The Anaheim Ducks are coming off a very good season where they won the Pacific division, got the best record in the West, and got to the second round of the playoffs. Although they did lose to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Kings in seven games, there is still a lot of positives for the Ducks going into next season including the acquistion of Ryan Kesler which I will talk about soon. Let's take look at a preview for the Ducks next season.
Offense
The Ducks offense is insanely good. They have Ryan Getzlaf who had his best season last year for the Ducks and he also finished in second place for the Hart trophy which goes for the league MVP. He should put up stats that are close to his that were last season. Next to Getzlaf on his line is the second place player on the team in Corey Perry who also had a monster season last year where he put up 43 goals and 82 points. We can expect the same for him this season too as he plays with Getzlaf who's one of the best centers in the NHL.
The Ducks have arguably the best 1-2 center punch in the league now as they acquired Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks. When healthy, Kesler can give them over 25 goals a season maybe even 30. He's been injured a bit the past couple seasons though so it's hard to say if he will be healthy all of next season. Andrew Cogliano is underrated and put up a quiet 21 goal season for the Ducks last season. Players such as Mathieu Perrault and Kyle Palmieri will also be good for the Ducks next season. This is going to be a dangerous team offensively next season.
Defense
The Ducks have some good defenseman but not top ten in the league. It starts with Cam Fowler who had a good season last year where he had 36 points and led the defensemen in points. He will easily be a top pairing and could be paired with Sami Vatanen who had a good season for the Ducks as well. The bottom two pairings involve Ben Lovejoy (a former Penguin), Hampus Lindholm who could also challenge for a spot on the top pairing, Francois Beauchemin, and Bryan Allen. Others who could challenge for a spot are Luc Sbisa,and Mark Fistric.
Goaltending
The Ducks goaltending was just weird last season. Jonas Hiller started 50 games last season and seemed good going into the playoffs until he had a bad few games against the Stars. He was then pulled for Frederik Anderson who also struggled in the playoffs and then he was pulled for John Gibson who shined for them and should be the number one goaltender for the Ducks this season. Backing him up will be Frederik Anderson who, when on his game, is a good goaltender. We'll see how the goaltending plays out for the Ducks this season.
Special teams
Anaheim's special teams were just OK last season. Their power play ranked at the bottom of the league which is surprising since they have so much talent. The penalty kill was in the middle last season. The Ducks need a better power play since they have Kesler coming on it. He should make a huge difference on the 1st team power play with Getzlaf and Perry out there. The penalty kill also needs to be better because if they want to win more games, they better not give up too many special team goals.
Outlook for season
Anaheim looks destined to again be another contender in the West this season. Even though Teemu Selanne is gone and everyone will miss him, the Ducks will have another great season. Look for the Ducks to finish top two in points in the Western conference this season and win the Pacific division.