Ducks Dynasty

[johnstone1987]

Vegas blew a 3-1 lead

Great job making the Finals good luck against Washington

[kinsmen7]

Ducks on the cusp of 2nd Stanley Cup in team history

Anaheim leads series with Washington 3-2

Game 1: Anaheim 3 @ Washington 2 (2 OT)
John Gibson's incredible playoff run continued in game 1, as the Ducks stole one on the road from the Eastern Conference Champs.

Game 2: Anaheim 2 @ Washington 3 (OT)
A heartbreaker in game two, as Alex Ovechkin scores the overtime winner to even the series.

Game 3: Anaheim 2 vs. Washington 3 (2 OT)
Back to back overtime losses for the Ducks, as Tom Wilson chips in the game winner for the Caps.

Game 4: Anaheim 3 vs. Washington 0
John Gibson has been huge for the Ducks all playoffs, as he shuts out the Caps in game 4 to even the series. Troy Terry, Ryan Getzlaf and Trevor Zegras all scored for the Ducks.

Game 5: Anaheim 2 vs. Washington 1
The Anaheim Ducks are one game away from their 2nd Championships, after beating the Caps in game 5. Tom Wilson scored early, but the Ducks continued to come up in the clutch, as Trevor Zegras scored a highlight goal with less than 3 minutes remaining.

Up Next: Anaheim has a chance to clinch on Tuesday night.

[kinsmen7]

Ducks win Stanley Cup Championship

Anaheim clinches with 4-2 win

Anaheim 4 vs. Washington 2

The Anaheim Ducks knew that they couldn't afford to squander a chance like this. A trip back to Washington would have put them in a situation that would be incredibly uncomfortable (The team is 0-7 in their last 7 game 7's). Led by Captain Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks played their typical physical game for the entire 60 minutes, and shocked the Caps 4-2, to take game 6 and the series.

Anaheim, a seller at the deadline, were the joke of the playoffs when they entered with only 84 points, 13 shy of the next worst team. Led by a hot goaltender, heavy hitting, and clutch scoring, the Ducks frustrated opponents throughout the playoffs, losing only 3 games from start to finish.

The win, the 2nd in franchise history, kickstarts the career of GM Pat Verbeek, as many criticized his trade deadline strategy. Trading away some of their top talent, including defenceman Hampus Lindholm and forward Rickard Rakell, and replacing them with veteran stop gaps like Anton Stralman and Andrej Sekera while the team was sitting in a playoff spot was bold, but has obviously paid off.

Conn Smythe for Gibby: There were plenty of heroes for the Anaheim Ducks, but none put on more of a show than veteran goaltender John Gibson. Gibson went 16-1-2, with a 1.90 GAA, .918 sv%, and 4 shutouts through the playoffs. Gibby becomes the 2nd goaltender in franchise history to win the Conn Smythe, after Jean-Sebastian Giguere did it in 2003.

[kinsmen7]

Quote: Originally Posted by johnstone1987

Vegas blew a 3-1 lead Great job making the Finals good luck against Washington

Whoof! What a series. I was kind of feeling guilty going into it because of the 12-1-0 record, even though there were a ton of tight games through it, but Washington gave me a heck of a series. Three OT games (including two that went to double OT!), lots of great goaltending at both ends, and a very sad Ovi at the end!

It's kind of funny, because my focus was supposed to be more on year two than year one.

[kinsmen7]

Ducks offseason notes

Pat Verbeek sets up the offseason

Stanley Cup Champs: After winning their 2nd Stanley Cup, Anaheim is in an enviable position when it comes to the Salary Cap. With just over $39 million in salary cap obligations for 22/23, the Ducks are set up to make some impact additions on the free agent market.

Canada wins World Junior Championships: Ducks prospects Mason MacTavish and Olen Zellweger were both named tournament allstars as team Canada wins gold with a 4-2 win over Sweden in the Final. Sabres top prospect Owen Power was named top defenceman, Wings goaltender Sebastian Cossa was the top goaltender, and Jets prospect Cole Perfetti won tournament MVP.

Ducks prospect Ian Moore and Team USA won the bronze, with Moore picking up a goal and two assists through the tournament. Sasha Pastujov got into the lineup in two games for the Americans, picking up an assist.

Potential #1 overall pick Shane Wright also played top line minutes for the Canadian contingent, picking up 3 goals and 2 assists in the tournament.

Draft primer: The Ducks have the 13th overall pick (via New York Islanders), and the 32nd overall pick in the 1st round.

League Awards: Rookie scoring champ Trevor Zegras finished 2nd in Calder Trophy votes, with good friend Cole Caufield (5th in scoring, 2nd in goals) winning the award.

Salary Cap ceiling announced: Commisioner Gary Bettman announced a large jump in the cap for 22/23. The ceiling will be $87.5 million, and the floor will be $67.5. When it comes to the Ducks, it means they'll need to put at least $28 more on the books for next season, just to get to the floor.

Contract extensions: While it won't affect the upcoming season, GM Pat Verbeek announced that they'll be looking to lock up young stars Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale before they get too far into free agency this offseason. He wants the team to have a better idea of their future financial obligations before they make any major, long term additions.

[kinsmen7]

Ducks make major move on eve of NHL draft

Ducks add 1st round pick in 2023

New Ducks GM Pat Verbeek kicked off the draft making a huge move for the Ducks moving forward.

While the trade didn't affect this years draft, it will have huge repercussions on next years.

Anaheim: Jakob Silfverberg, Anthony Stolarz, 2023 3rd, 2024 6th
Edmonton: 2023 1st, Mike Smith, Raphael Lavoie

The team with the 1st overall pick in this years draft, the Edmonton Oilers, made a big splash to bring themselves back into contention before the draft even started. They dumped veteran goaltender Mike Smith's contract off of their books, and added one of the Ducks stars from their playoff run this year in Jakob Silfverberg.

Silf was one of the Ducks most reliable players during their Stanley Cup run, playing big minutes on the PK, and putting up some surprising offence. For an Oilers team that has struggled to kill penalties, and has lacked secondary scoring, Silfverberg is a big add. Anaheim also sent their backup goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, who proved to be a revilation over the past two seasons for them, providing timely goaltending on a $950 k contract. He'll likely split time with Oilers rookie Stuart Skinner going forward.

In return, the Ducks pick up veteran Mike Smith's remaining one year. Smith, who had a horrible season for the Oilers, was a potential buy out candidate for the Oilers, but they've managed to upgrade their situation, while shedding the remaining year of his contract. With young goaltender Lukas Dostal looking closer than ever to being NHL ready, Smith will have to fight for the backup job in Anaheim. The Ducks also picked up the Oilers 1st round pick in 2023, as well as 21 year old forward prospect Raphael Lavoie.

[kinsmen7]

Draft lotto: Edmonton wins lotto, Anaheim to pick 13th

7->1: Edmonton Oilers
8->2: Ottawa Senators
1->3: Detroit Red Wings
2->4: San Jose Sharks
3->5: Nashville Predators
4->6: LA Kings
5->7: Buffalo Sabres
6->8: Seattle Kraken
9: NY Rangers
10: St Louis Blues
11: Columbus Blue Jackets (via CHI)
12: Arizona Coyotes
13: Anaheim Ducks (via NYI)
14: Columbus Blue Jackets
15: Boston Bruins
16: Montreal Canadiens (via CAR)

[kinsmen7]

Ducks make splash, choose Geekie with 13th pick

Day 1 Recap:

EDM: Shane Wright
OTT: Matthew Savoie
DET: Juraj Slafkovsky
SJ: Simon Nemec
NSH: Brad Lambert
LAK: Logan Cooley
BUF: Danila Yurov
SEA: Ian Miroshnicheno
NYR: Jonathan Lekkerimaki
STL: Frank Nazar
BOS: Joakim Kemell
ARI: David Jiricek
ANA: Connor Geekie
CLB: David Zhilin
CLB: Emi Kurri
MTL: Maxim Goldobin
PIT: Cruz Lucius
NJD: Gleb Trikozov
VAN: Alexander Suzdalev
SJS: Ryan Chesley
BUF: Alden Ford
ARI: Jackson Dorrington
WPJ: Matthias Havelid
TOR: Nicholas Moldenhauer
PHI: Noah Ostlund
BUF: Sam Rinzel
DAL: Daniil Orlov
TBL: Fabian Bystedt
ARI: Seamus Casey
EDM: Isaac Howard
WSH: Ryan Healey
ARI: Zac Plante (via Anaheim, with Derek Grant, in exchange for picks #51 and #76)