Don’t look now, but the Anaheim Ducks are in a great position to reach the postseason in 2023.
On Friday, the Ducks made a big splash by signing defenseman John Klingberg. The deal is only for one season, but it brings the top defenseman on the open market to Anaheim.
That move, along with the additions of Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome from a couple of weeks ago, gives Ducks fans reasons to be excited. We all know that this club possesses young talent, like Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras, but now the Ducks have additional weapons.
With just a handful of players over the age of 30 and ten picks in the first three rounds of the next two NHL drafts, the Ducks have done a great job positioning themselves for sustained success in the near future. With that said, I think they could sneak into the playoffs this season.
The Ducks are primed to return to the postseason in 2023.
It seems that the Pacific Division will once again be the NHL’s weakest division. That’s not to say that there aren’t six teams or so that will contend for a playoff berth, but there are few teams in the Pacific that I think are locks to get in.
One would expect a healthy Vegas Golden Knights team to get in, but given their salary cap issues, it’s hard to know who they can keep or add in order to find success that they were unable to find a year ago.
The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers both reached the postseason in 2022, but Calgary lost a pair of 100-point scorers, and Edmonton has roster spots to fill and no money to do it. Will either club be complete enough to return to the playoffs?
My favorite team in the division is the Los Angeles Kings. They added Kevin Fiala and will hopefully have Drew Doughty and Viktor Arvidsson back from injuries this season. LA would be my pick to win the division right now.
The Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks have both improved, but I don’t like either of those teams as much as the Ducks after what Anaheim has been able to accomplish so far this offseason. The San Jose Sharks will not be relevant in the playoff conversation.
A case could be made that the Ducks are a year away, but with Klingberg, Vatrano, and Strome being added to an already impressive group of young stars, I think 2023 will mark Anaheim’s return to playoff hockey.