Speculation: 2023-24 Roster Thread

[MMC]

I think he'd play better with a different coach. He can hit which is more than you can say for Leason and McGinn and he has the ability to produce which is more than you can say for Carrick.

You're listing players that I don't think anyone wants in the regular lineup regardless. Why don't we pursue actual NHL players that fill roles on the team instead of wasting more time with Comtois?

 

[DaGeneral]

You're listing players that I don't think anyone wants in the regular lineup regardless. Why don't we pursue actual NHL players that fill roles on the team instead of wasting more time with Comtois?

We love our trash

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

You're listing players that I don't think anyone wants in the regular lineup regardless. Why don't we pursue actual NHL players that fill roles on the team instead of wasting more time with Comtois?

Not a ton left that would fit the role of physical guy who has proven that he can score at an NHL level.

The only one that I can think of is Ritchie. Which is basically comtois at his worst but with an added 20 stupid penalties a season.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Not a ton left that would fit the role of physical guy who has proven that he can score at an NHL level.

The only one that I can think of is Ritchie. Which is basically comtois at his worst but with an added 20 stupid penalties a season.

Just because I’m bored, 2020-2023

171 GP, 31G, 37A, 68P, -34, 162 PIM
vs
187 GP, 40G, 35A, 75P, -41, 133 PIM

You get more goals and less penalties with Ritchie.

How not to model your career 101.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Just because I’m bored, 2020-2023

171 GP, 31G, 37A, 68P, -34, 162 PIM
vs
187 GP, 40G, 35A, 75P, -41, 133 PIM

You get more goals and less penalties with Ritchie.

How not to model your career 101.

Not all penalties are the same. Ritchie takes penalties 300 feet from the play. Comtois takes penalties defending in his own zone, which he's had to do a lot more of considering hes only played for the Ducks and most of those seasons were when the Ducks were at their worst. Ritchie played for playoff ducks, terrible ducks for a little bit, Bruins, Leafs, Flames and Coyotes.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Not all penalties are the same. Ritchie takes penalties 300 feet from the play. Comtois takes penalties defending in his own zone, which he's had to do a lot more of considering hes only played for the Ducks and most of those seasons were when the Ducks were at their worst. Ritchie played for playoff ducks, terrible ducks for a little bit, Bruins, Leafs, Flames and Coyotes.

Comtois took plenty of stupid penalties as well, many because he either wasn’t moving his feet, or because he didn’t bother to/was incapable of reading the play to be in the tight place.

Neither player is good.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Comtois took plenty of stupid penalties as well, many because he either wasn’t moving his feet, or because he didn’t bother to/was incapable of reading the play to be in the tight place.

Neither player is good.

Well at this point either would be better than some of the players projected to get in the lineup.

When you have little choices left and have a bunch of holes in your lineup, you have to compromise. Having another year of soft uninspiring hockey is no way to build any type of culture. Theres a better chance of Comtois getting back to his hard hitting ways than there is of Leason / McGinn suddenly developing one.

Adding Comtois and Benoit to Carrick and Benoit at least addresses something the Ducks lacked last season. Only adding Gudas and taking away Benoit and Comtois leads me to believe it'll be more of the same.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Well at this point either would be better than some of the players projected to get in the lineup.

When you have little choices left and have a bunch of holes in your lineup, you have to compromise. Having another year of soft uninspiring hockey is no way to build any type of culture. Theres a better chance of Comtois getting back to his hard hitting ways than there is of Leason / McGinn suddenly developing one.

Adding Comtois and Benoit to Carrick and Benoit at least addresses something the Ducks lacked last season. Only adding Gudas and taking away Benoit and Comtois leads me to believe it'll be more of the same.

A different reframe would be Killorn + Gudas >>> Comtois + Benoit.

Also, we do have other youthful forward prospects who might add more than Comtois in C Groulx or LW Nesterenko.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

A different reframe would be Killorn + Gudas >>> Comtois + Benoit.

Also, we do have other youthful forward prospects who might add more than Comtois in C Groulx or LW Nesterenko.

In terms of skill, yes Gudas and Killorn are better but overall you're adding one physical player (albeit a very good one) and a skilled player to a team that was one of the softest this league has ever seen. So overall we're losing two semi physical guys and replacing them with one very physical guy. So, team is still soft.

Groulx and Nesterenko are fine to have around but you can't really pencil them into a spot on an NHL team just yet and neither addresses the lack of physicality this team lacks. Both might need another year in the AHL and if they don't its a bonus and you can insert them into the lineup if someone isn't playing well.

 

[AngelDuck]

Nick Ritchie is a better NHL player than Max Comtois


Sorry

 

[Hockey Duckie]

In terms of skill, yes Gudas and Killorn are better but overall you're adding one physical player (albeit a very good one) and a skilled player to a team that was one of the softest this league has ever seen. So overall we're losing two semi physical guys and replacing them with one very physical guy. So, team is still soft.

Groulx and Nesterenko are fine to have around but you can't really pencil them into a spot on an NHL team just yet and neither addresses the lack of physicality this team lacks. Both might need another year in the AHL and if they don't its a bonus and you can insert them into the lineup if someone isn't playing well.

I think you've lost the forest from the trees. Can Comtois bring the offense, leadership, work ethic, and consistency of Killorn?

Past two seasons:

Comtois: 116 games, 15g + 20a = 35 pts
Killorn: 164 games, 52g + 71a = 123 pts

Are you seriously pining to have Comtois back over Killorn just because you want more physicality from an inconsistent player who was benched because he wasn't putting in effort?

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

I think you've lost the forest from the trees. Can Comtois bring the offense, leadership, work ethic, and consistency of Killorn?

Past two seasons:

Comtois: 116 games, 15g + 20a = 35 pts
Killorn: 164 games, 52g + 71a = 123 pts

Are you seriously pining to have Comtois back over Killorn just because you want more physicality from an inconsistent player who was benched because he wasn't putting in effort?

Over Kilorn? no. WITH Kilorn.

It was never an either or. Same with Benoit and Gudas. I don't want just Benoit. I want Benoit AND Gudas.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Over Kilorn? no. WITH Kilorn.

It was never an either or. Same with Benoit and Gudas. I don't want just Benoit. I want Benoit AND Gudas.

Then why are you constantly comparing Comtois to Leason and McGinn? At least I know Leason and McGinn put in more effort than Comtois. Killorn took a roster spot while Comtois lost his. We've had two seasons of "Where's Comtois?" Comtois didn't even bother to show up in his contract season.

I just shared how Comtois is insignificant on the scoresheet for the past two seasons when compared to Killorn. Did Comtois' physicalness prevent the Ducks from being last in the league? Nope. Were teams lining up to sign Comtois the moment he became a UFA? Nope.

As for Benoit, that's a head scratcher because I thought he's a decent bottom pairing, shutdown D. Maybe Verbeek wanted more out of Benoit or he's a roster casualty. PV doesn't have a great track record on losing pre-PV defensemen with Lindholm (a 1D in Boston), Manson (a Cup winner), and Mahura (got to SCF). Either way, it doesn't matter because this year is going to be another developmental season.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Over Kilorn? no. WITH Kilorn.

It was never an either or. Same with Benoit and Gudas. I don't want just Benoit. I want Benoit AND Gudas.

Comtois is unlikely to play over Killorn, Henrique, or Jones (the way he was playing at the end of the year). He had the same number of points as McGinn and has nowhere near the level of defensive awareness. Where would you put him?

 

[pbgoalie]

We are literally trying to figure out why to or (not to sign) Comtois?

Effort issues alone is enough of a no for me.

Also, his physicality was at best above what the Ducks were, but Sonia the steak I got at Outback last night. Comtois doesn’t bring anything physically as a deterrent or play driver. It’s too bad, but he sucked for two years

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Then why are you constantly comparing Comtois to Leason and McGinn? At least I know Leason and McGinn put in more effort than Comtois. Killorn took a roster spot while Comtois lost his. We've had two seasons of "Where's Comtois?" Comtois didn't even bother to show up in his contract season.

I just shared how Comtois is insignificant on the scoresheet for the past two seasons when compared to Killorn. Did Comtois' physicalness prevent the Ducks from being last in the league? Nope. Were teams lining up to sign Comtois the moment he became a UFA? Nope.

As for Benoit, that's a head scratcher because I thought he's a decent bottom pairing, shutdown D. Maybe Verbeek wanted more out of Benoit or he's a roster casualty. PV doesn't have a great track record on losing pre-PV defensemen with Lindholm (a 1D in Boston), Manson (a Cup winner), and Mahura (got to SCF). Either way, it doesn't matter because this year is going to be another developmental season.

Because Leason and McGinn are both wingers that Comtois would be competing with for a spot? Why would I compare him to Killorn who is in another tier in terms of value to the team than Comtois and has a top 6 spot locked up? Leason and McGinn offer nothing of need. Leason and McGinn are putting in effort? they are two of the sofest players in the league and have a combined 8 goals for the Ducks. If this is them playing with effort, I'd hate to see what they looked like if they were half assing it.

Having a soft team because its a "developmental" season is a good way to build a crappy culture which the Ducks have already done enough of in the last 4 years.

Comtois is unlikely to play over Killorn, Henrique, or Jones (the way he was playing at the end of the year). He had the same number of points as McGinn and has nowhere near the level of defensive awareness. Where would you put him?

We already have Silf who is solely on the team for his defensive awareness. You want multiple forwards dedicated to this skill? when we are this soft? Lundestrom, Henrique and silverberg are good enough for forwards that can play well defensively. We don't need 15 Derek Grants out there. We hardly needed the one we had.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Because Leason and McGinn are both wingers that Comtois would be competing with for a spot? Why would I compare him to Killorn who is in another tier in terms of value to the team than Comtois and has a top 6 spot locked up? Leason and McGinn offer nothing of need. Leason and McGinn are putting in effort? they are two of the sofest players in the league and have a combined 8 goals for the Ducks. If this is them playing with effort, I'd hate to see what they looked like if they were half assing it.

Having a soft team because its a "developmental" season is a good way to build a crappy culture which the Ducks have already done enough of in the last 4 years.


We already have Silf who is solely on the team for his defensive awareness. You want multiple forwards dedicated to this skill? when we are this soft? Lundestrom, Henrique and silverberg are good enough for forwards that can play well defensively. We don't need 15 Derek Grants out there. We hardly needed the one we had.

If I want hits I play Carrick, who’s significantly better at it, blocks more shots, and is significantly better at both giveaways and takeaways. He will be on the 4th line, theres absolutely no question that he is at best the 4th best LW based on last year’s play. I’m not expecting much scoring from that line.

I’d also prefer Nesterenko or Regenda get PT over him if they’re looking for scoring.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Because Leason and McGinn are both wingers that Comtois would be competing with for a spot? Why would I compare him to Killorn who is in another tier in terms of value to the team than Comtois and has a top 6 spot locked up? Leason and McGinn offer nothing of need. Leason and McGinn are putting in effort? they are two of the sofest players in the league and have a combined 8 goals for the Ducks. If this is them playing with effort, I'd hate to see what they looked like if they were half assing it.

Having a soft team because its a "developmental" season is a good way to build a crappy culture which the Ducks have already done enough of in the last 4 years.

You're living off the ghost of COVID Comtois. Comtois is not worth qualifying for over $2 mil. And it's disingenuous to state "a combined 8 goals for the Ducks". McGinn was a TDL acquisition where he had 10 goals with Pitt in 60 games. McGinn has had double digit goals in the past two seasons, something that Comtois didn't do. While I questioned why we acquired McGinn, he's apparently more offensive than Comtois.

Your history is off with Duck lore. Under Murray, they weren't soft. The developmental process actually worked as in 2021-22 start saw the Ducks skyrocket to the top of the Pacific after finishing with the 2nd worst record the previous season. Unfortunately, Murray shot himself in the foot and couldn't see his plans through.

Verbeek inherited a Ducks' team that was 3rd in the Pacific during all-star break. PV blew up the physicalness of the team in trading away two top-4D in Lindholm and Manson as well as our pugilist Des. The reset rebuild meant it'll take years to fill up the roster again via the draft.

What PV has done is look for physical and/or two-way players with his prospects. 2022 draft nabbed C Gaucher, RD Warren, and LW Hvidston. The end of this season, PV acquired LW Nesterenko, RW Wiebe, and RW Caulfield. In the 2023 draft, he found yet another physical shutdown guy in LW Myatovic. Afterwards, nabbed Gudas for three years in FA.

I see the big picture and Anaheim will be more difficult to play against in the future, especially with Verbeek's draft height minimum.

 

[Firequacker]

Because Leason and McGinn are both wingers that Comtois would be competing with for a spot? Why would I compare him to Killorn who is in another tier in terms of value to the team than Comtois and has a top 6 spot locked up? Leason and McGinn offer nothing of need. Leason and McGinn are putting in effort? they are two of the sofest players in the league and have a combined 8 goals for the Ducks. If this is them playing with effort, I'd hate to see what they looked like if they were half assing it.

McGinn's goals/60 were identical to Comtois' on the season, and slightly higher with the Ducks. McGinn as a Penguin also had more hits/60 than Comtois, so calling him one of the softest players in the league seems a tad hyperbolic. His sample size with the Ducks was pretty limited.
Even Leason's goals/60 were barely lower, if that's the metric you want to use. And he's probably not in strong competition with Comtois, LW versus RW.

We already have Silf who is solely on the team for his defensive awareness. You want multiple forwards dedicated to this skill? when we are this soft? Lundestrom, Henrique and silverberg are good enough for forwards that can play well defensively. We don't need 15 Derek Grants out there. We hardly needed the one we had.

Grant was better than Comtois at pretty much every offensive stat but goals, including power play points, where he and not Comtois was the one doing nearly all the battling in front of the net. And I'd be willing to bet more on Grant's shooting percentage bouncing back than Comtois' work ethic, personally.

If we want to see if, without Eakins, Comtois can become the player again that he once was (under Eakins), maybe give him a PTO and see if he can earn a longer look. I wouldn't even bother with that, but it makes more sense than handing him a contract on nothing but hopes and dreams.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

You're living off the ghost of COVID Comtois. Comtois is not worth qualifying for over $2 mil. And it's disingenuous to state "a combined 8 goals for the Ducks". McGinn was a TDL acquisition where he had 10 goals with Pitt in 60 games. McGinn has had double digit goals in the past two seasons, something that Comtois didn't do. While I questioned why we acquired McGinn, he's apparently more offensive than Comtois.

Your history is off with Duck lore. Under Murray, they weren't soft. The developmental process actually worked as in 2021-22 start saw the Ducks skyrocket to the top of the Pacific after finishing with the 2nd worst record the previous season. Unfortunately, Murray shot himself in the foot and couldn't see his plans through.

Verbeek inherited a Ducks' team that was 3rd in the Pacific during all-star break. PV blew up the physicalness of the team in trading away two top-4D in Lindholm and Manson as well as our pugilist Des. The reset rebuild meant it'll take years to fill up the roster again via the draft.

What PV has done is look for physical and/or two-way players with his prospects. 2022 draft nabbed C Gaucher, RD Warren, and LW Hvidston. The end of this season, PV acquired LW Nesterenko, RW Wiebe, and RW Caulfield. In the 2023 draft, he found yet another physical shutdown guy in LW Myatovic. Afterwards, nabbed Gudas for three years in FA.

I see the big picture and Anaheim will be more difficult to play against in the future, especially with Verbeek's draft height minimum.

Comtois isn’t worth 2 million a year but what exactly are we saving it for? I’m not tied to Comtois but I am tied to making this seasons team more tougher. Comparing McGinns Pittsburgh numbers to anyone playing for the ducks who spent like 2 total seconds per shift in the offensive zone is just silly. Ducks finally have a real coach with a real system and I fully expect them to actually look less like a bad ECHL team and more like a below average NHL team which can only be good for someone like Comtois and while McGinn and Comtois are similar in production career wise, Comtois even at his worst isn’t completely useless in regards to laying the body which McGinn and Leason absolutely are.

Please stop praising the 2021 ducks like they were anything special. The only reason they were high in the standings was because they played more games than everyone else. They were completely out of the playoff race like 2 weeks after the all star break. This team wasn’t as soft as modern day ducks but they were still pretty damn soft. (See nobody doing anything about Gibson getting run in the opening night vs jets). Manson was not the Josh Manson of old and Lindholm could hit but he wasn't exactly Chris Pronger out there.

Looking at future draft picks is nice but that doesn't mean we can't make this team stronger today.

If I want hits I play Carrick, who’s significantly better at it, blocks more shots, and is significantly better at both giveaways and takeaways. He will be on the 4th line, theres absolutely no question that he is at best the 4th best LW based on last year’s play. I’m not expecting much scoring from that line.

I’d also prefer Nesterenko or Regenda get PT over him if they’re looking forscoring.

Why make it Carrick OR Comtois on the team? Jones is often injured so when he does eventually get hurt, you’re left with Carrick as your only forward hitter and he play like 7 mins a game. If both are hurt, you're left with nobody.

Nesterenko and Regenda are fine guys to have in the lineup every now and then but when you have Zegras, Terry, Killorn, McTavish, Henrique, Vatrano and Strome I'm not sure a guy with 25 AHL points and a guy with one point as a professional hockey player are guys that I'm penciling into the opening day lineup.

McGinn's goals/60 were identical to Comtois' on the season, and slightly higher with the Ducks. McGinn as a Penguin also had more hits/60 than Comtois, so calling him one of the softest players in the league seems a tad hyperbolic. His sample size with the Ducks was pretty limited.
Even Leason's goals/60 were barely lower, if that's the metric you want to use. And he's probably not in strong competition with Comtois, LW versus RW.


Grant was better than Comtois at pretty much every offensive stat but goals, including power play points, where he and not Comtois was the one doing nearly all the battling in front of the net. And I'd be willing to bet more on Grant's shooting percentage bouncing back than Comtois' work ethic, personally.

If we want to see if, without Eakins, Comtois can become the player again that he once was (under Eakins), maybe give him a PTO and see if he can earn a longer look. I wouldn't even bother with that, but it makes more sense than handing him a contract on nothing but hopes and dreams.

Penguins stats compared to Ducks stats is silly. Of course someone on the Pens is going to have better numbers, the Ducks spend all game defending in their own zone. The only way anyone on the Ducks would have good numbers would be if they could score from their own goal line on a regular basis. He has slightly better numbers with the Ducks but not better enough to make up for his lack of physical play.

Hit stats are nice but how many are those impactful hits? He also only has 3 fights in 500 games. Thats a huge red flag for what this team needs. Comtois at least has a history of being able to lay the body at a high level and can drop the gloves when called upon.

Leason scores less than Comtois and hes also as useful as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest in terms of bringing grit to this team.

Comtois had more points and more goals than Grant while having less ice time than him. Grant and Comtois were both useless on the powerplay as each had 2 assists. I don't think Grant's battling in front of the net did a whole lot, considering the results.

Personally I wouldn't bet on either Comtois or Grant but I don't see any UFA that would make this team a chore to play against. A group of Carrick, Jones, Gudas, Benoit, Comtois will at least better the odds of one of them being on the ice when Zegras eventually gets pelted from behind by some jackass in Arizona looking to make a name for themselves.

 

[Firequacker]

Penguins stats compared to Ducks stats is silly. Of course someone on the Pens is going to have better numbers, the Ducks spend all game defending in their own zone. The only way anyone on the Ducks would have good numbers would be if they could score from their own goal line on a regular basis. He has slightly better numbers with the Ducks but not better enough to make up for his lack of physical play.

Hit stats are nice but how many are those impactful hits? He also only has 3 fights in 500 games. Thats a huge red flag for what this team needs. Comtois at least has a history of being able to lay the body at a high level and can drop the gloves when called upon.

I mean, I agree about his scoring on the Penguins, that's why I split them. His hit stats are relevant, though. Impactful hits? That's even more arbitrary than the hits stat was already. You didn't say he doesn't outright level people enough for your liking, you said he's one of the softest players in the league. I'm not a big McGinn fan but that's not a fair assessment.

As for fights, Comtois had one fight more this season than Ryan Strome (who's not exactly my favorite Duck either, but he gets no credit in these discussions and he probably should get a little). He had two each of the last three seasons. He'll stick up for his teammates if he feels like it, and that's great, don't get me wrong, but it's not like he's Deslauriers out there. He's as inconsistent with that as with everything else.
You cited the 2021 opener. Comtois was one of the guys on the ice doing nothing when Gibson got run (and someone did get thrown out for going after Copp later, but it wasn't him).

Leason scores less than Comtois and hes also as useful as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest in terms of bringing grit to this team.

Comtois had more points and more goals than Grant while having less ice time than him. Grant and Comtois were both useless on the powerplay as each had 2 assists. I don't think Grant's battling in front of the net did a whole lot, considering the results.

How's that? Comtois had one more point than Grant in 200 more minutes played. Grant had slightly more total ice time per game, but he also still had the higher points/60, even though that includes his two and a half minutes per game of penalty killing (which is the only thing that puts his ATOI above Comtois). I still just don't think he's the guy to cite as nothing but defense while trying to defend Comtois' production.
I mostly brought up the power play to make the case that there's more to physical play than just hits, which, if not even hits matter then eh. But, feels like it should be pointed out his battling in front of the net absolutely did matter on more goals than just the ones he got assists for.

Personally I wouldn't bet on either Comtois or Grant but I don't see any UFA that would make this team a chore to play against. A group of Carrick, Jones, Gudas, Benoit, Comtois will at least better the odds of one of them being on the ice when Zegras eventually gets pelted from behind by some jackass in Arizona looking to make a name for themselves.

I'm completely with you on Benoit, unless Verbeek has something else still up his sleeve, and on the general principle. I just have no faith in Comtois deciding to either play hockey or punch faces on any given day. Handing the guy with attitude and work ethic issues an unearned 2 million dollar contract because he might deign to throw a big hit now and then is no way to build a good team culture either. And I'd frankly rather have Vatrano in a scrum, at least you know he's going to make himself a pain in the ass.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Why make it Carrick OR Comtois on the team? Jones is often injured so when he does eventually get hurt, you’re left with Carrick as your only forward hitter and he play like 7 mins a game. If both are hurt, you're left with nobody.

Nesterenko and Regenda are fine guys to have in the lineup every now and then but when you have Zegras, Terry, Killorn, McTavish, Henrique, Vatrano and Strome I'm not sure a guy with 25 AHL points and a guy with one point as a professional hockey player are guys that I'm penciling into the opening day lineup.

Because you can only carry 2 extra forwards, and I’d rather have flexibility. Comtois isn’t waiver eligible, the two young guys are. Carrick can play all the forward positions, Comtois can’t. Comtois had a bad attitude in practice, none of the others do. Jones played in 69 games last year, let’s see what happens. The young guys are waiver exempt, Comtois isn’t. Unless Leason gets moved, we have 13 forwards needing waivers to be sent down. Comtois isn’t the guy I want blocking every prospect in San Diego. Neither is Leason, but he’s under contract. Groulx will be waiver eligible this year, I’d rather see what he can do that give Comtois a third chance to see if he’s taking his career seriously yet.

TLDR - I don’t think Comtois is all that good at the things he does best, is a bad influence in the locker room, and blocks roster flexibility.

 

[McDonald19]

When Z was popping off vs. Boston, Comtois was the one to grab a hold of the Bruin who wanted to rip Z’s head off.

It doesn’t have to be Comtois, but we need someone added to the roster to help in that department.

 

[MMC]

This may have been said already but with the non-tenders of Comtois and Olle, none of our 2017 picks remain in the organization

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

Pretty cool colab