As the summer drags on I thought I’d take the time to take a look at the other teams that make up the Pacific Division, what they did and where I think they could end up when its all said and done. This time I will start with what should be a Pacific Division power house in the Anaheim Ducks. All information here is accurate as of 7/14/15.
Who’s in:
F Shawn Horcoff (UFA)
F Bryan McGratton (UFA)
F Chris Stewart (UFA)
D Kevin Bieksa (Trade)
F Carl Hagelin (Trade)
G Anton Khudobin (Trade)
Who’s out:
D Francois Beauchemin (UFA)
F Matt Beleskey (UFA)
F Emerson Etem (Trade)
D James Wisniewski (Trade)
F Kyle Palmieri (Trade)
Ian’s Quick Breakdown:
There isn’t a whole lot not to like about the Ducks off-season thus far. The only thing I don’t really care for is the trading for and signing of Kevin Bieksa who’s best days seem to be very much behind him. This is a team that seems to have a perfect mix of veteran high end talent and youth that plays an uptempo game with a punishing forecheck. Getzlaf and Perry continue to produce well as they enter their 30’s and while they and Kesler might get all the press I think Jacob Jakob Silfverberg is criminally underrated. The addition of Hagelin to the top 6 will only increase their offensive depth. Chris Stewart should add some more scoring from the bottom six as well with the ability to move up the line up to get other players going. I think the loss of Beleskey will not hurt the Ducks as much as it was originally expected too. While the Ducks may lack the sexy names on defence that other top teams do they can certainly be counted on for points. Lindholm, Fowler and Vatanen all put up over 90 points combined from the blue line adding to a pretty balanced Ducks attack. The addition of Bieksa could stabilize the defensive play in their own end In goal the Ducks are set with Andersen in net while Khudobin will back him up in the NHL this will probably free up Gibson to top get plenty of playing time with the Ducks AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls. The Ducks didn’t have to do much and have most of their important pieces returning. I expect this to team to not only be a major threat to the rest of its Pacific Division rivals but the entire Western Conference. This is a team that is my early odds on favourite to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Projected Lines:
Maroon – Getzlaf – Perry
Hagelin – Kesler – Silfverberg
Cogliano – Rakell – Stewart
Horcoff – Thomson – Sekac
Lindholm – Despres
Fowler – Bieksa
Stoner – Vatanen
Andersen
Khudobin
Circle Your 2015-16 Calendar:
Ducks @ Sharks – October 10th. 2015
Ducks @ Sharks – November 7th. 2015
Sharks @ Ducks – December 4th. 2015
Sharks @ Ducks – Feburary 2nd. 2016
Projected Pacific Division Standings:
1) Anaheim Ducks
2) ??????????
3) San Jose Sharks
4) ??????????
5) ??????????
6) ??????????
7) ??????????
Don’t forget to check out the Teal Tinted Glasses Podcast!
