John Gibson and the Anaheim Ducks hope to bring the Stanley Cup back to California in 2018-19.
The Anaheim Ducks are undergoing a transitional period right now. Despite this, they are still contenders. The Ducks have a solid core of veterans and young players. They also have John Gibson, one of the best goalies. However, their Stanley Cup window is undeniably closing, which makes the 2018-19 season a critical one for them.
Last season, Ryan Getzlaf passed the torch onto Rickard Rakell. The latter became the first Duck other than Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, and Corey Perry to lead the team in points since Sergei Fedorov in 2003-04. Getzlaf is still a darn good player (61 points in 56 games), but Rakell has overtaken him as their top producer.
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After being swept by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2017-18 Stanley Cup Playoffs, changes were expected. However, they didn’t come. Management is banking on the Ducks bouncing back. If they don’t at least make the Western Conference Finals, there could be some significant changes.
The Ducks have been a model of consistency. They’ve made it to six consecutive Stanley Cup Playoffs, tied for the second-most among active teams. However, with their title contention window closing, making the postseason isn’t enough. This could be the last ride for this current core, for better or for worse.
Offseason Review
Added: Carter Rowney, Brian Gibbons, Andrej Sustr, Luke Schenn
Re-signed: Adam Henrique, John Gibson, Ondrej Kase, Brandon Montour
Lost: Kevin Bieksa, Derek Ryan, J.T. Brown
Anaheim’s forward depth cost them last season. So it wasn’t surprising to see them address their bottom six this summer. However, it’s fair to question how much better they got. Rowney and Gibbons are both fourth-line calibre forwards. The former will likely be the 13th forward while the latter will probably be a regular member of their fourth line.
Sustr and Schenn are both making close to the NHL minimum. They’ll likely compete for spots on their third pairing. Marcus Pettersson will likely take up one of those spots, so the two right-handed defensemen are probably fighting for that last spot.