Key Offseason Losses: Scott Neidermayer, James Wisnewski
Key Offseason Additions: Paul Mara, Toni Lydman
Last Season Ranking: 11th, West
Offense: Anaheim is a team that is capable of making the playoffs with their offense. They are headlined by the triple threat of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. The top line of the Ducks was good when they were able to play together, which wasn’t the case last season when Getzlaf was injured before the Olympic break but proceeded to play in Vancouver. It ultimately cost the Ducks a playoff birth as he wasn’t able to recover fully and the team went from on the bubble to out of the playoff picture when they lost five straight coming out of the break. The second line should add quality depth should any of the top three players go down, featuring Jason Blake, Saku Koivu, and Joffrey Lupul.
Defense: Just as the offense is good, the defense is just as bad. They lost leadership and a veteran presence on the blue line when Scott Neidermayer retired. Not to mention one of the young defensemen of the future when James Wisnewski jumped ship and went to the Islanders. They were able get some of the holes plugged when they signed Paul Mara and Toni Lydman, but it’s not enough to replace the skill and leadership Neidermayer brought. Look for Luca Sbisa and Lubomir Visnovsky to contribute on the scoreboard as well. Sbisa’s downside is that he’s missed 40+ games the last two seasons with Portland of the WHL due to injury.
Goaltending: Jonas Hiller is the man between the pipes. After wrestling the job away from J-S Giguere, Hiller has found his place in Anaheim. After struggling to find his ground the first couple months on the job, Hiller was solid in goal the second half of the season. The Ducks would not have been in contention for the playoffs if it weren’t for Hiller. Should Hiller go down, Curtis McElhinney is the backup.
Season Outlook: Head coach Randy Carlyle can’t afford to dig himself another early season hole. In his 5 previous seasons in Anaheim, they have started out the season slow with the exception of the 2007 season when they started out 27-4-6 and brought home the Stanley Cup at the end of the season. They have what it takes from the forwards and goaltending to be a contender for the playoffs, but the defense is what should worry Anaheim fans. Look for them to come up short of the top eight when the season is over.
