The Ducks will hit the ice Sunday for the first time since being eliminated in the second round of last year’s playoffs, set to dash through their exhibition schedule ahead of their Oct. 2 season opener.
This year’s NHL regular season will span 84 games instead of 82, giving the Ducks fewer looks at a roster with plenty of potential battles for both spots and positions. They’ll face the Sharks on Sunday at Honda Center and again Thursday in San Jose. They’ll also host the Kings on Wednesday and visit them next Saturday to round out their four preseason clashes.
After a summer of upheaval and turnover, the Ducks have plenty of intrigue surrounding their runup to their campaign.
Missing persons
In addition to the departure of a multitude of players from their postseason roster – John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Jansen Harkins, Ross Johnston, Chris Kreider, Mason McTavish, Jacob Trouba, Jeffrey Viel and Olen Zellweger all said farewell –– the Ducks will be without Troy Terry until well into the winter.
He played through a serious hip injury from January onward last season and was even targeted in the playoffs during their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The longest-tenured Duck and one of the team’s most prolific attackers could be out until around that time this season as he recovers from his procedure.
Early in training camp, defenseman Tyson Hinds has been absent, but should return to the fold soon. He, fellow left defenseman Stian Solberg and righty Tristan Luneau are all aspiring to become full-timers on the blue line following an exodus of free-agent veterans on the right side and Zellweger’s move to Buffalo via trade. Elsewhere on defense, Ian Moore sustained an injury Thursday that could delay his start to the campaign and newcomer Nick Jensen was shaken up on Friday, per reports from practice.
Fresh faces
The defense corps isn’t the only place where the Ducks need to integrate new players, but it’s certainly the most prominent. Jensen, 35, has played 694 NHL, 151 more than the Ducks’ other seven aspirants on the back end combined. That’ll mean moving parts and experimentation.
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That could be the case up front as well, where the Ducks’ past two first-rounders, forwards Nikita Klepov and Roger McQueen, are both stating their case. Klepov decommitted from Michigan State to sign his entry-level contract, and general manager Pat Verbeek said Thursday that he had a “really great opportunity” to make the roster. Klepov was practicing with the Ducks’ orange group, which was composed primarily of established pros, while McQueen was in the black group, filled with fringe roster candidates, in each of the first two days of camp.
It looked as though offseason acquisition A.J. Greer was set to plug into the third line, replacing Viel, while former Kings winger Jeff Malott was stepping into a fourth-line spot vacated by Johnston.
Money men
The biggest story of the summer was Leo Carlsson’s massive offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, which the Ducks matched to the tune of $90 million with a huge chunk due in just over a year, and how it made the Ducks’ payroll, among others, hyperinflate.
Pavel Mintyukov and Cutter Gauthier also fetched premium prices, as did several other players around the league. Mintyukov said he was the same humble young player as he was before he signed a $36 million pact. Carlsson hoped to use his newfound financial stature for motivation and confidence. Gauthier, who will earn $81 million over six years, said his standards were largely self-driven, which was in step with Verbeek’s cautioning that organic growth was preferable to forcing any development because the young skaters felt pressure from their newfound wealth.
Defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who took care of his extension nearly a full year before Gauthier’s deal was done, and Beckett Sennecke will also be counted on more than ever. Given Verbeek’s pledge to be more aggressive in re-signing players headed toward restricted free agency, this is essentially a contract year for Sennecke, who will be eligible to sign an extension on July 1, 2027.
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