The Anaheim Ducks have officially started their bye week, giving a great opportunity to go over the first half of the Anaheim Ducks season. As it sits, they have a dire record of 19-24-5. The flashes of what the team could be are coming a bit more frequently but they aren’t coming rapidly enough for management. General manager Bob Murray seems to be on the edge of shaking up his franchise even more.
Start of the Anaheim Ducks Season
The Ducks opened the season 8-5-0. This came from stellar play going 3-0 before dropping their first game of the season. It looked good for the team that didn’t make the postseason last year. Seemed like they were firing on all cylinders, right up until November. From November third all the way to the start of 2020 the Ducks couldn’t string together two victories.
Flashes of brilliance
The biggest problems presented to the Anaheim Ducks season were injuries and lack of consistency. Players like Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm missing time and leaving the already stretched defensive corps short. As well as forwards like Jakob Silfverberg and Nick Ritchie missing time and forcing prospects to step up maybe a little too early for comfort.
In the defence of these younger players, they have shown amazing potential. They have made big-time plays that show exactly what to look forward too. The problem is that they come in short spurts, they have the potential. They just need to harness it.
Veteran Leadership
Ryan Getzlaf is continuing to show the league why he is amongst the longest-tenured captains in the NHL. He consistently leads the Ducks in assists and total overall points year after year. He’s managed to keep that up even after the departure of long-time linemate Corey Perry. Josh Manson has lacked his usual grit this season, letting too many dangerous plays happen. However, since returning from an early injury his head seems to be getting into the right place. The other alternate captain, Jakob Silfverberg is the Ducks leading goal scorer and seems to always find himself in the right place at the right time.
Other veteran players like Adam Henrique, Carter Rowney, and Derek Grant are all making impacts as well. Derek Grant has come into his own and is making plays that would have seemed absurd coming from him 3 years ago. Rowney’s contributions don’t always land on the stats sheet, but he does make an impact. Whether its a timely check, a good block or otherwise interrupting the opposition’s forward motion. Adam Henrique has slotted well into the Ducks style of play and has become a fan favourite. He is the number two goal scorer and has been used as both a centre and a winger. He is a solid shutdown player that has the ability to score as well as anyone on the Ducks roster.
Managements Push
General Manager Bob Murray seems to be at the end of his rope. He was hoping to be able to retool on the fly and it seems to become more apparent that he might have to do a complete teardown. He has put it out that he is willing to take on bad contracts from other teams in exchange for prospects and draft picks. Many fans speculate that a big shakeup is coming if the Ducks don’t manage to at least marginally turn around. They have to give him some hope or the team could be losing players for parts of a complete rebuild.
The Ducks are not in a good place, but that doesn’t mean they’re a bad team. The veteran players need to embrace the new systems in place, the younger players need to find consistency. The team needs to truly come together as a team. If they manage to find traction they could be a playoff contender.
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