Thoughts on the Anaheim Ducks?

Sol

Smile
Jun 30, 2017
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Okay well we all have hunches. I bet few had the hunch that Yakupov would be the kind of blistering failure he has been. And what do you mean by normal? To me not good is another term for bad and that's what you originally said. Do you mean he'll be a standard career starter or do you mean he's bad?

Also I didn't make the argument that Quick was elite. I don't think he's elite either. But he has been well regarded as a very good goalie. And it took him some improvement and internal team improvements to get to his peak. A peak that didn't come till he was 26. And mind you, while not being elite he still backstopped a team to two Stanley Cups. Obviously he wasn't the only reason the Kings won. Carey Price is elite and the Habs aren't anywhere close to winning a cup. So it sounds like you're saying the Ducks can't possibly win a cup with Gibson in net. That's unfair. Even in a playoff run that we can call a struggle (again with a lingering injury affecting him) the Ducks came within a stone's throw of the Finals with him in net until, in a fit of irony, Gibson succumbed to injury and Jonathan Bernier coughed up 4 goals in 16 shots to sink the Ducks in a game they played very well.

Stick to your hunches if you want but the evidence will come in how his career actually plays out.

Look man, kings did great with Quick right off the bat when he joined. But my point is, by the standards people have set for Gibson, he's not gonna get there. He's gonna be an okay goalie. Nothing special IMO.

I'll be honest, I might be unfair, but I just don't see it in him being anywhere close to where people project him to be.
 

Zegs2sendhelp

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Jul 25, 2012
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I do think people tend to sleep on the ducks or forget about them, theyve literally been "declining" for 4 or 5 years now in everyones eyes, but they are constantly winning the division and in the playoffs. They arnt exactly an easy out team either, nashville beat them in 7 and 6, kings beat em in 7, hawks beat em in 7... they def compete with whoever they play against.

I think people think when getz perry and kes slow down the ducks will be at the bottom.. but we have some skilled young forwards, and could avoid a rebuild with our defense and goali.
 

Canucks1096

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Feb 13, 2016
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I do think people tend to sleep on the ducks or forget about them, theyve literally been "declining" for 4 or 5 years now in everyones eyes, but they are constantly winning the division and in the playoffs. They arnt exactly an easy out team either, nashville beat them in 7 and 6, kings beat em in 7, hawks beat em in 7... they def compete with whoever they play against.

I think people think when getz perry and kes slow down the ducks will be at the bottom.. but we have some skilled young forwards, and could avoid a rebuild with our defense and goali.

Getzlaf Perry Kesler are all age 33 32 32. They probably only have a few more years left that can play at a high level. Maybe just 1 year.

Are those young players good enough to take over from Getzlaf Perry Kesler in a few years? Can you tell me some of those players and what do you think there upside is?
 

Paul4587

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Jan 26, 2006
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Getzlaf Perry Kesler are all age 33 32 32. They probably only have a few more years left that can play at a high level. Maybe just 1 year.

Are those young players good enough to take over from Getzlaf Perry Kesler in a few years? Can you tell me some of those players and what do you think there upside is?

You've got Kesler and Getzlafs ages the wrong way around.

Realistically our best hope at developing top line talents from within are Rakell who is already a top line talent and Sam Steel whose upside is maybe a low end 1C but he's still at least 2-3 seasons away from contributing in a top 6 role. Other than that we have Jones and Ritchie who both have top 6 upside and if they can't make it in a scoring role have enough other attributes to make it in a bottom 6 role. Kase is another player with 2nd line upside but unlike Ritchie and Jones may not have enough going for him to carve out a career in a bottom 6 role.

Other guys who could have top 6 upside are Terry, Comtois and Morand.
 

Zegs2sendhelp

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Getzlaf Perry Kesler are all age 33 32 32. They probably only have a few more years left that can play at a high level. Maybe just 1 year.

Are those young players good enough to take over from Getzlaf Perry Kesler in a few years? Can you tell me some of those players and what do you think there upside is?


Well obviously our defense speaks for itself, and the team will kinda be carried by them and Gibson until we can find that top talent forward.

We have Rakell/silf who are top 6 wingers, could argue rakell as a top line winger, and also has the ability to play center if need be.

A guy like Ritchie who still has a lot of potential to be a good power forward... sam steel has been great all year long, and obviously still has a ways to go before hes in nhl but if he continues doing what hes doing and becomes a 1c/2c.... I think well be in a good spot. Max Jones and Comtois are a couple wingers I think will be in the nhl... already have NHL size... both skate well... strong players, to fill in the top 9.


With the team we already have going forward on defense adding those big skaters like Ritchie comtois and jones will make the ducks tough to play against for years to come... what were really lacking is that #1 center... maybe sam steel turns into that but either way we still have some time before we need to replace getzlaf... hes coming off 1 of his better seasons in the NHL.

Also on defense we still have Larsson and Mahura to look forward too.

I agree that they are getting old... but I think getzlaf is the type of player that can stay productive as he ages... id say hes got the longest career out of the 3 remaining, and also the most important of the 3. Perry I'm hoping bounces back this year but he could def be the 1st to really fall hard. I think the biggest issue with Getz/Kesler is that the team has really rode them hard, and I think we need to do a better job finding scoring in our bottom 6, to take some mins off kesler/getzlaf so they can stay healthier.
 

Getzmonster

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Jul 24, 2014
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The drop off down the middle after Keslaf is still a bit too steep for my liking. I think the Ducks need another quality C to take some of the load off of the big two and they'll be all set. Not sure if Steel is that guy or not (yet), also not sure if it can wait until the trade deadline given Kesler's hip situation.
 

Regal

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Mar 12, 2010
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The drop off down the middle after Keslaf is still a bit too steep for my liking. I think the Ducks need another quality C to take some of the load off of the big two and they'll be all set. Not sure if Steel is that guy or not (yet), also not sure if it can wait until the trade deadline given Kesler's hip situation.

Yea, Vermette's really a shell of his former self at this point. If the Ducks can get a good 3C who works well with Perry (assuming a bit of a bounce-back), and can keep the Rakell-Getzlaf-Eaves line together, they would have a pretty impressive top 9.
 

Ducks DVM

sowcufucakky
Jun 6, 2010
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He had a rough go in his first full playoffs and obviously that should halt declarations of top ten or even top 15 star goalie until he can prove himself more. Part of it was jitters, part of it was lack of polish, but part of it was a lingering injury.

But because this young goalie didn't pull a Matt Murray in the playoffs we go all the way to declarations that Gibson is BAD. It happened in the playoffs too. A lot more then. No one cared to remember Gibson had a very strong stretch of games that kept the Ducks in the win column and it certainly wasn't just the defense.

I don't think that's it at all. I think people see that his puck tracking, ability to cross the crease laterally under control, and ability to read dekes are all below average to poor for a goalie one expects to be in the good-to-elite category. His amazing reflexes make up for that, but those deficits lead to a lot of swimming (and fantastic looking saves) that shouldn't ever happen. They also lead to him getting exposed by teams that can efficiently pass the puck across the ice (not even quickly, just efficiently). Also, he's injured, not just once, but repeatedly.

He's got a lot of great qualities, but he's also got huge holes in his game that should ups be improving much faster than they are.
 

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