Ducks Dynasty

[kinsmen7]

First off, my apologies for starting a 3rd dynasty on here. I was unable to really settle on anything, but I think this is the one!

Plan:
-Sim to the trade deadline and figure out what needs to be done to set this team up for success moving forward.
-Sim to the playoffs and *hope* to get in.

With the Ducks reportedly getting close to hiring a new GM, this seems like the perfect time to step in and take over. I wish this game had a "Start today" function, similar to NBA 2K, but this will have to do.

-Allstar
-6 minute periods
-AlTito's slider set with shot accuracy and goaltending sliders adjusted to attempt to dwarf scoring a bit.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Lots of work leading up to trade deadline for new GM

Verbeek has tough decisions to make on Manson, Rakell, Lindholm

With the trade deadline set for noon tomorrow, and the Ducks holding on to the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, new GM Pat Verbeek is in the unenviable position of having to decide whether to mortgage the future and buy, or potentially set the team up for long term success by selling off some of their best trade chips.

Most notable among expiring contracts this offseason will be Hampus Lindholm. The 28 year old defenceman has been a rock for the Ducks since being drafted 6th overall in 2012. If the Ducks chose to sell, Lindholm will have a number of suitors. Many consider him one of the most underrated defencemen in the game.

Another player that has had a long tenure with the Ducks is Rickard Rakell. At one point, the two time 30+ goal scorer had what was considered one of the most team friendly contracts in the sport. Things have fallen off a bit, mainly due to injuries over the past few years, but Rakell still provides a veteran top 6 rental option for cap strapped teams.

Finally, there's Josh Manson. Analytics haven't always painted a favorable picture of the 30 year old right handed defenceman, but he has been a rock for the Ducks throughout. The stay at home dman seems like he'll have a boom or bust market at the deadline.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Trade deadline recap: Anaheim Ducks

Verbeek plays buyer/seller at deadline

Anaheim: Hampus Lindholm, Nick Deslauriers
New York Islanders: 2022 1st, Aatu Raty

Pat Verbeek kicked off the day in a major way, trading Hampus Lindholm to the Islanders. New York, who currently sits in 3rd place in the Metro division, looks like a team that would like to keep Lindholm around for a while.

Coming the other way, the Ducks nab a 1st round pick in the upcoming draft, and former mock-draft headliner Aatu Raty. The Finnish center was expected to be a high pick in 2021, before a dreadful performance as an underager in the Finnish Liiga. The Islanders ended up taking Raty in the 2nd round, and have seen him jump to the top of their prospect pool

Anaheim: Rickard Rakell
Dallas: Wyatt Johnson, Andrej Sekera

The top team in the West added some depth to their lineup, picking up Rickard Rakell. Heading the other way, the 23rd overall selection in the 2021 draft, Wyatt Johnson. Johnson, a center, is currently a top offensive producer for the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL. The addition of Sekera to the trade was likely what made Johnson available, as it freed up a bit of cap space for the Stars to potentially continue to upgrade their lineup.

Anaheim: Kevin Shattenkirk, Max Jones, Josh Mahura 2023 2nd
Vegas: Reilly Smith, Nick Hague

An absolute surprise out of Vegas, as the Ducks turn around and do a little buying of their own. With a deep forward core, cap issues, and a hole on the right hand side of their D-core, Vegas shipped off Smith and young defenceman Nick Hague, shedding a bit of salary and adding 3 pieces that will immediately join their lineup.

While moving Smith wasn't a huge surprise, the addition of the 23 year old Hague was a shocker. Hague will likely step into the Ducks top 4.

Anaheim: Jack Perbix, 2023 4th round pick
Arizona: Dmitrij Jaskin, Anton Stralman

5 minutes before the deadline, the Ducks swung a deal with the Coyotes, acquiring veterans Dmitrij Jaskin and Anton Stralman to fill out the lineup.

Jaskin will bring a physical presence to the bottom 6 for the Ducks, while Stralman likely steps in on the 3rd pair to eat some d-zone minutes.

Perbix, the 21 year old former 4th rounder, is currently attending the University of Minnesota.

Manson stays put: Plenty of surprises out of Anaheim this morning, but perhaps most surprising is the fact that they held on to Josh Manson. There was reportedly plenty of interest, but the price tag was high for the veteran defenceman. He'll remain with the Ducks for their potential run at a playoff spot.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Ducks loses season finale in overtime, clinch 2nd wildcard spot

At 40-38-4, Anaheim has the lowest points percentage of any playoff team

The Anaheim Ducks are returning to the playoffs. The Ducks, who finish the regular season in 20th place overall, took advantage of a top heavy Western Conference, to nab the final wildcard position.

While it wasn't always pretty, the Ducks finished in a three way tie for 8th place in the West, but jumped into the playoffs based on their regulation win total.

Rookie Trevor Zegras finished the season second on the team in scoring, finishing with 65 points in 78 games, leading all rookie scorers in the league, and setting himself up for a potential run at the Calder trophy.

Veteran Adam Henrique enjoyed a bounce back season, spending the majority of the year playing on Ryan Getzlaf's wing, picking up a team leading 68 points.

Rookie defenceman Jamie Drysdale may not have put up a lot of points (28), but is quickly becoming a well-rounded defenceman, playing in all situations, and seeing a big increase in his ice time after Kevin Shattenkirk was moved at the deadline.

We'd be remiss if we didn't include Ducks all-star goalie John Gibson here-While the win/loss total wasn't great, Gibson had an outstanding year behind a somewhat shaky Ducks defence.

Playoff preview: The Ducks remain in Dallas for a re-match against the Stars on Monday night. Anaheim went 0-2-1 against the Stars this season.

Isles suffer major collapse: The New York Islanders, sitting in 3rd place in the metro division at the trade deadline, had an absolutely dreadful final 20 games, going 4-13-2, finishing 21st overall in the NHL. The pick acquired in the Hampus Lindholm trade is now in the draft lottery, and will be a valuable asset for the Ducks moving forward.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Gibson comes up clutch for Ducks in game 1

Rico the hero in overtime for Anaheim

Anaheim 1 @ Dallas 0

John Gibson out duelled Jake Oettinger in game one of the first round playoff series. Oettinger, who helped lead the Stars to first place in the Western Conference, made 36 saves for the Stars, but came out on the losing end when Adam Henrique scored at 7:20 of the first overtime period.

Gibson, who finished with 32 saves, made a game saving, desperation toe save just moments before the Ducks sealed the victory.

No rest for the wicked: The Stars and Ducks jump right back into action on Tuesday night in Dallas.

Quotables: "Gibby got us here, and is showing us that he'll do whatever it takes to keep us here. We may not always be the best team on the ice, but he doesn't quit." -Ducks Captain Ryan Getzlaf

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Ducks score early, hold on to beat Stars in game 2

Comtois scores first career hat-trick

Anaheim 5 @ Dallas 3

Anaheim jumped out to a 3-0 lead less than 5 minutes into game 2, and held on to squeak out an early 2-0 series lead in Dallas.

Maxime Comtois scored twice and assisted on a Cam Fowler bomb from the point in his first two shifts, then added his 3rd of the game in the second period.

Fowler, who has taken over as the leader of the Ducks defence core since Hampus Lindholm was traded, also added an assist.

With the score 4-1 midway through the second period, Stars forward Alex Radulov potted his first two of the series within 1:15 of each other to bring the Stars back within one goal.

With the Stars pressing throughout the third period, Adam Henrique potted his second of the playoffs with less than five minutes remaining, to put the game on ice.

Ducks goaltender John Gibson wasn't quite as steady in this one, but still made the big stops when he had to, making several acrobatic saves to keep the Ducks ahead in the 3rd.

A welcome break: As the two teams head for SoCal for game three, Dallas will be looking to regroup and get back into the series on Thursday.

Quotables: "Comer came to play for us tonight. He brought his usual physical presense, and created a number of chances. Stealing two games on the road is huge for us." -Head Coach Dallas Eakins

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Shocker in Anaheim, Ducks lead series 3-0

Ducks come back from two goal deficit, win 4-2

Anaheim 4 Vs. Dallas 2

The Anaheim Ducks are proving to be a fun surprise in the West. After Alexander Radulov put the Stars up 2-0 with his third goal of the series, Anaheim went into the 1st intermission looking like the team that stumbled through the entire season.

Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks captain, came out in the second period looking more like the Getzy of the early 2010's, rather than the guy who is in the twilight of his career.

Getzlaf came out looking possessed for his first three shifts of the second, throwing around his body, and controlling the play for the Ducks. On his fourth, he stepped around Stars defenceman Miro Heiskenen, and then used John Klingberg as a screen, picking the top corner on Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger to cut the lead in half.

In the 3rd, Getzlaf continued to be the star, as he threw a massive hit on Tyler Seguin in the Ducks zone, stole the puck, and then fired a 120 foot breakaway pass to Reilly Smith, who tied the game.

Moments later, Getzlaf knocked Jamie Benn off the puck, which was picked up by Adam Henrique, who scored his 3rd of the series to give the Ducks the lead.

The Stars pulled Oettinger with a little over one minute remaining, but this time it was Nick Hague who stole the puck, and scored an empty netter from the redline.

Next up: The Ducks host the Stars in game 4 on Saturday night with a chance to be the first team to move on so far in the playoffs.

Quotables: "Leaders lead. That's what Getzy did for us tonight. He gave us hell after the first period, and came out flying. It's easy to follow a guy like that." -Ducks rookie Trevor Zegras

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Ducks sweep Stars

Captain Getz scores in OT to cap off thrilling sweep

Ryan Getzlaf did it again. The grizzled veteran continued his dominant series by knocking in a rebound late in overtime, to lead the Ducks to a sweep of the top team in the Western Confernce through the regular season.

The Ducks never trailed in game 4, as Trevor Zegras scored his first career playoff goal on the powerplay to put them up 1-0 midway through the first period.

In the second, Joe Pavelski caught the Ducks defence napping, and tied the game on a beautiful two on one. Adam Henrique would reply shortly after, putting the Ducks up again.

With the game sitting at 2-1, and the minutes counting down in the 3rd, and an empty net behind him, Stars veteran Luke Glendenning, not know for his goal scoring, potted a rebound to tie the game at 2-2, with less than a minute left.

With OT looming, Ducks youngster Isac Lundestrom looked like he had a chance to finish it, breaking in on Jake Oettinger with 10 seconds left. Oettinger made a sprawling save that would delay the inevitable.

A back and fourth overtime period saw some outstanding goaltending from Oettinger and John Gibson, but with less than 2 minutes left, a rebound on a seemingly harmless Cam Fowler shot from the point was picked up by Getzlaf, who put the series on ice.

Next up: To be determined. The Ducks were the only team to sweep their first round series.

Quotables: "The underdog narrative is overplayed. We knew coming in that we were going to be a tough team to play against, and we proved it all series." -Ducks veteran Adam Henrique

[johnstone1987]

Re: Ducks Dynasty

Way to sweep the First Round and get some momentum going.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Recapping the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Top 3 teams in regular season eliminated in opening round

Western Conference:

Colorado: 4
Winnipeg: 2

Colorado bounced back with 3 straight wins to take their series against Winnipeg in 6. They'll face the Anaheim Ducks in the second round.

Aneheim: 4
Dallas: 0

Tighter than the end results look, the Ducks sweep past the top regular season team in the West. They move on to face a tough Avalanche team.

Calgary: 4
Vancouver: 1

The only all-Canadian matchup in the first round, Calgary skips past Vancouver, and will match up against Vegas in round 2.

Vegas: 4
Minnesota: 3

Vegas came in as a likely contender, but the Minnesota Wild gave them all they could handle. Vegas will play Calgary in round 2.

Eastern Conference

Washington: 4
New Jersey: 2

A Metro Division clash between a strong veteran lineup, and a young talent laden club ends up going to the vets. Alex Ovechkin picks up 7(!!!) goals in 6 games.

Philadelphia: 4
Pittsburgh: 3

A heartbreaker for the Penguins organization. Could this be the last time we see Crosby, Malkin and Letang playing together? The talented trio combined for 32 points, but couldn't drag the Pens over the finish line. Playoff stud Jake Guentzel also picked up 12 points for the Pens. Philly heads to Washington for round 2.

Florida: 4
Toronto: 2

Another year, another first round exit for the Leafs. Major changes could be on the horizon for the organization that hasn't made it out of the first round since 2004. The Leafs finished 2nd overall in the league's regular season standings, but faced a potentially unfair first round test against the team that finished right behind them.

Montreal: 4
Tampa Bay: 3

Another year, another hilarious upset for the Habs. Tampa, who finished the regular season 6 points clear of the Leafs for the Presidents trophy, couldn't finish Montreal off, as the Canadiens survive the first round. They'll stick around in Florida to face the Panthers.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Round two preview, Avs vs. Ducks

If round one showed us anything, it's that you can throw the results of the regular season out the window when it comes playoff time.

A full team effort by the Ducks helped them dispatch the Stars in their first playoff appearance since a first round loss in 2018.

When it comes to the Colorado, they come in after a 6 game series win over Winnipeg. They also swept the three game season series against the Ducks, outscoring them 12-3.

Colorado boasts a formidable offence, young, extremely talented defence, and an elite goaltender. Names like MacKinnon, Landeskog, Rantanen, Kadri, Burakovsky, Byram, Girard, and Kuemper lead this team, and that's all without mentioning perrenial Norris contender Cale Makar.

It's another tough opponent for the Ducks, but that's how it works in the Playoffs. While Dallas may have been the top team in the West for the regular season, Colorado boasts a much deeper lineup.

Key to the series: John Gibson. Colorado can match up with just about every facet of the Ducks game, and on paper are more skilled, tougher, and boast a much more talent laden lineup than the Ducks. One area that the Ducks might be better though-In net. John Gibson was one of the stars of the first round, going 4-0-0, with a 1.69 GAA, and .922 save percentage. If the Ducks can keep Colorado out of the high percentage scoring areas, they might be able to keep it close.

ESPN predicts second round results:
Colorado: 4
Anaheim: 1

Vegas: 4
Calgary: 2

Washington: 4
Philadelphia: 2

Florida: 4
Montreal: 2

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty


Ducks announce Game 1 lineup

Team sticks with what got them to this point

Comtois-Zegras-Terry
Henrique-Getzlaf-Smith
Milano-Lundestrom-Silfverberg
Jaskin-Groulx-Steel

Fowler-Drysdale
Hague-Manson
Sekera-Stralman

Gibson
Stolarz

Powerplay heating up? After an 0-10 start through 3 games, the Ducks went 2/8 on the PP in game 4 against Dallas. The powerplay didn't look particularly out of sorts at any point in the series.

PK benefitting from Groulx Benoit-Olivier Groulx was a surprise addition to the Ducks lineup for round 1, and played a pivotal role, mainly killing penalties for the Ducks. His play, alongside Isac Lundestrom helped limit the Stars chances through the series. Veterans Ryan Getlaf and Jakub Silfverberg also logged some serious PK minutes, but Groulx showed that he's an NHL ready body on the hockeys biggest stage.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Breaking: World Juniors to re-start after Stanley Cup Finals

Holiday tradition was cancelled due to Covid

It looks like the Ducks pipeline will get their chance at Junior hockey glory after all. When the World Junior Hockey Championship was cancelled in January, it was a big blow to the potential development for a number of Ducks prospects.

The tournament, a catapult to the NHL for players like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, will now occur immediately following the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, and will conclude prior to the NHL Entry Draft.

This will be a great final opportunity for scouts to get a look at some of the top draft eligible prospects in the game, potential first round picks like Simon Nemec, David Jiricek, Shane Wright, Joakim Kemell, among a number of others slated to play.

Barring injury, rosters submitted in December will remain the same for the tournament.

Ducks in the tournament:

USA: Ian Moore, Sasha Pastujov
Canada: Mason McTavish, Olen Zellweger

Eligible, but not attending: Ducks GM Pat Verbeek immediately shut down any thoughts of potentially sending Jamie Drysdale if there was a spot on the Canadian team that opened up because of injury. "Jamie is an NHL defenceman, and has put a lot of miles on this year. We're hoping for a long playoff run, and he'll be getting a well deserved break when we're done."

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Ducks can't hold lead, fall to Avs in Game 1

Newhook scores two, Gibby struggles

Anaheim: 3 @ Colorado: 4

A rare poor performance from John Gibson, who allowed 4 goals on 18 shots allowed the Colorado Avalanche to jump to a 1-0 series lead.

A back and forth first two periods with goals from Reilly Smith, Alex Newhook, Jakub Silfverberg and Nazem Kadri had the game tied at 2-2 going into the third.

Two quick Avalanche goals, scored by Newhook and Andre Burakovsky gave the Avs a 4-2 lead, and while Cam Fowler scored late to get the Ducks within 1, it wasn't enough, as the Avalanche took game 1.

Right back at it: Game 2 goes tomorrow night in Colorado

Quotables: "Sometimes we rely on Gibby too much. We know how great he is, and he's always there for us, but when he struggles we need to step up for him." -Ducks assistant Captain Josh Manson

[kinsmen7]

Re: Ducks Dynasty



Ducks bounce back, thump Avalanche in Game 2

Five different goal scorers for Ducks

The goal for the Ducks going in to game two was to leave Colorado with a split series, and they did just that.

Defenceman Connor Clifton, making his Ducks debut after playing 153 career games in a Bruins uniform, opened the scoring on his first shift, as the Ducks looked like a different team in game 2.

Trevor Zegras, Sonny Milano, Jamie Drysdale and Troy Terry also scored for the Ducks, as they thumped the Avs 5-0.

It was a bounce back game for Ducks goaltender John Gibson, as he picked up his second shutout of the playoffs.

Heading to SoCal: Game 3 goes Monday night in Anaheim.

Quotables: "We knew we needed to come out of Colorado with a split. The young guys really stepped up tonight, and we know we're still in this." -Ducks Captain Ryan Getzlaf