2012/2013 Season Expecations

[Markus078]

Its basically the same team as last year with a bigger more
We still have a horrible coach and gm

@Bruce, we will see how good he is. And regarding to our GM, well, Bob does certain things well and others not. In terms of drafting and creating his scouting team he is great. Around here everyone gives the credit to Madden but the GM is in charge of building his staff. Madden is here and has the influence because of Bob. Overall, Bob neither a bad GM nor he is a very good one. Btw, I just rate Holland as a good GM, everyone else has his ups and downs and I'm glad Brian Burke is not in charge of this team anymore. The Ducks are not an easy team to run and tell me one GM who has internal financial limits who you consider as great?

As long as money doesn't matter you have a lot more options!

 

[JabbaJabba]

It's very hard to predict what will happen. Last season was an underachievement and the Ducks were 6th last in the league. Season before that I think they overachieved a bit by being 4th in conference (although it was a very tight playoff race). There are a lot of "ifs" in the lineup. I would like to be positive and say that this team should be in the playoff race. I can't see them going far in playoffs if they would get there. Anything can really happen during this short season, every game matters. Five or six game losing streaks will affect a lot.

My expectations are that the Ducks are in the playoff race but can't quite make it in.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Pffft

WC finals. You read it here first.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

@Bruce, we will see how good he is. And regarding to our GM, well, Bob does certain things well and others not. In terms of drafting and creating his scouting team he is great. Around here everyone gives the credit to Madden but the GM is in charge of building his staff. Madden is here and has the influence because of Bob. Overall, Bob neither a bad GM nor he is a very good one. Btw, I just rate Holland as a good GM, everyone else has his ups and downs and I'm glad Brian Burke is not in charge of this team anymore. The Ducks are not an easy team to run and tell me one GM who has internal financial limits who you consider as great?

As long as money doesn't matter you have a lot more options!

David Poile.

 

[GermanRocket7]

I personally feel like the Ducks are -again- overlooked by many self-proclaimed "experts". This team underachieved horribly last season, when pretty much everyone expected us to be at the very least a PO contender, if not a shoe-in.

After we sacked Carlyle, which was the first really smart move I give BM credit for (he got Fowler and Etem nicely packed up as an early X-mas present at the Draft in 2010; any idiot could have taken them then), the team needed a whole lot of time to adjust to BB's style of play, but the eventually got it done. If it wasn't for that horrible start, we might have even been on the bubble and contending for a PO spot the whole season long.

I mean, seriously? This team had a 27-23-8 record under BB last season, which accumulates to roughly 1.07 PPG. On a full 82-game schedule, which translates into almost 88 points. And that on a season, where our complete first line basically took a year off and our defense was as thin as BB is fat.

I'm not completely sold on the idea of having two more veteran defensemen on the roster and expect Lydman to be dealt away for a third-round pick sometime this season.

But hell, this team looks a lot better than last season, even if that means we'll probably finish just above the 100-goals-scored mark after 48 games. We should not be getting scored on more than 95 times, anyways.

This season will be a make-or-break season for the twins, and I fully expect Getzlaf to be close to his old self again now that his kid has grown older and doesn't keep him awake all night. They'll prove their worth, just as Teemu will be on fire for one final, last campaign.

We'll finish 6th or 7th in the West and sweep the Sharks in the first round. You heard it here first.

 

[OCSportsfan]

Terrible coaches don't win championships. Carlyle may be hard to like but it doesn't mean he's not one of the better coaches around.

Look at that line up that won the cup. There are many coaches that could have done the same thing in my opinioin. Carlyle was only good with the right mix of players. We will see how good he is in toronto.

Before he was fired, it was some of the worst hockey I have ever seen the ducks play and I have been a season ticket holder since year two.

 

[Ducksgo*]

it really depends on the depth scoring that the Holland, Palms etc. could provide. It's a lot of risk and that's why I think they'll be right on the bubble.

I definitely expect Getzlaf to be at least a PPG player this year though.

Getz needs to be a PPG this year and not slack off like last season. It's a contract year so I expect it. What do you think?

 

[Sojourn]

I personally feel like the Ducks are -again- overlooked by many self-proclaimed "experts". This team underachieved horribly last season, when pretty much everyone expected us to be at the very least a PO contender, if not a shoe-in.

After we sacked Carlyle, which was the first really smart move I give BM credit for (he got Fowler and Etem nicely packed up as an early X-mas present at the Draft in 2010; any idiot could have taken them then), the team needed a whole lot of time to adjust to BB's style of play, but the eventually got it done. If it wasn't for that horrible start, we might have even been on the bubble and contending for a PO spot the whole season long.

I mean, seriously? This team had a 27-23-8 record under BB last season, which accumulates to roughly 1.07 PPG. On a full 82-game schedule, which translates into almost 88 points. And that on a season, where our complete first line basically took a year off and our defense was as thin as BB is fat.

I'm not completely sold on the idea of having two more veteran defensemen on the roster and expect Lydman to be dealt away for a third-round pick sometime this season.

But hell, this team looks a lot better than last season, even if that means we'll probably finish just above the 100-goals-scored mark after 48 games. We should not be getting scored on more than 95 times, anyways.

This season will be a make-or-break season for the twins, and I fully expect Getzlaf to be close to his old self again now that his kid has grown older and doesn't keep him awake all night. They'll prove their worth, just as Teemu will be on fire for one final, last campaign.

We'll finish 6th or 7th in the West and sweep the Sharks in the first round. You heard it here first.

I attribute Anaheim's turnaround more to Hiller than the coaching changes. I think people forget that Anaheim continued to struggle under Boudreau, and it wasn't until Hiller stepped up his game that things really turned around. By that same token, it was Hiller's early struggles which hurt Anaheim the most at the beginning of the season. Boudreau did well, but Anaheim looks(and plays) like a completely different team with a goaltender they can feel confident in, and that just wasn't possible until Hiller got back into form.

 

[Sojourn]

Look at that line up that won the cup. There are many coaches that could have done the same thing in my opinioin. Carlyle was only good with the right mix of players. We will see how good he is in toronto.

Before he was fired, it was some of the worst hockey I have ever seen the ducks play and I have been a season ticket holder since year two.

You're not giving Carlyle the credit he deserves. Who put together the shutdown line? Who put together the pairings, and line combinations that worked so well? Carlyle came to this team in 2005-2006, and helped take this team to the Conference Finals. It wasn't like he came in the first year in 2006-2007 and was gifted a team that was destined to go all the way. He was a significant part of this team, and the personality they had.

 

[Sojourn]

The only issue I had with Carlyle was his insistence that the player change to fit his system rather than modifying his system to fit the players. That's a hallmark of a truly elite coach in any sport IMO. Anyone calling him a bad coach is off base though.

That, I definitely agree with. To me, that's the difference between Carlyle being a good one, and being one of the very best.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I attribute Anaheim's turnaround more to Hiller than the coaching changes. I think people forget that Anaheim continued to struggle under Boudreau, and it wasn't until Hiller stepped up his game that things really turned around. By that same token, it was Hiller's early struggles which hurt Anaheim the most at the beginning of the season. Boudreau did well, but Anaheim looks(and plays) like a completely different team with a goaltender they can feel confident in, and that just wasn't possible until Hiller got back into form.

I didn't

As for Carlyle, he was a pimp, but he didn't bend enough when things went sideways.

 

[Quack Shot]

I personally feel like the Ducks are -again- overlooked by many self-proclaimed "experts". This team underachieved horribly last season, when pretty much everyone expected us to be at the very least a PO contender, if not a shoe-in.

After we sacked Carlyle, which was the first really smart move I give BM credit for (he got Fowler and Etem nicely packed up as an early X-mas present at the Draft in 2010; any idiot could have taken them then), the team needed a whole lot of time to adjust to BB's style of play, but the eventually got it done. If it wasn't for that horrible start, we might have even been on the bubble and contending for a PO spot the whole season long.

I mean, seriously? This team had a 27-23-8 record under BB last season, which accumulates to roughly 1.07 PPG. On a full 82-game schedule, which translates into almost 88 points. And that on a season, where our complete first line basically took a year off and our defense was as thin as BB is fat.

I'm not completely sold on the idea of having two more veteran defensemen on the roster and expect Lydman to be dealt away for a third-round pick sometime this season.

But hell, this team looks a lot better than last season, even if that means we'll probably finish just above the 100-goals-scored mark after 48 games. We should not be getting scored on more than 95 times, anyways.

This season will be a make-or-break season for the twins, and I fully expect Getzlaf to be close to his old self again now that his kid has grown older and doesn't keep him awake all night. They'll prove their worth, just as Teemu will be on fire for one final, last campaign.

We'll finish 6th or 7th in the West and sweep the Sharks in the first round. You heard it here first.

He just had another kid in nov/dec if I remember right, so if anything that will impact him more. But now he has had more time to adjust and learn more as a parent.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

... And that on a season, where our complete first line basically took a year off and our defense was as thin as BB is fat...

Damn, BB if you're reading this we still love you.

 

[Corey Perry*]

15th

 

[Mr Rogers]

Getz needs to be a PPG this year and not slack off like last season. It's a contract year so I expect it. What do you think?

Hopefully something like 18g and 35a

 

[snarktacular]

I edited the title from "2012" to "2012/2013" just to make it a little clearer. But as I was doing this, it occurred to me that 2012/2013 is weird because the season is contained entirely in 2013. Stupid lockout.

Anyways, even now Boudreau is still a mystery to me. It's just that my impression of him from reputation and from seeing his teams has changed so much. When he entered the league, his teams had a reputation of being fast starters and he played the stars a lot. To exhaustion, sort of like how people were just complaining about Carlyle in the roster prediction thread. Yet more recently his teams have kind of flipped. In Washington he played the stars a lot less in recent years, and their performances declined. We saw that last year in the Carlyle to Boudreau transition.

So what kind of coach is BB?

 

[Selanne138]

My Bold Prediction: Bobby Ryan leads the Ducks in goals and finishes second to Getzlaf in points.

I think Ryan explodes this year. I dont know why, but I think he is in for a huge year. I think Getzlaf has a bounceback season, but for whatever reason I think Perry doesnt have a huge year, but Ryan comes out flying. Im 50/50 as to whether we see 08-10 RPG back in form, but regardless of who he plays with I think this is the year we see a breakout from Ryan. Could be dead wrong, but hey who knows.

Standings wise I think we finish 6-8 and win at least one playoff series, IF Hiller is in his 2nd half of last season form. If he has any relapses with vertigo or his inconsistancy we are headed for the lottery.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I attribute Anaheim's turnaround more to Hiller than the coaching changes. I think people forget that Anaheim continued to struggle under Boudreau, and it wasn't until Hiller stepped up his game that things really turned around. By that same token, it was Hiller's early struggles which hurt Anaheim the most at the beginning of the season. Boudreau did well, but Anaheim looks(and plays) like a completely different team with a goaltender they can feel confident in, and that just wasn't possible until Hiller got back into form.

Yes and no. They also went to being one of the lowest shots against systems under BB, lower than it had been in years under RC. That's not Hiller.

 

[Paul4587]

The only issue I had with Carlyle was his insistence that the player change to fit his system rather than modifying his system to fit the players. That's a hallmark of a truly elite coach in any sport IMO. Anyone calling him a bad coach is off base though.

I agree with that 100%. I don't think Carlyle is an elite coach but I do get tired of seeing him labelled as a terrible coach who should have been fired years earlier.

 

[Sojourn]

Yes and no. They also went to being one of the lowest shots against systems under BB, lower than it had been in years under RC. That's not Hiller.

You're right. He certainly tightened things up defensively, and I give him props for that, but if Hiller had continued to give up the soft goals that he was earlier in the season, where does it get Anaheim? It wasn't Carlyle that made Anaheim's defense lose faith. Hiller has been great for us at times, but he was absolutely a momentum killer for Anaheim in the first half of the season.

Seeing Gibson play for the US, it reminded me a bit of what we had. You'd see a player skate it on Gibson, off a mistake, and he'd make the save. Every save he should have made, he did, and he made big ones on top of that. That was the type of play that Hiller was supposed to give us. The US team had faith Gibson would make those saves, and you could see, just as easily, that Anaheim didn't. I know Anaheim's struggles weren't all on Hiller, but the turnaround in Anaheim was not entirely Boudreau either.

 

[Selanne138]

You're right. He certainly tightened things up defensively, and I give him props for that, but if Hiller had continued to give up the soft goals that he was earlier in the season, where does it get Anaheim? It wasn't Carlyle that made Anaheim's defense lose faith. Hiller has been great for us at times, but he was absolutely a momentum killer for Anaheim in the first half of the season.

Seeing Gibson play for the US, it reminded me a bit of what we had. You'd see a player skate it on Gibson, off a mistake, and he'd make the save. Every save he should have made, he did, and he made big ones on top of that. That was the type of play that Hiller was supposed to give us. The US team had faith Gibson would make those saves, and you could see, just as easily, that Anaheim didn't. I know Anaheim's struggles weren't all on Hiller, but the turnaround in Anaheim was not entirely Boudreau either.

It seemed like everytime Hiller let one of those goals in, they got that "here we go again" mentality and just fell apart. They got so thrown form that one goal that they played with no confidence in Hiller and none in themselves and it killed us for the entire first half of the season. BB definitely deserves some credit, over the last 48 games of last season, wed have been a playoff team, but I think that Hiller was the biggest turning point as well.

 

[Sojourn]

It seemed like everytime Hiller let one of those goals in, they got that "here we go again" mentality and just fell apart. They got so thrown form that one goal that they played with no confidence in Hiller and none in themselves and it killed us for the entire first half of the season. BB definitely deserves some credit, over the last 48 games of last season, wed have been a playoff team, but I think that Hiller was the biggest turning point as well.

Exactly. The frustration was palatable.

To be fair, it probably sounds like I'm not giving BB enough credit. I really liked what he did defensively. The team played better defensively(as a team) than they had, probably since 2009. I felt like there was better puck support down low, better coverage in the middle, and an improved breakout as a result of said support. Carlyle's system seemed designed around the capabilities of Niedermayer, and even Pronger as well. I didn't think he adapted as well to the lesser talent he ended up with(though the pairing of Lydman-Visnovsky was really something for that one season). I was less pleased with Boudreau offensively, I'll be honest. However, he really seemed to get the players excited again, and that is worth something. The depth players, especially, seemed to step up. That the big guns didn't do the same, and the way Boudreau tried to play certain players, makes me a little nervous. It's one thing to let players do their own thing(which was the case in Washington at first) but it's quite enough to get the best out of your players with whatever system you put into place.

 

[Selanne138]

Exactly. The frustration was palatable.

To be fair, it probably sounds like I'm not giving BB enough credit. I really liked what he did defensively. The team played better defensively(as a team) than they had, probably since 2009. I felt like there was better puck support down low, better coverage in the middle, and an improved breakout as a result of said support. Carlyle's system seemed designed around the capabilities of Niedermayer, and even Pronger as well. I didn't think he adapted as well to the lesser talent he ended up with(though the pairing of Lydman-Visnovsky was really something for that one season). I was less pleased with Boudreau offensively, I'll be honest. However, he really seemed to get the players excited again, and that is worth something. The depth players, especially, seemed to step up. That the big guns didn't do the same, and the way Boudreau tried to play certain players, makes me a little nervous. It's one thing to let players do their own thing(which was the case in Washington at first) but it's quite enough to get the best out of your players with whatever system you put into place.

When you look at the perception of the two coaches, it really doesnt make sense, because Carlyle is the tough defensive guy, while Boudreau is supposed to be the free flowing guy. I think the shots went down because under Carlyle we never got out of Giguere mode, where he liked to let shots through instead of blocking them, and we gave up more shots but from ideally worse situations, but under BB it was more true defense, to allow less total chances. If we still had that elite defense with 2 Norris Trophy Candidates, then Carlyle never would have been fired, because thats the kind of personnel he needs. My hope is that the Big 4 adapt to BB's systems after having some time to figure it out last year and we come out flying like a typical Boudreau Capitals team. Not sure why, but I think Ryan flourishes this season and has a breakout season. Hopefully Getz Perry and Selanne do the same.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Exactly. The frustration was palatable.

To be fair, it probably sounds like I'm not giving BB enough credit. I really liked what he did defensively. The team played better defensively(as a team) than they had, probably since 2009. I felt like there was better puck support down low, better coverage in the middle, and an improved breakout as a result of said support. Carlyle's system seemed designed around the capabilities of Niedermayer, and even Pronger as well. I didn't think he adapted as well to the lesser talent he ended up with(though the pairing of Lydman-Visnovsky was really something for that one season). I was less pleased with Boudreau offensively, I'll be honest. However, he really seemed to get the players excited again, and that is worth something. The depth players, especially, seemed to step up. That the big guns didn't do the same, and the way Boudreau tried to play certain players, makes me a little nervous. It's one thing to let players do their own thing(which was the case in Washington at first) but it's quite enough to get the best out of your players with whatever system you put into place.

I'm hoping last year was an experiment as much as anything, where the season was largely written off and so he was seeing what players were capable of, not necessarily using them in the optimal fashion. After a year, hopefully he has a workable system with the people he has. The defense should certainly be different with the additions that were made.

Agreed about Hiller being the biggest difference last year. He should also have a VERY motivated team to work with.

 

[Sojourn]

I'm hoping last year was an experiment as much as anything, where the season was largely written off and so he was seeing what players were capable of, not necessarily using them in the optimal fashion. After a year, hopefully he has a workable system with the people he has. The defense should certainly be different with the additions that were made.

Agreed about Hiller being the biggest difference last year. He should also have a VERY motivated team to work with.

That's how I'm leaning too, or at least what I hope. It just bothered me seeing how poorly handled some players were. I really enjoyed seeing the players get excited again, and I can't stress enough how important I think that is(and something I think was seriously lacking under Carlyle), but man it was a bit frustrating at times. I'm no expert, but it was very apparent that a couple of key players were not being used properly, and these were important players too. From the standpoint of trying to win hockey games, I don't think it made sense... of course, like you said, by that point the season was pretty much a bust, so it's possible it was just for experimental purposes. It's just, that also means we still have yet to see exactly what Boudreau is going to do, and that makes me antsy. I'd be more comfortable if I knew Boudreau saw what he had, and how to use it. I hate being in the dark.

He should indeed, and I think Hiller will have a strong season himself. That's a big reason I think Anaheim could fight for a playoff spot. I don't think they'll go anywhere in the playoffs(I don't think they have the right team for that) but I think they can compete.

Edit: Also, when talking about the experimental part, at least in regards to Fowler, Boudreau might have wanted him to focus primarily on one area(namely defense) to really prepare for a bigger role the following season. Despite what his stats say, and what others might think, I felt like Fowler took big strides in the defensive zone. He really showed a committment, and that solid D play carried over into the World Championships where he was one of the US's best defensive guys. Now, I don't understand that approach on the PP, but at even strength I would praise Boudreau for that decision, if that is the case. If Fowler can find a way to be that guy defensively, and be the confident offensive puck distributor we saw in the 1st season, I think he could put together a pretty damn good two-way game for Anaheim.