Speculation: How do you feel about the rebuild, and how confident are you in the team's direction?

[MMC]

Just wanted to get an overall thoughts on how you all feel the rebuild is going (yes, I think it's time we call it a rebuild), and how confident you guys are in our management's moves so far and if you feel we are headed in the right direction. This is something I plan on revisiting once there's new stuff talk about, such as after the season, offseason, trade deadline, draft, and maybe after prospect events or major milestones for our young players. I feel these next few seasons will be rough but I'm excited to see our new young core, hopefully including some elite franchise players, solidify themselves as NHLers over the next few years.

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[MMC]

This past season was pretty hard to watch as none of our young players really produced anything noteworthy at the NHL level all season, but I'm excited to see how Terry and Steel play next year. It's time to prove they are who this organization thinks they are. Overall I don't mind the swaps of Ritchie and Kase for Heinen and Milano, even though I miss both players. I am encouraged though, that we are trending towards acquiring young talent instead of vets, acquiring all of Milano, Heinen, Andersson, and another 1st rounder this year. I am excited to see us add to our talent pool in the upcoming draft, but I'm not expecting many new players to debut at the NHL level yet. It's time for Comtois, Steel, Terry, Djoos, Larsson, and Guhle to prove they have what it takes to play at the NHL level. I'm hoping we add more young talent outside of the draft for next year's roster as well

 

[Gliff]

Not confident.

The rebuild on the fly works when you have franchise players already (Getzlaf and Perry).
Rebuilding is hard to do without high picks when the thing you are missing can only be found at the top of the draft 95% of the time.

Even if Zegras turns out to be a #1C, the Ducks still need another star level player.
Zegras is the only prospect the Ducks have that has top line forward or top pairing potential.

 

[Trojans86]

So much of the rebuild depends on how the young guys plan out. I feel like we are at a point now where we will steadily improve as the kids develop but I dont think we have the core pieces to be a cup contender. We look like we are heading toward a middle of the road team. I'd like to see us get another top pairing d, an elite winger and then pray that Zegras becomes a 1c.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Not confident. I'd say i'm more confident in our rivals the LA Kings in their rebuild effort.
LA is gonna be a very fast paced team to play against in the future. Turcotte and Stutzle gives them alot of speed.
The Ducks likely miss out on a forward with both skill and speed and settle on a consolation prize like Rossi or Perfetti. I believe Raymond is gone at #4 or #5.

I feel like Perfetti and Rossi are both mediocre skaters like Steel, they definitely won't be blowing by teams with speed.
We don't need another Steel like skater in an undersized package.

 

[Kariya 9]

I don't like the lack of commitment to the rebuild. We're trying to inject youth while keeping a "core" of Silfverberg, Rakell, Henrique, Fowler, Lindholm and elder Getzlaf. Not much of a core at all. Those players (sans Lindholm and Getzlaf) should be traded for future assets.

 

[DavidBL]

Overall im okay with where we are. People talk about how we need star players but just a couple years ago LV got all the way to the cup finals with no super stars to speak of.

 

[Trojans86]

Not confident. I'd say i'm more confident in our rivals the LA Kings in their rebuild effort.
LA is gonna be a very fast paced team to play against in the future. Turcotte and Stutzle gives them alot of speed.
The Ducks likely miss out on a forward with both skill and speed and settle on a consolation prize like Rossi or Perfetti. I believe Raymond is gone at #4 or #5.

I feel like Perfetti and Rossi are both mediocre skaters like Steel, they definitely won't be blowing by teams with speed.
We don't need another Steel like skater in an undersized package.

If we wouldve committed to the rebuild 2 years ago we would probably have guys comparable to Turcotte and Stutzle and a few more 1st rounders to go with it. That's why I wouldnt mind trading guys like Rakell and Silf to get another top pick and help us tank next year for another lottery pick.

 

[alcolol]

Anaheim's front office needs to embrace a full rebuild. Only four Ducks -- all at least 27 years old -- finished the season with more than 30 points. Our three best defensemen are cut from the same cloth, which is another way of saying none are threats offensively. Our franchise goalie posted about a 3.0 GAA and .900 SV%.

Even if you pencil in improvements from rookies such as Steel, Terry, and Comtois (assuming Zegras plays in the AHL), will those improvements and the continued contributions from the likes of our older core and newly acquired players outpace the improvements from the other bottom-feeding teams!? My guess is no. The worst is likely yet to come.

 

[Gliff]

I don't like the lack of commitment to the rebuild. We're trying to inject youth while keeping a "core" of Silfverberg, Rakell, Henrique, Fowler, Lindholm and elder Getzlaf. Not much of a core at all. Those players (sans Lindholm and Getzlaf) should be traded for future assets.

I agree we should have committed more, but there is no need to trade all of those guys. Fowler is locked up longterm to a fair contract and is only like 27. No reason to move him.

Overall im okay with where we are. People talk about how we need star players but just a couple years ago LV got all the way to the cup finals with no super stars to speak of.

Karlsson had more points then any Duck not named Getzlaf, Perry, or Selanne has had in any year since Andy Mac in 2006... How can you say they didn't have a star player lol.
Not to mention they had incredible depth that didn't rely on stars. That is pretty hard to pull off for the long run though.

 

[McDonald19]

To echo many other comments...ownership and management need to commit to a full rebuild.

It’s also tough to draft franchise altering talent without getting lucky in the lottery.

 

[McDonald19]

Karlsson had more points then any Duck not named Getzlaf, Perry, or Selanne has had in any year since Andy Mac in 2006... How can you say they didn't have a star player lol.
Not to mention they had incredible depth that didn't rely on stars. That is pretty hard to pull off for the long run though.

Agreed, Vegas is a bad example. They were stacked with high end depth and caught lightning in a bottle as a first year expansion team in a city which just experienced a massive tragedy.

 

[Bergey37]

Confident about what? Being a good team or looking like a "Cup contender" on paper? How do you define "Cup contender" anyway?

I am confident that we are on the way to being a regular playoff participant again, and that's what I want. I am confident that we have a lot of young talent that hasn't nearly reached it's potential yet, and I want to see it developed. I want to see us acquire a scoring FW who can help do that. I want to see us in the dance year after year, where we at least have a shot at going all the way; because TEAMS win playoff series - stockpiles of draft picks don't.

I don't know what our kids will look like in 3 years, but I trust the guys in the organization who have a way better handle on that than I ever will. I DO think it's too early to pull the plug on them in favor of more picks, which can only be gotten at the expense of the veterans our kids need to learn from.

I am confident that the org is trying to build a culture where the club ices a group of players who know their jobs and work together to do them as best they can, night in and night out.

And who knows - if one or two of our kids pans out like a 2nd round pick named Patrice Bergeron did, then we can be a Cup contender on paper, as well as for real.

 

[AngelDuck]

In what way is Turcotte a better piece than Zegras?

the LA Kings have been rebuilding twice as long as the ducks. They were flailing away the year the ducks were in the western conference finals. Some context is needed if you think they’re on a better path

 

[Dirk316]

The rebuild fits BM to a tee mediocre.
No top line prospects, mostly undersized 3rd liners and no top end Dmen prospects

 

[DavidBL]

Confident about what? Being a good team or looking like a "Cup contender" on paper? How do you define "Cup contender" anyway?

I am confident that we are on the way to being a regular playoff participant again, and that's what I want. I am confident that we have a lot of young talent that hasn't nearly reached it's potential yet, and I want to see it developed. I want to see us acquire a scoring FW who can help do that. I want to see us in the dance year after year, where we at least have a shot at going all the way; because TEAMS win playoff series - stockpiles of draft picks don't.

I don't know what our kids will look like in 3 years, but I trust the guys in the organization who have a way better handle on that than I ever will. I DO think it's too early to pull the plug on them in favor of more picks, which can only be gotten at the expense of the veterans our kids need to learn from.

I am confident that the org is trying to build a culture where the club ices a group of players who know their jobs and work together to do them as best they can, night in and night out.

And who knows - if one or two of our kids pans out like a 2nd round pick named Patrice Bergeron did, then we can be a Cup contender on paper, as well as for real.

This is in line with my thoughts as well. At the end of the day, we do not know what we have in our prospects and I understand the desire for top 5 picks but just because our prospects weren't selected in the top 5 doesn't mean they wont become star players.

I agree we should have committed more, but there is no need to trade all of those guys. Fowler is locked up longterm to a fair contract and is only like 27. No reason to move him.



Karlsson had more points then any Duck not named Getzlaf, Perry, or Selanne has had in any year since Andy Mac in 2006... How can you say they didn't have a star player lol.
Not to mention they had incredible depth that didn't rely on stars. That is pretty hard to pull off for the long run though.

Agreed, Vegas is a bad example. They were stacked with high end depth and caught lightning in a bottle as a first year expansion team in a city which just experienced a massive tragedy.

I am going to have to disagree with you two here. Vegas went into that season with what was considered a bottom feeder team. They fed off their underdog hype and the fact that they had great depth and a understanding of what it took for a team like that to win. No one would point at that team going into that year and say they had a super star player in W. Karlsson, or even his 2 line mates. They were good, middle 6 players. I don't think a guy like Rakell is very different than William Karlsson, yet we treat Rakell like he is expendable and not worth keeping. If Karlsson is a star, so is Rakell, and I am fine with that. Guys like Silf and Rico aren't much different then players like Perron or Neal. Can Getzlaf regroup to be a a RS or JM who combined with Karlsson for their dynamic top line. I'll take our top 3 D over the guys LV had on their blue line. Why do we think BM has talked about leaving Eakins out to dry with his roster. There were too many kids on the roster. Something people around here complained about all season. That the kids were "gifted spots" and put into a position where they were all over their heads. Vegas didn't have a Hughes, or Lafreniere or Byfield or Dahlin or a Seguin or Hall or Doughty. They won by committee. I think we could learn a lot from that LV team, a team where everyone knew their role and played together toward a specific game plan. I don't think a season like that is out unobtainable for us. Now I concede that we need some of our Kids to step up into more prominent roles but that will be true of every team. Karlsson was a second rounder. Why can't Steel or MC reach those heights?

 

[Leonardo87]

Hasn’t been too good. Not getting a Top 5 pick really just goes to show why tanking isn’t the answer either. I think trades need to be made if the kids don’t take the next step. They gave up on Ritchie and Kase, and now trying to put a band aid on a broken leg with acquiring Milano and Heinen. Need at least two top line players and not all 2nd/3rd line players. Hopefully Zegras fills one of those spots.

I do have high hopes for Comtois and really wanted more from Terry and Steel. Jones and Sherwood I feel should be in the AHL or kept on the 4th line. I still think the D when healthy is above average in this league, and maybe making some of these additions can find another Top 4D within. Need to fix special teams, especially the PP, and need a QB for the PP.

I still don’t think they need to pull the plug and go full rebuild, but another bottom 10 season think they will anyway.

 

[Teemu Salami]

In what way is Turcotte a better piece than Zegras?

the LA Kings have been rebuilding twice as long as the ducks. They were flailing away the year the ducks were in the western conference finals. Some context is needed if you think they’re on a better path

I agree with this, but I completely understand why, and to an extent agree with people about the Kings prospect pool being top tier ahead of ours. The hype stems from players they appear to have found already such as Thomas while getting a haul of guys that appear to be “hits” from last year. Now it’s like goddamn they’re about to get anyone of their choice other than Lafreniere.

their pool is very deep

However we haven’t seen any of their hits struggle at the NHL level. Hype starts dying out when the development curve isn’t instantaneous because then they aren’t living up to what they just did in jr’s, europe etc.

We hit on Steel at 30, he’s going to be constantly learning and growing, like Rakell for example, and if he and the staff work together he will land at whatever his individual ceiling is. That could vary greatly as with all prospects; You can only hypothesize trajectory and work with the player first hand from film to physical.

 

[Kariya 9]

I agree we should have committed more, but there is no need to trade all of those guys. Fowler is locked up longterm to a fair contract and is only like 27. No reason to move him.



Karlsson had more points then any Duck not named Getzlaf, Perry, or Selanne has had in any year since Andy Mac in 2006... How can you say they didn't have a star player lol.
Not to mention they had incredible depth that didn't rely on stars. That is pretty hard to pull off for the long run though.

Maybe not all of them. But two? Three? Yeah

 

[Paul4587]

I agree we should have committed more, but there is no need to trade all of those guys. Fowler is locked up longterm to a fair contract and is only like 27. No reason to move him.
.

Fowler will be 29 at the beginning of next season and is signed for another 6 years. It’s a fair cap hit right now but term wise it’s anything but team friendly. I would jump at the chance to get out of that contract.

 

[MMC]

I would like Lindholm to be extended long term as soon as possible. Then I'd shop both Fowler and Manson.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Is there really a need to commit to a "full rebuild", as in moreso than they're already doing? Like Zegras last year, we're in line to add another great piece and this is the second straight year where they've had three picks in the top 40. Seems like it's working well enough.

Considering this is year 1 of the rebuild or retool or whatever label you wanna put on it, I'd say its going pretty well. If/when some of these young guys arrive, we're in a much better position to start to turn things around than others, and some of those big tickets start coming off the books soon. Might luck out with the flat cap too, that way a couple guys can get extended at a lower rate and we're in a better position once things start moving up again.

 

[AngelDuck]

I agree with this, but I completely understand why, and to an extent agree with people about the Kings prospect pool being top tier ahead of ours. The hype stems from players they appear to have found already such as Thomas while getting a haul of guys that appear to be “hits” from last year. Now it’s like goddamn they’re about to get anyone of their choice other than Lafreniere.

their pool is very deep

However we haven’t seen any of their hits struggle at the NHL level. Hype starts dying out when the development curve isn’t instantaneous because then they aren’t living up to what they just did in jr’s, europe etc.

We hit on Steel at 30, he’s going to be constantly learning and growing, like Rakell for example, and if he and the staff work together he will land at whatever his individual ceiling is. That could vary greatly as with all prospects; You can only hypothesize trajectory and work with the player first hand from film to physical.

their pool is better than ours for the simple reason that they have been bad for longer than we have. If you subtract Vilardi from them the pools are almost dead even.

im not seeing any reason why Akil Thomas is a better prospect than Max Comtois.
Turcotte and Zegras is an obvious wash. As is Anderson Dolan, Kupari and whoever else with Terry and Steel and Co.
Bjornfort was a nice pick.
And I’m not sold on Kaliyev until he does it in the Ahl or NHL. I’ve seen that movie before. I trust our scouts picking Tracey there.

The ducks just need to hit on this pick badly. The Kings lucked out big time getting to pick second.

let’s be honest, both teams are a long ways away and have an insane amount of maybes. The biggest hurdle for the Kings is that they have no NHL players under 30 that hold realistic value in a trade.

the ducks with Gibson, Lindholm, and Rakell are in better shape there

 

[Paul4587]

I would like Lindholm to be extended long term as soon as possible. Then I'd shop both Fowler and Manson.

I fear Lindholms next deal will be bad. He’s going to be 28 and will want number 1 Dman money and term. Hope I’m wrong and we can get him on a team friendly deal as I don’t see Lindholm ageing well. I think there will be a heavy drop off in his late 20s/early 30s.

 

[bsu]

I fear Lindholms next deal will be bad. He’s going to be 28 and will want number 1 Dman money and term. Hope I’m wrong and we can get him on a team friendly deal as I don’t see Lindholm ageing well. I think there will be a heavy drop off in his late 20s/early 30s.

Lindholm will age better than any defensemen we have because he has hockey IQ unlike every other defense we have