I want a top 3 pick, but short of major injuries, I can’t see us being worse than Buffalo, Arizona, Seattle or Columbus. If we are, that is likely a real bad sign for our future as Zegras, Drysdale, terry, steel, jones ect may not be processing at the rate we need them to. Just gotta hope we get better quickly and compete or we get lucky in lottery.
The 30 year olds in Manson, Henrique, Silf and Fowler(30 in december) may show decline.
If we were to look at progress of the young players conservatively it would seem Jones, Steel and Lundestrom are the least likely ones to improve that much.
Lundestrom will probably improve defensively with more experience but not much on the offensive side.
Don't feel confident about Steel or Jones becoming more than 3rd liners.
I see Zegras, Comtois, Terry and Drysdale as the most likely ones to improve.
Terry did improve last season, just needs to be more consistent + stronger and i think he'll head in the right direction.
I think Zegras, Comtois, Terry and Drysdale could have great seasons and the Ducks still finish with a top5 pick because Jones/Steel/Lundestrom still don't produce.
And the veterans only get more injury prone as they age and i imagine one of Lindholm, Manson or Fowler miss a ton of games which sinks the team down more.
Gibson in tank mode doesn't help either.