NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 8-Sept. 8. Today, three important questions facing the Anaheim Ducks.
[Ducks 32 in 32: Season preview | Top prospects | Fantasy breakdown]
1. What impact will John Klingberg have?
The Ducks made a splash by signing arguably the top free agent defenseman to a one-year contract July 29. Klingberg had 47 points (six goals, 41 assists) in 74 regular-season games for the Dallas Stars last season, including 20 points on the power play. The 29-year-old has 374 points (71 goals, 303 assists) in 552 regular-season games, including 148 points on the power play, where he is expected to contribute.
Anaheim ranked 14th with the man-advantage last season (21.9 percent) but was last in 2020-21 (8.9 percent) and 30th in 2019-20 (14.7 percent).
“Where we were at with our defense this time, adding John is huge for us,” coach Dallas Eakins said. “He is a well-rounded player. He’s got great experience in all aspects of the game. I think everybody quickly looked at his ability to run a power play and a lot of teams are short on right-handed defensemen, and he brings that as well. We think we’ve got a real solid individual, somebody that is going to really fit in well with our group and help us out greatly on our back end.”
Video: John Klingberg joins Anaheim
2. Will they name a captain?
Ryan Getzlaf, who played 17 seasons for the Ducks and is their leader in games (1,157), points (1,019) and assists (737), retired following the season. He was captain for the past 12 seasons and was one of 12 players in NHL history to be captain of the same team for at least 10 seasons and get 1,000 points with that team.
The center was their unquestioned leader for the past decade, and it is unclear if the Ducks will name a captain prior to the season. If they do, defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Cam Fowler and forwards Jakob Silfverberg and Trevor Zegras could be among the candidates.
“Ryan was an incredible captain and an incredible player and an even better person,” Eakins said. “So, it does leave a hole, but Adam Henrique is a great leader. Troy Terry is growing into a very good leader. … Jakob Silfverberg. Derek Grant is a quiet leader. Cam Fowler, incredible leader. Kevin Shattenkirk, great leader. John Gibson. We’ve got lots of really good people. These guys are good human beings and that’s usually where the leadership starts, and they’re all I think going to be able to fill the void as a group.”
3. What will Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry do for an encore?
Last season, Terry led the Ducks with 37 goals and 67 points and Zegras was second with 23 goals and 61 points. Prior to that, the last time they had a 30-goal scorer and a 60-point scorer was in 2017-18, when Rickard Rakell had 34 goals and 69 points. Terry had one of the longest point streaks of the season (16 games), and Zegras, a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, dazzled nightly with eye-popping goals and assists.
The Ducks were 24th in scoring last season (2.78 goals per game) after ranking last in 2020-21 (2.21), 29th in 2019-20 (2.56) and last in 2018-19 (2.39) and are hoping the forwards can build on. their strong seasons.
“Obviously they both had very productive seasons points-wise. I think Troy Terry’s shooting percentage (19.3) was incredible,” Eakins said. “So for him to match his numbers or Trevor to match his numbers, I think it will be a challenge, but knowing both of these young men like I do, that will be a low bar for them. They’ll be looking to add on to what they accomplished last year.”
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