5 Anaheim Ducks Storylines to Follow in 2024-25 – Hockey Writers – Anaheim Ducks

As a rebuilding team, the Anaheim Ducks have plenty of stories surrounding them that won’t involve the final points and standings. The club’s hopes aren’t high after a 27-50-5 record in 2023-24 extended its longest playoff drought to six seasons, but the future is still bright. As the youth movement continues in Anaheim, here are five storylines to follow throughout the season, including an exciting new rookie, a much-needed shutout campaign, and a changing of the guard between the pipes.

Cutter Gauthier’s rookie season

Ducks fans have seen many stellar rookie campaigns in recent years and the 2024-25 season will be no different. Anaheim acquired Cutter Gauthier from the Philadelphia Flyers in January in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and he will have a big role in the top six in his first full NHL season. The 6-foot-2 forward brings a wicked shot that helped him score 38 goals in 41 games for Boston College last season. The Ducks have struggled to put the puck in the back of the net, using a low-10 offense every season since they last made the playoffs in 2017-18. Gauthier was brought in specifically to deal with this issue.

Related: More Anaheim Ducks Season Preview Articles

A highly anticipated rookie season comes with potential, so Gauthier will be looking to capture the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top player. Betting services around the world have given him the fourth best odds for the prize behind Matvei Michkov, Logan Stankoven, and Macklin Celebrini. The highest-ranked Ducks player to finish in Calder’s voting was second, twice: Trevor Zegras in 2021-22 and Bobby Ryan in 2008-09.

Trevor Zegras’ Bounce-Back Campaign

Between contract negotiations dragging into training camp, a head coach wanting to make an example of him, and a nagging injury that kept him out of the lineup for 51 games, Trevor Zegras got the full run of Murphy’s Law last season. When he was healthy enough to be on the ice, his production was all over the place — two points in 12 games from Oct. 14 to Nov. 7, five points in eight games from Dec. 23 to Jan. 9, and eight points. in 11 games from March 26 to April 18. To end a difficult season on a positive note, he finished the season with five points in games.

As a playmaker and point producer, Zegras not only needs a rebound season, but needs to get into high gear. Being a 60-point player in his early 20s on a rebuilding team is surprising, but there is more talent around him than ever before. His 65 points are tied for 75th overall in 2022-23 — not where he should rank as the team’s leading scorer. This could be the season he ends up being a point-per-game player.

Frank Vatrano and the Trade Deadline

Even though the rebuild is nearing its end, the Ducks need to be smart with their assets. With the playoffs still a long way off in Anaheim, the 2025 Trade Deadline will give the team a chance to explore expiring contracts for the future. Frank Vatrano is a pending free agent for Anaheim. The 30-year-old posted the most goals (37) and points (60) last season and figures to make the Ducks a force at the deadline, especially if his production continues this campaign. Newcomers Robby Fabbri and Brian Dumoulin are also unrestricted free agents after this season.

Although the Ducks have the largest cap space in the league, smart asset management will be a priority for the next few years. Gauthier, Zegras, Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, and Lukas Dostal will need new contracts before the start of the 2027-28 season, so the glut of cap space is an illusion for now. We’ll have a better idea of ​​the salary cap numbers and the value of each player in the coming years, but this reduces the chances of a splashy trade.

Mintyukov, Zellweger, and Defense

The Ducks boast one of the strongest defensive pipelines and the program is starting to bear fruit at the NHL level. Mintyukov and Zellweger will figure prominently as Anaheim’s top two left defensemen, while 23-year-old Jackson LaCombe and 20-year-old Tristan Luneau are also likely to play big minutes.

How the defense system is organized will be interesting. Each of the aforementioned defenses profile as offensive defensemen who move, and Minttyukov probably has the highest two-way ceiling. The Ducks trading up to draft Stian Solberg in July suggests that physicality will play a big role on this blue line, and we could see a mix of playing styles between the teammates. A “thunder-and-lightning” pairing like Zellweger and Radko Gudas, where Zellweger primarily carries the game from spot to spot and Gudas plays a more passive stay-at-home role, could work to get the most out of each skill set.

Is Gibson or Dostal Number One on the Net?

John Gibson’s days as Anaheim’s workhorse goalie appear to be a thing of the past. After the first seven seasons in at least 63% of the games during the season, he was given only 44 games – the most of the season, but his first half of the starts since Frederik Andersen in 2015-16. Lukas Dostal, in his first full season in the NHL, had a slight edge over Gibson in save percentage, as well as goals against average, and captured one win over six fewer starts.

As things look in Anaheim’s future, this may be the season Dostal sees the edge early on. In all likelihood, that change still looks like a 1A and 1B split, but it could be significant. The Ducks have been able to rely on solid goaltending since the franchise’s inception, from Guy Hebert to Jean-Sebastian Giguere, to Jonas Hiller and finally Gibson. – Anaheim seasons can best be defined by their backstops. The pivot to Dostal will coincide with what should be the tail end of a rebuild and a new, youth-led era in Southern California.

How these storylines play out will have a big impact on Anaheim’s rebuild. While we have these to look forward to, the season will bring much more. Whether it’s an injury, a late-game benching, or a heated moment with an opponent, there will be no shortage of talking points surrounding the Ducks.