Well, as we're advancing toward the conference semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.
Now the next team to be eliminated from the playoffs: The Anaheim Ducks.
My prediction: Fourth in the Pacific Division and out of the playoffs.
The truth: Second in the division and made the fourth seed in the Western Conference (this was thanks in part to a serious mid-season surge thanks to some key acquisitions.) They were eliminated in six games against the Nashville Predators.
So what happened?: The Ducks often played like two teams: The first was the highly-skilled squad that has sent numerous players to their respective countries' Olympic teams; the second was a team that completely lacked discipline and found themselves in the penalty box far too often. GM Bob Murray was able to correct defensive deficiencies by trading for Francois Beauchamin and goaltender Dan Ellis while signing goaltender Ray Emery to help replace the void left by Jonas Hiller's mysterious ailment best described as vertigo, but the team simply couldn't get past the Predators' defense-oriented system to advance beyond the first round. Not that their goaltending was overly stellar in the round but you can't expect much from two guys who weren't on the roster when the puck dropped back in October.
So what's next?: The team's got $9.6M to lock down six players next season, one of them will be Teemu Selanne if he decides to return for another year. All and all, they look to have the components in place to have a more balanced attack next year, but how well they perform next season largely rests on whether or not Hiller can return from whatever it is that's affecting him.
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