As October creeps closer, another NHL season creeps with it.
In the 26th of a series of team-by-team summer reviews and season previews, here's a glimpse at the ...
Anaheim Ducks
With four straight Pacific Division titles under their belt, the Ducks entered 2016-17 with high hopes. Their defensive core, headlined by goalie John Gibson, staved off rival playoff contenders on the way to yet another postseason berth. A 30-goal breakout season for Rickard Rakell, coupled with more production from veterans Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler, helped Anaheim boast the best home record (29-8-4) outside of Washington and Pittsburgh. And a late-season tear, including a 14-2-3 finish, not only stole the Pacific from the 103-point Edmonton Oilers but catapulted the Ducks (46-23-13) into the Stanley Cup playoffs, where they swept the Calgary Flames, edged the Oilers and took two games against the Western Conference champion Nashville Predators.
Downed before the Stanley Cup Final for the eighth time since winning it all in 2007 (they missed the postseason in 2010 and '12), the Ducks weren't without a powerful close to 2016-17 but still failed to get over the hump in the conference finals. And with that, general manager Rob Murray stayed aggressive over the summer to retain the pillars of Anaheim's veteran unit, sending the message that the Ducks, in Year 2 of Randy Carlyle's second stint as coach, are once again aiming to go big or go home.
The moves
Key additions: G Ryan Miller (Canucks)
Key losses: D Clayton Stoner (Golden Knights), D Shea Theodore (trade with Golden Knights), G Jonathan Bernier (Avalanche), F Nate Thompson (Senators)
Unless you also count extra skaters Dennis Rasmussen and Francois Beauchemin, the Ducks didn't add a whole lot to their lineup for 2017-18. But they also, perhaps more importantly, ensured that their losses would not cripple the defensive foundation that allowed them to surrender just 200 goals and coast to another division title in 2016-17. Theodore was a good prospect to cough up, but in the name of Vegas taking Stoner in June's expansion draft, it clearly conveyed Murray's plan to keep the Ducks' top blue-liners inside the organization and try to capitalize on the team's short-term championship window. Bernier, meanwhile, won't likely be missed after his relief of Gibson in the conference finals, bowing out for a sturdier reserve option in Miller.
Amid the team's fight to hold on to defensive talent were some smart re-signings -- an eight-year, $52 million extension for Cam Fowler and a three-year deal for former Dallas Stars forward Patrick Eaves, a deadline acquisition. Fowler's big-money pact is a little more on the riskier side, but if the young D-man progresses as expected, Anaheim could have a steal down the road. Eaves, meanwhile, makes for an unofficial offseason addition on the wing after a superb trial run down the stretch.
The verdict
How much longer can the Ducks reign supreme in the Pacific Division? With each passing year, Anaheim's core gets a little older and, now, it's all but a foregone conclusion that Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers will be Stanley Cup contenders. The best thing the Ducks have going for them, though, is the same thing they've had going for them during the extent of their five-year run as division winners: Defense. Things have changed here and there over the years, but Gibson is still in net and the physicality of pillars like Kesler is still a driving force of this unit. Even Brandon Montour, who saw increased playing time in the postseason when Fowler and Kevin Bieksa went down, finally found himself a prominent role on the blue line for a team that is built around exactly that.
There's enough youth, between Montour, Fowler and Josh Manson, to be confident about Anaheim's prospects beyond 2017-18 on the defensive front. But the rest of the group is anchored by 32-year-old leaders in Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler, which doesn't necessarily mean the Ducks are doomed for a downfall as much as it means the Ducks are annually inching further from guaranteed trips to the conference finals. Here's the deal: Murray did a heck of a job this offseason keeping the band together and giving Carlyle a group with legitimate Stanley Cup playoffs potential, especially now that there's more insurance behind Gibson and the team has overcome its Game 7 woes. But Edmonton's rise, the additional Pacific Division competition and Anaheim's inability to take that final step in the postseason still cast resounding shadows over any hopes of capturing the Cup.
