TSN.ca's 2014-15 NHL Season Preview: Anaheim Ducks

With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up is the Anaheim Ducks, who look to take that next step towards Cup contention with new centre Ryan Kesler in the fold. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Button's analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSN's Scott Cullen.

Division: Pacific   GM: Bob Murray   Head Coach: Bruce Boudreau

2013-14: 54-20-8 (1st in Pacific)   Playoffs: Lost in Second Round

Goals For: 263 (1st)   Goals Against: 203 (9th)  PP: 16% (22nd)   PK: 82.2 (13th)

That Was Then:

Last season was arguably Anaheim's most successful since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007.

The Ducks flourished last October, going 10-3-1 and getting stellar goaltending from 24-year-old Frederik Andersen. He posted six straight wins in his first six NHL games and kept Anaheim hot in November.

By December, the Ducks kept running along, going 11-1-1 while riding a season-high 10-game winning streak. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were on a tear, combining for 30 points in 13 games.

Anaheim followed that up with an even more impressive January. The Ducks posted eight straight wins following their 10-game winning streak. From Dec. 6 to Jan. 15, they collected 36 out of a possible 38 points winning 18 of 19 games.

The Ducks clinched their second straight Pacific Division title on Apr. 10 with a win against the San Jose Sharks. They capped off the regular season by clinching the Western Conference crown on Apr. 12 with a shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings.

Anaheim finished the season with their best record in franchise history at 54-20-8. They set club records for wins (54) and points (116) in a season. The Ducks also finished one point behind the Boston Bruins in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

Once again, the duo of Getzlaf and Perry carried the brunt of the offensive load. The captain finished the season second in the league with 87 points while Perry followed suit with 82 and finished second to only Alexander Ovechkin with 43 goals. Andersen managed to impress, going 20-5 with a .923 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average, but he wasn't the only rookie goalie netminder in the organization that made noise.

Twenty-one-year-old John Gibson was called up in April when Andersen went down with an injury and had the same positive effect as the Dane. He went 3-0 with a 1.33 goals against average in his short stay with the team.

The Ducks faced the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs, taking a 3-0 series lead only to see the Stars climb back within one. Nick Bonino, however, sent Anaheim to the second round with the overtime-winner in Game 6 of the series.

The second round posed a tougher challenge with the Kings. The Kings took a quick 2-0 series lead and Gibson was called upon again for Game 4. Head coach Bruce Boudreau made a risky move by starting the young goalie, but the gamble paid dividends. Gibson backstopped the Ducks to two straight wins - including a shutout - and propelled Anaheim to a 3-2 series lead. But just like Kings did throughout the 2013 playoffs, they erased the deficit eliminating the Ducks in Game 7.

Scott Cullen's Analytics

Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points.

Analysis:

Games 1-20: Very good possession stats coupled with dominant percentages had Ducks flying from the get-go.

Games 21-41: Possession and goaltending slipped, as did shooting percentage, but Ducks were still finishing at a high rate.

Games 42-62: Subpar possession was overwhelmed by exceptional percentages, including their best run of goaltending for the season.

Games 63-82: Jonas Hiller struggled late, so save percentage dipped, but Ducks kept winning with improving possession numbers and exceptional finishing.

Key 2014 Additions: LW Dany Heatley, C Ryan Kesler, G Jason LaBarbera, D Clayton Stoner, C Nate Thompson

Key 2014 Subtractions: C Nick Bonino, G Jonas Hiller, C Saku Koivu, C Mathieu Perreault, D Stephane Robidas, D Luca Sbisa, RW Teemu Selanne, C Daniel Winnik

This Is Now: 

The Ducks made a lot of changes during the off-season to become stronger in the ever-competitive Western Conference.

The biggest move was the acquisition of Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks. With Getzlaf and Kesler, Anaheim gets a potent one-two punch at centre. Kesler also adds size to a squad that was lacking in that department a season ago. The Michigan native has scored 20-plus goals in six of the last seven seasons and helps a power play that was ranked 22nd overall last year.

However, Anaheim gave up their third-leading scorer of last season in the deal, moving Bonino, along with Luca Sbisa. With the departures of Mathieu Perreault, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, the Ducks added depth up front with winger Dany Heatley on a one-year contract. The two time 50-goal scorer looks to rejuvenate his career and may have a chance during the season to play alongside Perry and Getzlaf. They also solidified their defence adding Clayton Stoner to a squad that already boasts youngsters Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm.

The Ducks also let Jonas Hiller sign with the Calgary Flames, so the young tandem of Andersen and Gibson will duel for the starting job in goal this season. Jason LaBarbera was added on for goaltending depth.

DEPTH CHART

Craig's List

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button's Top Prospect:

Nicholas Ritchie is that rare player with the size, power and skill to play any way the game dictates.

He strikes an imposing figure, but he can just as easily skate past a defender as power by one.

Goalie John Gibson is eligible for the 2014-15 Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, but is rated a lock for the Ducks roster so he's not considered a candidate for the team's top prospect.

But John has been a dominant goalie in junior, winning a U-18 Gold, World Junior Gold and World Championship Bronze all before the age of 20. He debuted in the NHL last season, including playoff starts and on a team built to contend for a Stanley Cup, he has the capability to backstop them to a championship.

Fantasy - Cullen's Player to Watch - Patrick Maroon

It took time for Maroon, a power forward, to stick in the NHL, playing only 15 games prior to last season, but he was able to score and put up penalty minutes in the American Hockey League, scoring more than 20 goals four times and registering more than 100 penalty minutes three times.

He didn't burst onto the scene last year, either, scoring seven points in 25 games through the end of December, but then opportunities started coming for Maroon, and he started to produce. He earned more ice time, even getting chances to play with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on the Ducks' top line and he finished with a flourish, scoring 15 points in his last 18 regular season games.

If Maroon can earn and extra couple of minutes of ice per game, he could be in position to jump significantly from last year's 11-goal, 29-point rookie season.