Speculation: 2024-25 - Free Agency/Trade Thread

[tomd]

With the number of guys that are in a rapid improvement age range I think there is potential for us to really shock people and play fast and aggressive

Very possible. I see the weaknesses as (1) inexperience (2) lack of depth (3) very young defense (4) how well goaltending will hold up (5) system (or lack thereof) and (6) physicality.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Very possible. I see the weaknesses as (1) inexperience (2) lack of depth (3) very young defense (4) how well goaltending will hold up (5) system (or lack thereof) and (6) physicality.

I want to solberg paired with Gudas.. Let them run havoc!!! lol

 

[Ducks DVM]

I want to solberg paired with Gudas.. Let them run havoc!!! lol

Gudas won’t be on this contract by the time Solberg makes it to the NHL. Might work if he’s willing to re-sign for 3rd pairing money though.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Very possible. I see the weaknesses as (1) inexperience (2) lack of depth (3) very young defense (4) how well goaltending will hold up (5) system (or lack thereof) and (6) physicality.

I think we have some fast players, but not enough, and I think we have some players with size, but not enough, and I think we have some aggressive players, but not enough, and I think we have zero players with size and speed and aggression, and nowhere near enough with even two of those characteristics.

Cronin will need to come up with a system that actually caters to the players he has, not the players he wants.

 

[All Mighty]

This definitely made the most sense.

 

[All Mighty]

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I think it’s a pretty solid trade for both sides

Edstrom is prob a nhl talent, but prob pushed down far on sharks depth chart.

Vegas 1st was an obvious piece.

Sharks have a pretty damn scary core building

Got there 1-2c of the futures and should have 2 good - great wingers in musty/eklund.

Got their goalie of the future
Got an anchor on their back end in Dickinson

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

SJ slowly building something exciting

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

That Vegas pick is unprotected, too. It’s a weak Pacific, but Vegas barely snuck in last year and have injury issues with a pretty weak roster depth wise, so that’s gonna be a good watch. Edstrom looks like a player also.

Good trade for both teams

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

I think we have some fast players, but not enough, and I think we have some players with size, but not enough, and I think we have some aggressive players, but not enough, and I think we have zero players with size and speed and aggression, and nowhere near enough with even two of those characteristics.

Cronin will need to come up with a system that actually caters to the players he has, not the players he wants.

Judging by how last year went I'm afraid you're asking too much. But, not to worry, PV tells us they young guys are no longer drinking from that fire hose, so all should be good going forward.

 

[lwvs84]

I want to solberg paired with Gudas.. Let them run havoc!!! lol

I kind of would want them split unless it's a defensive situation. Both on the ice together means players have to keep their head up 18 mins a night, split them and and that's 35-40 minutes a game that someone is in danger of getting blown up. But last minute of a game, protecting a lead? Get them out there, players are going to think twice about taking that extra second to settle the puck.

A lot has to go right for this to happen though.

 

[Boo Boo]

Why didn’t San Jose simply draft a future starting goalie in the 2nd or later round?

 

[cheesymc]

Great upside pickup for SJ. Their rebuild is really looking good. In one offseason they got the Celebrini, potential #1 goalie, high upside defenseman with Dickinson dropping to them, Smith might be coming soon, some cheap young darts like Dellandrea, Walman, Grundstrom and some grit to protect them while they develop in guys like Kostin, Kunin, Sabourin, Givani and Goodrow, and they actually sign some free agents like Toffoli, Wennberg.

While the Ducks' big offseason signing was Harkins, and big acquisitions was Dumoulin.

Thats a pretty big difference in upgrades for two teams vying to get out of the bottom 3. Maybe that is why sites like MyNHLDraft has us selecting #1 next year, and expectations are that the Ducks will be the worst team next year with CBJs and SJS right behind us.

The only thing we can say is that we did a good job rebranding our jerseys and having that "Orange Country" marketing. Hopefully we see Zegras make a turnaround or we get pennies on the dollar in a trade, and some growth from guys like Leo, Mac, Minty, and Zell... and lets not forget... Cutter getting bullied with no response from our team but hopefully he can protect himself and still score over 20 goals.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Sharks dont have Z Terry, Kilhorn, Gauthier, Carlson

Great upside pickup for SJ. Their rebuild is really looking good. In one offseason they got the Celebrini, potential #1 goalie, high upside defenseman with Dickinson dropping to them, Smith might be coming soon, some cheap young darts like Dellandrea, Walman, Grundstrom and some grit to protect them while they develop in guys like Kostin, Kunin, Sabourin, Givani and Goodrow, and they actually sign some free agents like Toffoli, Wennberg.

While the Ducks' big offseason signing was Harkins, and big acquisitions was Dumoulin.

Thats a pretty big difference in upgrades for two teams vying to get out of the bottom 3. Maybe that is why sites like MyNHLDraft has us selecting #1 next year, and expectations are that the Ducks will be the worst team next year with CBJs and SJS right behind us.

The only thing we can say is that we did a good job rebranding our jerseys and having that "Orange Country" marketing. Hopefully we see Zegras make a turnaround or we get pennies on the dollar in a trade, and some growth from guys like Leo, Mac, Minty, and Zell... and lets not forget... Cutter getting bullied with no response from our team but hopefully he can protect himself and still score over 20 goals.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Judging by how last year went I'm afraid you're asking too much. But, not to worry, PV tells us they young guys are no longer drinking from that fire hose, so all should be good going forward.

We are one Ben Meyers signing or a Jan Mysak trade away from really pushing the needle

While the Ducks' big offseason signing was Harkins, and big acquisitions was Dumoulin.

I mean, was it you that said it? Or someone else - everyone around us got better, and we got left with scraps.. and/or acquired crap. What an exciting offseason

 

[Ducks DVM]

Judging by how last year went I'm afraid you're asking too much. But, not to worry, PV tells us they young guys are no longer drinking from that fire hose, so all should be good going forward.

I would like to argue.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

A couple of things where we might just have to agree to disagree because I see things fundamentally differently.

1. We had not gained 3 young elite players by 2022. Zegras, Drysdale, and McTavish are very good young players, but not one of them has shown the ability to be elite. Of the three, Zegras has the highest ceiling, but that ceiling isn't even to the level of Getzlaf. Drysdale and McTavish are good 2nd line/2D types, even at their best. That is not elite. Cup-winning teams need one or two elite players. Before Carlsson, we didn't have one in the system.

2. I disagree that the team was showing sustainable signs of getting back to being a playoff team by year 4. If you're referring to the run of success in the first two months of the 21-22 season, that was kind of a mirage. They were still getting outshot most nights (sometimes badly), and after that hot start, went 10-16-6 before the trade deadline. I understand the desire to be encouraged by that run (I know I was excited by it), but I don't think it told us much about the trajectory of the team.

The young players have been surrounded by veterans this whole time. Getzlaf, Henrique, Strome, Vatrano, Killorn, and Terry (as he moved from a kid to a vet). If you're asking for better players, I would love them, too, but there lies the dilemma. If the Ducks got better veterans to surround the kids, they would have been drafting in the 5-12 range instead of the 1-5 range. Then they don't get an elite player in the draft and can't compete for a Cup anyway.

1. I find your assessment of Z, D, and Mac quite biased. Z's first full NHL season, he was a 61 pt producer and 2nd in team scoring. Then lead the team in scoring in his second season with a terrible roster with a 65 pt performance. In Drysdale's first, full NHL season, he put up 32 pts and lasted 81 games. He's been injury riddled since then. Not much you can say against his potential since the injuries have gotten into the way. Mac was elite in his D+1 season with an OHL championship as well as a WJC-20 gold and MVP. In his first 20 games of this past season, he not only elevated the play of Vatrano and Strome (3rd liners), but he also was over a ppg player. Then injuries happened to him. Also, let's not forget that we have Dostal in the system.

Is Carlsson elite? I want him to be elite, but we don't know yet. I know Bedard is elite. Carlsson didn't perform like Bedard last season.

As for Cup-winning teams, the Ducks won one with the aid of outside stars such as Scotty and Prongs as well as a resurgent Teemu in addition to the young Getz and Perry. Cup winning teams have loads of talent. Some SCF teams had only one uber-talent, like the 2003 Ducks and JS Giguere.

2. It's hilarious to believe that the team would not have added more talent going into year 4 when they were a playoff fringe team the year before and finished with the 2nd worst record two years before. That was year 3 of the rebuild, meaning the team still needed more talent and talent depth. You also have completely forgotten that aspect as Manson fell to injury before All-Star break and was out 12 out of 14 games before the TDL. Verbeek could have added a shutdown RD at All-Star break, but he didn't. For all your talk about having top talent, you neglect it here for some odd bias.

The young players were surrounded by weaker vets under the Verbeek regime in year 1 of the reset rebuild. The roster was so terrible that they landed with worst record in all of the NHL. That's a far cry from the vets of the 2021-22 season prior to the TDL, who were on the playoff fringes. And Verbeek was expecting a .500 team start to that season. The following season, Verbeek is mum.

If Verbeek doesn't assemble better vets around the youths, then that might ultimately be Verbeek's doom in the near future. But for the time being, Verbeek needs the youths to take another step forward b/c that's where all of his eggs have been laid in.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Why didn’t San Jose simply draft a future starting goalie in the 2nd or later round?

The goalie talent pool this year wasn't great. A lot of goalie prospects were elevated higher because of it.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Why didn’t San Jose simply draft a future starting goalie in the 2nd or later round?

Last goalies they developed well were Greiss and Nabokov. I'd take Askarov over any of the goalies that were in the 2024 draft.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Why didn’t San Jose simply draft a future starting goalie in the 2nd or later round?

Meh they had assets to aim at pieces their core need…. Why not push chips in on a mostly developed goalie with superstar upside?

A late 1st + a forward that they don’t really need for a goalie that can play in nhl tomm, and has very high upside.


I don’t think it’s something they were looking to do, but the option became available and they did a good job getting it done. When players of that caliber become available you go for it if you can

 

[tomd]

Not too crazy to think that in three years you could have the standings in the Pacific division completely inverted.

 

[duckpuck]

I fully admit that what you describe is the best way to get high picks. But without good drafting they won't matter. There is plenty of evidence of misses in the top 5 and even 1st overall. I absolutely disagree that this rebuild has lasted this long because we didn't sell off. We stopped trying to add real talent in exchange for more top picks and now we can't seem to convince good players to come here. As I pointed out earlier, in the last 15 years only 2 teams have had 4 years in a 5 year period who have drafted this high. Most are pulling out of their rebuild after 3 and by all accounts we have had good drafting and haven't missed on our top picks. If we finish bottom 5 again this year it's absolutely a failure.

You are moving the goal posts so much, I can't follow what your point is. Of course you have to make good use of your draft picks. It is easier to do that when you draft first.

It is just picking high, it having the luck to land a McDavid/Crosby/Bedard level player or at least a Draisaitl type of player. It didn't take any drafting acumen to pick Bedard or MdDavid.

And the reason the ducks rebuild is taking longer is because they did the "natural tear down" you wanted. I don't understand how you can think that was fine and then demand the team emerge from a rebuild after 3-4 years.

 

[DavidBL]

Maybe but maybe not. If the Ducks don't improve it will be a failure (injuries apart) but if they improve and others improve more then I won't call it a failure.

Looking at the bottom 10 teams from last year I see improvements from the following:
SJ, Chicago, Anaheim, Montreal, Utah, Ottawa, Seattle, NJ

I see the following teams getting worse:
Columbus, Calgary

So the question is how much will the Ducks improve and will it be enough to get them out of the bottom 5? I think they could improve 15 points and still finish in the bottom 5 next year. We'll see.

I really don't think there is any excuse for teams like SJ or Chicago to get ahead of us in the rebuild. Ottawa is In a weird spot because their team doesn't look as bad as it performed. At worst i could see an argument with accepting 5th worst team.

A couple of things where we might just have to agree to disagree because I see things fundamentally differently.

1. We had not gained 3 young elite players by 2022. Zegras, Drysdale, and McTavish are very good young players, but not one of them has shown the ability to be elite. Of the three, Zegras has the highest ceiling, but that ceiling isn't even to the level of Getzlaf. Drysdale and McTavish are good 2nd line/2D types, even at their best. That is not elite. Cup-winning teams need one or two elite players. Before Carlsson, we didn't have one in the system.

2. I disagree that the team was showing sustainable signs of getting back to being a playoff team by year 4. If you're referring to the run of success in the first two months of the 21-22 season, that was kind of a mirage. They were still getting outshot most nights (sometimes badly), and after that hot start, went 10-16-6 before the trade deadline. I understand the desire to be encouraged by that run (I know I was excited by it), but I don't think it told us much about the trajectory of the team.

The young players have been surrounded by veterans this whole time. Getzlaf, Henrique, Strome, Vatrano, Killorn, and Terry (as he moved from a kid to a vet). If you're asking for better players, I would love them, too, but there lies the dilemma. If the Ducks got better veterans to surround the kids, they would have been drafting in the 5-12 range instead of the 1-5 range. Then they don't get an elite player in the draft and can't compete for a Cup anyway.

I guess we will just have to see things differently. I don't know how you look at those 3 players and how they performed in their rookie years and not think they are going to be elite pieces. Are they At this very second, no, but neither is Carlsson. Are all these high end prospects elite until we draft them?

2. I was referring to those months. It's pretty simple. We finished 10th worst not 2nd worst. The team was hardly perfect but they were winning more games than the year before and since. That's progress, not regress.

3. Yes we've added some veterans but we haven't replaced all of them or upgraded any of them. We've been bleeding talent. Here lies the perceived rub. We got good high picks. Unless you think we should tank until we get the elusive 1st overall? The prevailing opinion is that we somehow need more high picks than we already have. The reality is that only 2 teams have had more than we have in the last 15 years, and thats starting with McTavish and ignoring Z and Drysdale/Gauthier. 1 of those teams has only 2 of the 4 players they picked and one was a relative bust as a bottom 4 D man at 3rd overall and that was in 2010. The other is Buffalo which I can assume none of us want to be. Simply put even the teams who successful rebuild this way don't take this long.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Meh they had assets to aim at pieces their core need…. Why not push chips in on a mostly developed goalie with superstar upside?

A late 1st + a forward that they don’t really need for a goalie that can play in nhl tomm, and has very high upside.


I don’t think it’s something they were looking to do, but the option became available and they did a good job getting it done. When players of that caliber become available you go for it if you can

Yeah there is a very good chance Askarov becomes better than Dostal and Clara.

 

[DavidBL]

You are moving the goal posts so much, I can't follow what your point is. Of course you have to make good use of your draft picks. It is easier to do that when you draft first.

It is just picking high, it having the luck to land a McDavid/Crosby/Bedard level player or at least a Draisaitl type of player. It didn't take any drafting acumen to pick Bedard or MdDavid.

And the reason the ducks rebuild is taking longer is because they did the "natural tear down" you wanted. I don't understand how you can think that was fine and then demand the team emerge from a rebuild after 3-4 years.

How am I moving goal posts? We did pick high and we did get high end talent. That's not really up for debate. I'm not asking them to emerge after 3-4 years I'm talking about it being year 7 and we haven't progressed at all. I'm saying that in the last 15 years 2 teams have spent more than 3 years out of a 5 year period in the bottom 5 of the standings and we're expected to be bottom 5 again making us the 3rd team. How does that sound okay to anyone? What that means to me is that it's entirely uncommon to not see forward progress in a rebuild after this long.