Hockey Duckie
Registered User
The Ducks a few years earlier were also an example of retooling instead of rebuilding. On the 07 team Getzlaf and Perry were good players, but not yet superstars. Yet the team was able to transition to a contending team built around them because they developed into stars just as the other big guns aged or retired.
Had Lindholm, Rakell, etc been better, or if Zegras and such had arrived earlier, maybe the team charts a different path. But they had too big a gap between drafting their high end talented players ...they found a lot of good players who have had solid careers, but there was a dry stretch where they weren't able to find star players (at forward especially).
Actually, if GM Murray wasn't an alcoholic, then no reset rebuild would have occurred.
GM Murray resigned in early Nov '21, in the middle of an 8-game winning streak.
GM Verbeek was hired during all-star break. The Ducks were 3rd in the Pacific when that happened. Top-4RD Manson went to IR during all-star break and Verbeek sat on his hands until the TDL. At the TDL, the Ducks were 6th in the Pacific, but only 4 points behind 3rd place in the Pacific. Verbeek admitted he blew up the team at the TDL, giving away top pairing LD Lindholm, top-4RD Manson, top-6RW Rakell, and pugilist/PK'er Deslauriers.
Already in the system: C Zegras (NHL), RD (Drysdale), C McTavish (9-NHL games, OHL), LD Thrun (NCAA junior), LD LaCombe (NCAA junior), RD Moore, LD Zellweger, LD Hinds, and RW Colangelo.
Youth who finally showed up: RW Terry (37g +30a in 2021-22).
Anaheim probably would continue to draft defensemen and probably would have snagged Luneau in the 2nd round in the 2022 draft still. The Ducks would still have the capital to trade for Cutter.