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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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