This week was all about the Anaheim Ducks. It’s crazy considering they’ve spent the past five or even 10 seasons as a rebuilding and borderline forgettable franchise. If the theme of the season so far is that the future is now, then the Ducks are the showcase of that. They boast a 10-3-1 record and have won six straight games, putting them in first place in the Pacific Division.
There was a feeling around the NHL that the Ducks, a team at the back end of their rebuild, would be good —a borderline playoff team with young players leading the way. Little did everyone know how good they would look under head coach Joel Quenneville, who has made himself an early frontrunner to win the Jack Adams Award. It’s those two topics that headline this week’s column.
The Starting Lineup:
- The Ducks are taking flight.
- An early look at the Jack Adams race that’s heating up.
- Three Central Division teams are in trouble. Which one has the best path out?
- Making sense of the Marlies & AHL notes.
- Quick Hits: Rangers offense, Eastern Conference jumbled up & more.
Starting with a team that casual fans probably aren’t watching but must keep an eye on when watching late-night hockey.
Why The Ducks Have Taken Off This Season
The simple answer to the Ducks taking flight is that their young core is starting to enter its prime. Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, and Leo Carlsson are all developed and now taking over games. Carlsson is the slight surprise since he’s only 21 and in his third season at the NHL level. Yet, as a center, he’s making everyone around him better.
One scout noted the similarities they have with the San Jose Sharks, another team with plenty of exciting players and a great rebuild in the works. The difference, the Ducks are ahead of schedule. Carlsson and the rest of the young core are entering it’s third season in the NHL while Macklin Celebrini, who leads the Sharks, is in his second season (while Michael Misa is still a rookie). The other big difference is that the Ducks have the defensemen who can take them up a notch, especially on the offensive end. Jackson LaCombe, Drew Helleson, and Olen Zelleweger have three goals and 14 assists combined, and it’s taken a good offense and helped turn it into one of the league’s best.
The offense is the other thing to keep in mind. The Ducks average 4.14 goals per game. Sure, that number will regress but the way they are scoring won’t. They have a forward unit that can overwhelm teams and beat them in multiple ways. If they need speed, they have that in Carlsson or the 20-year-old Beckett Sennecke. If they need shooting, Gauthier adds that with 11 goals in 15 games. When the Ducks need a dirty-area goal, Chris Kreider provides that (with nine this season).
Kreider is worth noting not just for his offense but for the role he plays on a rebuilding team. For years, the general manager (GM) Pat Verbeek would bring in veterans with the hopes of accelerating the rebuild but they were over the hill and well past their primes. This time around, he acquired veterans who can still contribute, even as depth players, from Jacob Trouba (acquired in the middle of the 2024-25 season) to Kreider to Mikael Granlund, who was a point-per-game player because he was sidelined with an injury. It’s given the Ducks an ideal combination where the young stars are leading the way while the veterans add depth and round out the roster.
The roster build is one thing. Then there’s the Joel Quenneville hiring, which, without question, took the team to another level. Quenneville is a winner and looking to do something only Scotty Bowman has done, which is win a Stanley Cup in multiple stops as a head coach. His philosophy is what unlocked this team, especially on the offensive end.
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Quenneville allows his players to tap into their skill on the offensive end and play with creativity when they have the puck. It’s why Carlsson and Gauthier feel more comfortable in his system, where they can make a big play and not worry about the consequences. Quenneville allows creativity as long as the players are accountable for their mistakes and make up for them on the defensive end.
The defensive end is where the Ducks have also looked different. They aren’t a great team defensively but aren’t a mess, which was the case under Dallas Eakins and Greg Cronin. Having Trouba around to mentor the younger defensemen helps. So does Lukas Dostal, who is one of the elite young goaltenders. It’s made the Ducks a complete team, one that not only can make the playoffs but possibly compete for the Stanley Cup.
Do The Ducks Make A Move? What Type of Splash Do They Make?
Multiple people noted that while the Ducks are good, it’s hard to see them make a blockbuster trade or a big move to enter the contention conversation. The Ducks are now an elite team and will be for years to come. The question is whether they stay patient, knowing their window is open for a while, or rush things and make a push for a Cup? It’s a question a lot of teams had to answer in the past to varying degrees of success.
The Ducks aren’t expected to make a big move. However, don’t put it past Verbeek, who made a bold move hiring Quenneville, knowing he was on the hot seat, to make a trade. Likewise, the Ducks have $14 million in salary cap space, which allows them to make any type of trade if they want and still have room to spend in the offseason.
With a defense that’s allowing 3.2 goals per game, Verbeek will make a move to upgrade the unit. Plus, there are plenty of stay-at-home defensemen to target in a reasonable trade. Yes, they have Trouba playing that role but they can always look for another option who has multiple years left on a contract to balance out the defense (take Travis Sanheim, Mario Ferraro, or Justin Faulk, for example). Everyone is looking at Artemi Panarin as a target for the Ducks but they can add depth to their forward group and their defense without mortgaging their future.
The Ducks, of course, will wait things out. It’s easy to overreact in November when it’s still early in the season. However, the Ducks don’t look like a team on the decline anytime soon, and instead, the conversation around them is changing. They aren’t just a young team on the rise. Now they are a team that’s entering the contention conversation and looking to add the finishing pieces.
Jack Adams Race is Heating Up
One of the big problems with the Jack Adams is that it isn’t awarded to the best coach. If that were the case, Jon Cooper, Rod Brind’Amour, and Jared Bednar would have a few in their long careers. Instead, to be frank, it’s awarded to the coach who took a team that wasn’t expected to be good and overachieved. Take a look at the past four winners and the upgrade in points in the standings from the previous season.
- Spencer Carbary (+20 points)
- Rick Tocchet (+26)
- Jim Montgomery (+28)
The point being, the award will be given to a coach who leads the biggest turnaround or improvement in the standings. There are a few coaches that are starting to separate themselves from the pack, notably Quenneville, Dan Muse, and Lane Lambert.
The Case For Quenneville
As mentioned in the above segment, the Ducks success is tied closely to Quenneville’s ability to unlock the young group. He’s won three Stanley Cup titles and has done well everywhere he’s gone, so he’s the household name everyone expects to win. What’s different about this season is that Quenneville is the older coach and is taking a different approach. One person noted how when a player makes a mistake, he’s the disappointed dad behind the bench, and while he won’t check out or call out a player, he will expect better. It’s worked out with a team that needed accountability but also a calmer presence behind the bench.
Quenneville also looks like the coach who will have the team in a position to earn him the award at the end of the season. The other overachieving teams are expected to fall off and possibly miss the playoffs. The Ducks might miss the playoffs but will be in a great position to avoid that fate by the end of the season. If they are the three seed or better at the end of the season, the Jack Adams will be Quenneville’s to lose.
The Case For Lambert
The Seattle Kraken don’t have a great roster. Their underlying metrics suggest they should be a bottom-of-the-league team. Yet, they’ve gotten off to a hot start and are at the top of the Pacific Division. Two things can best explain it. Goaltending and coaching. They say behind every great coach is a great goaltender, and Joey Daccord is one of the best in the NHL, keeping the Kraken afloat.
It’s hard to ignore the job Lambert’s done and get the most out of a team that was expected to be in a lottery position. This is his second stint as a head coach, and it’s noticeable how different he looks. As a former assistant, he’s a player-friendly coach by default. However, this time around, he’s taken a more serious approach. Likewise, his first run behind the bench saw him ice a loose team that played an aggressive style. Lambert was an assistant under Craig Berube last season, and it allowed him to coach a balanced Kraken team, one that can push the pace but plays with more structure. This team keeping up the strong season will only boost his case.
The Case For Muse
Most people had the Pittsburgh Penguins projected as the worst team in the NHL. They were expected to tank for Gavin McKenna or at least a top-five pick, and Muse would be the rebuild coach to work with the young players. The Penguins are one of the big overachievers this season, and are making a lot of fans eat crow on their preseason predictions.
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Muse has found a way to balance a veteran-heavy team with a mix of prospects. It’s his approach to training camp and the season altogether. Plus, Muse doesn’t rely on his top line to win games the way Mike Sullivan did. Instead, he rolls out all four lines while keeping the ice time, for the most part, even. If the Penguins are this season’s version of the Washington Capitals, then Muse is this season’s version of Carbary.
The Household Names With a Great Path
There’s always a chance the award goes to a coach who entered the season with a team that had high expectations and exceeded them. The Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs last season and were expected to leap under Martin St. Louis. If they have the best record in the Eastern Conference or the NHL, it’s hard to deny St. Louis the award. The same applies to Bednar with a Colorado Avalanche team that can win the Presidents’ Trophy.
There are a few award or trophy races to watch. The Jack Adams is starting to heat up with a few big names to watch. Throw in an overachieving Chicago Blackhawks or Philadelphia Flyers, and Jeff Blashill or Rick Tocchet can make the race all the more interesting.
Blues, Preds & Wild: Who Has The Best Path Out?
There are three teams in the Central Division with below .500 records. The Minnesota Wild (7-7-3), Nashville Predators (5-8-4), and the St. Louis Blues (5-8-3). To put it lightly, these three teams are terrible this season and are poised to remain that way.
The question is which of the three has the best path out? That doesn’t mean the best path to turning the season around, although that’s ideal. It means that even if the season is a lost cause, they can still set themselves up for a bright future either by retooling on the fly, making a few moves, or making a change to provide a better outlook.
Wild Have The Most Options
The Wild can still turn this season around. They have the talent in all three positions, and when goaltender Filip Gustavsson is playing well, he’s a Vezina Trophy-caliber goaltender. They’ve underacheived to start the season but Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, and Zeev Buium can get hot and allow them to string together a few wins.
They are also one of the few teams that can benefit from a coaching change. John Hynes was hired to fix the defense. Ironically, the Wild allow 3.56 goals per game. They have the star power to attract a big-name coach and don’t put it past GM Bill Guerin to do so (especially after an offseason of big signings where the expectation is to make the playoffs).
If things don’t improve, the Wild are also in a great position to retool. Mats Zuccarello has a no-trade clause, and Ryan Hartman has a partial no-move, making them both difficult to move. Yet, they can both bring a good return in a trade. The same applies to Jonas Brodin, who is the veteran defenseman that teams will target at the deadline. Trading two of the three allows the Wild to reset, something they need to do as they build around Kaprizov for the future.
Blues Aren’t in a Great Spot, But Have A Few Paths Out
The Blues don’t have the same top-end talent to turn the season around. They are, however, the standard for going from worst to first in the middle of a season. They can get hot and suddenly be in the playoff picture after all, that’s what happened last season.
The problem the Wild have is that both turnarounds involved a coaching change. Jim Montgomery isn’t the type of head coach teams want to fire (just ask the Boston Bruins how that went). So, a coaching change isn’t in the works. Instead, they can hope that the underachieving Blues find their footing even if the deficit looks too big to overcome.
The other plus is that the Blues can attempt a teardown. It would be bold to do so but they can trade Jordan Binnington to a contender. He’s having a rough season, and he’s a polarizing goaltender. At the same time, he’s a winner with a proven track record both on the international stage and in the playoffs. Teams will want that, especially teams that are great yet have questions in the net (looking at you, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers). The Blues also have a few other veterans to keep in mind, including Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk, who can help them retool.
Then There’s Nashville: Oh Boy
The best bet for the Predators is that they find trade partners for some immovable contracts. The Steven Stamkos deal backfired, and if they can get anything in a return, it helps them move forward. Ryan O’Reilly has been rumored in multiple trades but it’s hard to say how much he can bring back in a return (although contenders love centers and he is one). The Predators’ best path is a rebuild, although that’s a tough process and one that will likely require changes up top (from GM Barry Trotz to head coach Andrew Brunette).
Making Sense of the Marlies & Other AHL Notes
For one night, the Toronto Marlies made Allentown the center of the American Hockey League (AHL) universe. Why? Well, Joseph Woll started his conditioning stint against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Considering the Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled in the net and need a backup, they were hoping Woll would come in and look great. He allowed three goals on 24 shots and was pulled after 36 minutes in a 3-2 loss.
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The fascination with the Marlies has nothing to do with Woll. Instead, the intrigue is finding out what type of AHL team they are. In the league one tier below the NHL, there are three types of teams. There are the perennial Calder Cup contenders that value winning with development coming in the process (the Hershey Bears and Rochester Americans fall into this category). Then there are the teams that care about development first but if they are having a great season, they’ll buy in and make a push for the Calder Cup, especially to allow their prospects to see what playoff hockey looks like (most teams fall into this category). Finally, there are the teams that only care about development.
The Marlies fit into the second category, although it’s worth noting that they won the Calder Cup in 2018. Playing in Toronto reinforces the focus on the NHL team as the players are right next to the pro team’s facilities. Sure, they’d like to win but with the Maple Leafs breathing down their necks and looking to win a Stanley Cup, any prospect who is ready will likely get called up sooner rather than later.
That said, the Marlies look like a great team. They won three games in a row before running into a wall against the Phantoms and are starting to figure out their identity. Their head coach, John Gruden, noted after their comeback win against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins that he’s still trying to find it but by the end of the trip, they looked like a team that loved to play fast and crash to the net.
It’s made them a fun team to watch. While the Marlies might not be the best in the North Division, they are a good team and well-coached, with Gruden getting the most out of them. Gruden spent years behind NHL benches as an assistant but in year three with the Marlies, he’s finally starting to make his mark.
In the Toronto market, a great AHL team goes a long way. The Maple Leafs fans are often priced out of home games, yet the Marlies play nearby and allow fans to beat the traffic and watch the NHL team’s future. Ultimately, the AHL is better when the Marlies are good, and that’s what they are this season.
Other AHL Notes
The Grand Rapid Griffins entered the weekend undefeated but they lost on Sunday 4-3 in a shootout to the Chicago Wolves. The good news is that they have yet to have a regulation loss. They’ve also been a fun team with an offense that averages 4.11 goals per game, while their lights-out goaltending allows only 2.22 goals per game.
The Providence Bruins are the best team in the Eastern Conference, yet they are hanging on by a thread. The Boston Bruins are starting to battle injuries, and the fallout is a surplus of call-ups. They won both of their games in Cleveland against the Monsters in close contests, showing they still have enough talent to be great and win games.
When the talent drain hits the great teams in the AHL, the losses aren’t far behind. It’s why the Penguins have fallen apart lately. They started the season 7-0 and have gone 2-3-1 since then.
Speaking of the Penguins, they were one of the teams with a fascinating call-up this week. With Tristan Jarry injured, they brought up the 21-year-old Sergei Murashov, who started Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. He allowed three goals on 27 shots, so it’s likely they’ll send him back to the AHL when they get the chance. That said, the young goaltender is ahead of schedule. The New York Rangers, meanwhile, called up Gabe Perreault, who led the Hartford Wolf Pack with points (five goals and five assists) and is their top forward prospect. If anyone can give the Rangers offense a bump, it’s him.
The Phantoms have four wins in a row, and it’s hard to ignore the hot streak coinciding with the Christian Kyrou addition. The 22-year-old defenseman moves the puck well and is a great skater, allowing the team to take the offense to the next level, something reflected in his six assists in four games. Head coach John Snowden noted after the latest win that he’s a right-shot defenseman on a team that was left-handed heavy, which indicates that his ice time and roles won’t drop off even if Emil Andrea returns to the AHL. Kyrou was acquired in the Samu Tuomaala trade and is already making a big impact on the Phantoms.
There are a few bottom-feeders that are separating themselves from the pack this season. They aren’t expected to be as bad as the Bridgeport Islanders were last season (who won four games at home and 16 all season). However, the Abbotsford Canucks, Springfield Thunderbirds, and Utica Comets have stood out with awful play across the board. The Canucks won the Calder Cup in the summer, which speaks volumes to the turnover that happens in this league.
The cellar dwellers were part of a conversation I had over the weekend with a few scouts and talent evaluators. Those teams that have that reputation of only caring about development are desperate to remove it. They’ve seen the toll losing can take on the players and how prospects can take steps back when there’s a losing culture. The problem is it’s a hard process, something the Islanders are realizing and the Thunderbirds are coming to grips with.
Quick Hits: Rangers Hapless Offense, Eastern Conference Jumbling & More
The Rangers have the second-worst offense in the NHL, averaging only 2.19 goals per game. It’s shocking considering the veteran presence and more puzzling when Artemi Panarin and JT Miller are in the top six. Yet, they can’t score and can’t score at home, with only six goals in seven games.
The latest loss to the New York Islanders will sting in particular. It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to be embarrassed by the rival New York team that is also struggling but there’s plenty of optimism surrounding them. When these teams lose like they did, it means change isn’t far behind.
The loss to the Islanders will stand out. It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to be embarrassed by the rival New York team. When that happens, change isn’t far behind.
- The worst team in the Eastern Conference is the Buffalo Sabres, who have 14 points. The wild card spot is held by the Philadelphia Flyers, who have 18 points. It shows how close the conference is.
- Moreover, the Canadiens, Hurricanes, and New Jersey Devils have 22 points. So, a four-game winning streak can see a borderline playoff team near the top of the conference (and vice versa). It’s why it’s hard to make any judgments about these teams.
- There’s also trouble in Oil Country. The Edmonton Oilers lost 9-1 to the Colorado Avalanche and have only one win in their last five games. They lack forward depth, defense, and goaltending. The problem is that only two of those issues are fixable since they can trade for depth on the forward unit or the defense (they did it last season at the trade deadline with Jake Walman and Trent Frederic).
- The subsequent issue is that the Oilers lack the pieces to trade to address these issues. The clock is ticking for the Oilers to win while they still have Connor McDavid under contract, and it’s why these losses, even early in the season, feel different for this Cup-or-bust team.
