even more improvements, Anaheim may still miss the postseason but the season will be better than last.
Prediction
6th place in Pacific Division
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