Season Review: Anaheim Ducks

Well, now that people are talking playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're either eliminated from the playoffs or eliminated from playoff contention before the end of the season. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.

Now the next team to be eliminated from playoff contention: The Anaheim Ducks.

Season expectations: The Stanley Cup Champions in 2007, the Ducks were looking to go into the season with an explosive group of forwards and an exceptional pair of goaltenders. Sure the defense was a little thin but Scott Niedermeyer could do the work of 2 men and their young guys like Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski could step in an make a difference offensively. These guys were looking to at least compete for a playoff spot if not go deep into the playoffs.

My prediction: I picked them for first in the Pacific Division and second overall in the Western Conference.

The truth: The Ducks were eliminated last night thanks to both losing in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings and with the Colorado Avalanche's victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

What went wrong?: You mean besides being the most penalized team in the NHL?

Well, the platoon couldn't quite platoon after all. J-S Giguere ended up performing poorly for the Ducks and was eventually shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Vesa Toskala, who then traded to the Calgary Flames for Curtis McElhinney (and considering McElhinney's success in Anaheim and Toskala's success in Calgary, one wonders how the teams would have fared had a three-way trade been completed sooner.) Jonas Hiller performed admirably for both his NHL and National Team this season, but now he's down with injuries and out of the playoffs, which is such an undeserving end for a goaltender who's been a warrior all season.

The defense didn't work out the way the team hoped as well. Whitney was eventually traded for Lubonmir Vishnovsky, Wisniewski was effective whenever he wasn't serving a suspension, and there never seemed to be the "Number 4" guy for people to have on the team; just a top-3/bottom 4 defensive group. Not to disrespect the efforts of Sheldon Brookbank (who made the Nick Boynton signing seem redundant) but there just had to be that one extra guy who could make the Top 3 the Top 4. It just didn't happen.

To an effect, I was also not a fan as to how the scoring forwards were set up. I mean, it's cool to have the youth on one line and the experience on another, but is that really the best way to develop a winning chemistry? Why not have Bobby Ryan skate with Saku Koivu and get the Finnish Flash himself (Teemu Selanne in case you don't know) to act as a deft compliment to Ryan Getzlaf? The defensive forwards weren't necessarily ideal but definitely adequate so I think more could have been done to address scoring (though in fairness, Joffery Lupul's injury didn't help things.)

So what's next?: Well, there needs to be some well thought-out additions made in the off-season to work within their cap and plans. I'm also not certain coach Randy Carlyle will be back next season given the team's issues with discipline now coupled with a lost season. They've got a competitive team though, so they shouldn't have to blow it up to make it work.