Ben Shelley: 5 positives from the Ducks’ disappointing season

Should have a really nice addition with your 1st rounder this summer too!

Thanks for the article, Ben! I think in the Killorn situation, he's finally bought in that he's going to be a Duck, so his play improved. Unlike Gudas, who wanted to be here and adjusted quickly, the main reason Killorn came to Anaheim was the money. The injury didn't help, but when he was playing it just seemed like he was going through the motions out there. Now, he looks engaged and he's fun to watch. Mintyukov, Zellweger, and LaCombe have been a revelation. You can see the backbone of the organization already. Add in Luneau and Noah Warren and this team is going to be stacked defensively for years. I don't know how GMPV is going to be able to pay them all but I'm praying he can figure it out.
My only worry with the team is coaching. I'm not sure Cronin is much of an improvement over Eakins. He talks a good game with his accountability crap but the only player I see him discipline is Zegras. I go to every game and I've seen Fowler, Strome, Terry, and McTavish make plenty of terrible turnovers and horrific defensive plays and yet Cronin trots them back out there next shift! That's not accountability, that's favoritism. I wasn't too thrilled with his response to a great question Derek Lee asked him about this very situation. Cronin hemmed and hawed about Trevor's popularity and whatever but basically agreed that Zegras has a shorter leash than other players. Once again, that's not accountability.
Despite that, I'm cautiously optimistic about the future of the Ducks. Gauthier's arrival will finally give Trevor someone skilled who can finish his passes. Leo looks like he's going to be a star, and I'm hoping GMPV can use Edmonton's first-rounder to bring in another skilled veteran, preferably defensively because I think Fowler's best days are behind him.

Thanks for the article, Ben! I think in the Killorn situation, he's finally bought in that he's going to be a Duck, so his play improved. Unlike Gudas, who wanted to be here and adjusted quickly, the main reason Killorn came to Anaheim was the money. The injury didn't help, but when he was playing it just seemed like he was going through the motions out there. Now, he looks engaged and he's fun to watch. Mintyukov, Zellweger, and LaCombe have been a revelation. You can see the backbone of the organization already. Add in Luneau and Noah Warren and this team is going to be stacked defensively for years. I don't know how GMPV is going to be able to pay them all but I'm praying he can figure it out.
My only worry with the team is coaching. I'm not sure Cronin is much of an improvement over Eakins. He talks a good game with his accountability crap but the only player I see him discipline is Zegras. I go to every game and I've seen Fowler, Strome, Terry, and McTavish make plenty of terrible turnovers and horrific defensive plays and yet Cronin trots them back out there next shift! That's not accountability, that's favoritism. I wasn't too thrilled with his response to a great question Derek Lee asked him about this very situation. Cronin hemmed and hawed about Trevor's popularity and whatever but basically agreed that Zegras has a shorter leash than other players. Once again, that's not accountability.
Despite that, I'm cautiously optimistic about the future of the Ducks. Gauthier's arrival will finally give Trevor someone skilled who can finish his passes. Leo looks like he's going to be a star, and I'm hoping GMPV can use Edmonton's first-rounder to bring in another skilled veteran, preferably defensively because I think Fowler's best days are behind him.
- duxcup07

You think Zegras is moved in the summer? A year ago I thought that was impossible.

You think Zegras is moved in the summer? A year ago I thought that was impossible.
- Only_A_Ladd

I don't know now. Did you see that quote from Cronin? If I'm Zegras' agent I wouldn't be too thrilled with that response. I've heard people trying to justify it by saying Cronin expects more from Trevor so he's going to judge him more harshly. But in the quote, Cronin is trying to justify his treatment because of Zegras' popularity?!?! WTF???
Now, I have no problem sitting Zegras for what he did in those games. They were idiotic errors and he deserved to be singled out. However, I've seen Mason McTavish literally blow 2 games for his boneheaded plays and he was right back out there next game. That was why I questioned whether Cronin was up to this task. He talks a lot about accountability, but he sure isn't consistent.

Well you try to be optimistic Ben. But truly it's been pretty much a wasted year. Injuries have been the major problem. Defense has been slightly better. Offense is still missing which is a big red flag considering how talented these young players are suppose to be. Goaltending was above average. Dostal has made a big improvement. Although I'm not sold completely on him holding up over 50 or 60 games. Dostal has definitely shown he belongs in the NHL. Coaching has been struggling to fix problems this year. Not that they were giving much to work with. The Ducks are a very young and underdeveloped team. Which brings us to the Ducks GM Oat Verbeek. He just still keeps tearing down the team. He didn't aquire any more players to help this team. He sold low on Drysdale. And he just doesn't seem to get the modern version of hockey General Managing. Things move faster in the NHL than they did in the glory days of winning hockey in Detroit where Verbeek learned to GM. With 10+ years for a team to mature is unexceptable these days. You guys should know that Pat Verbeek has pretty much painted this Ducks franchise into a corner. We have no way out of this process and no hope of fixing this team if these prospects don't get things done. Worse nobody has any idea when things will get better. We're all hoping it will happen soon. But it's really hard to say. Development it's very erratic. Young players sometimes just don't develop at all. And that scares me. Because this whole idea of completely tearing down the team and building from scratch is lunacy. If you knew anything about hockey then I would think that you knew that it's a low percentage of teams that actually succeed in a full rebuild. Eventually you need to make trades a free agent signing to build a roster. This whole process is insane. But that's what happens when to people that don't know anything.

Jones / Silf need and should be gone next… so should Strome -

Overpay for Reinhart - 6 x 9.

Cutter / Leo / Sam
Z / McTavish/ TT
AK / Isac / Vatrano
Johnston / RS / Leason

Minty / Pesce
Baby Z / Gudas
LaCombe / Luneau

Cam wherever…

I don't know now. Did you see that quote from Cronin? If I'm Zegras' agent I wouldn't be too thrilled with that response. I've heard people trying to justify it by saying Cronin expects more from Trevor so he's going to judge him more harshly. But in the quote, Cronin is trying to justify his treatment because of Zegras' popularity?!?! WTF???
Now, I have no problem sitting Zegras for what he did in those games. They were idiotic errors and he deserved to be singled out. However, I've seen Mason McTavish literally blow 2 games for his boneheaded plays and he was right back out there next game. That was why I questioned whether Cronin was up to this task. He talks a lot about accountability, but he sure isn't consistent.
- duxcup07

I also go to every game… and this BS with Trevor is just that… complete and utter BS…
They’ve been dogging them with this accountability crap all year…

While guys without half his talent and skillset & ability get away with just as egregious turnovers and boneheaded penalties…

I liked the Cronin hirer When it happened… now I’m thinking he’s just Eakins lite …

If Verbeek is stupid enough to trade his by far, most offensively imaginative and skilled player this organization deserves everything they get..

We look like an actual NHL team in the offensive zone with Trevor.. otherwise, we look like an AHL squad…

I also go to every game… and this BS with Trevor is just that… complete and utter BS…
They’ve been dogging them with this accountability crap all year…

While guys without half his talent and skillset & ability get away with just as egregious turnovers and boneheaded penalties…

I liked the Cronin hirer When it happened… now I’m thinking he’s just Eakins lite …

If Verbeek is stupid enough to trade his by far, most offensively imaginative and skilled player this organization deserves everything they get..

We look like an actual NHL team in the offensive zone with Trevor.. otherwise, we look like an AHL squad…
- dozerD10

I don't think that's what the Ducks organization is doing. Zegras has a chance to be really good. And they're gone push him to be the player he can be. It showed last night at the Ducks vs Kings game how good he can be when he's on. But when he struggles, it really shows to. And I don't think there's a better way to tell a player without being honest. I mean if you sugar coat everything then it probably just dilutes the message that needs to be sent. And the message is simple with Zegras. It's : "Your a good player. But you you can be better. And the team needs you to be better. "

I also go to every game… and this BS with Trevor is just that… complete and utter BS…
They’ve been dogging them with this accountability crap all year…

While guys without half his talent and skillset & ability get away with just as egregious turnovers and boneheaded penalties…

I liked the Cronin hirer When it happened… now I’m thinking he’s just Eakins lite …

If Verbeek is stupid enough to trade his by far, most offensively imaginative and skilled player this organization deserves everything they get..

We look like an actual NHL team in the offensive zone with Trevor.. otherwise, we look like an AHL squad…
- dozerD10

I don't think that's what the Ducks organization is doing. Zegras has a chance to be really good. And they're gone push him to be the player he can be. It showed last night at the Ducks vs Kings game how good he can be when he's on. But when he struggles, it really shows to. And I don't think there's a better way to tell a player without being honest. I mean if you sugar coat everything then it probably just dilutes the message that needs to be sent. And the message is simple with Zegras. It's : "Your a good player. But you you can be better. And the team needs you to be better. "

I don't think that's what the Ducks organization is doing. Zegras has a chance to be really good. And they're gone push him to be the player he can be. It showed last night at the Ducks vs Kings game how good he can be when he's on. But when he struggles, it really shows to. And I don't think there's a better way to tell a player without being honest. I mean if you sugar coat everything then it probably just dilutes the message that needs to be sent. And the message is simple with Zegras. It's : "Your a good player. But you you can be better. And the team needs you to be better. "
- Eman87654

Absolutely agree, however, why isn't EVERYONE treated the same way, especially veterans who aren't stars? I get it when guys like Ovechkin and Draisaitl have a different set of rules, they can change the game in an instant so you overlook dumb mistakes. But Fowler, Strome, McTavish etc. are not in that category. They should be disciplined evenly.

Kudos to Derek Lee for asking the question about accountability. Before judging Cronin's response too harshly, I'd like to hear what he thinks about McT who showed some growth offensively but has at times been a train wreck when the puck is not on his stick, basically doubling last year's penalty minutes total in fewer games. Or Vatrano's career high in penalty minutes which exceeds his previous career high from last year. Or Terry's penchant for trying to score 1 on 4.

I'm willing to cut Fowler a little slack because he's being asked to be a #1 shutdown D which is not his skillset. Pair him with Gudas on 2nd pair and he might lead the D in +/-. Ask him to cover for LaCombe and be the shutdown pair and it doesn't end well. That's a roster issue, not a Fowler issue. Also not a criticism of LaCombe who has learned a lot of hard lessons this year.

Ducks need to leverage a couple of those 7 picks in the first 3 rounds to fill some holes on the roster. Proven penalty killers should be a top priority because this roster playing this system will still have penalty problems next year. A big shutdown D would also give a big boost.

Kudos to Derek Lee for asking the question about accountability. Before judging Cronin's response too harshly, I'd like to hear what he thinks about McT who showed some growth offensively but has at times been a train wreck when the puck is not on his stick, basically doubling last year's penalty minutes total in fewer games. Or Vatrano's career high in penalty minutes which exceeds his previous career high from last year. Or Terry's penchant for trying to score 1 on 4.

I'm willing to cut Fowler a little slack because he's being asked to be a #1 shutdown D which is not his skillset. Pair him with Gudas on 2nd pair and he might lead the D in +/-. Ask him to cover for LaCombe and be the shutdown pair and it doesn't end well. That's a roster issue, not a Fowler issue. Also not a criticism of LaCombe who has learned a lot of hard lessons this year.

Ducks need to leverage a couple of those 7 picks in the first 3 rounds to fill some holes on the roster. Proven penalty killers should be a top priority because this roster playing this system will still have penalty problems next year. A big shutdown D would also give a big boost.
- hardenx

You don't think Cronin's actions show what he thinks about Mason? He obviously favors him. I'd argue Mason's trangressions have been worse than Trevor's and yet McTavish was once moved to the third line but never missed any ice time. Besides, talk is cheap, what Cronin does in these situations carries more weight.

Kudos to Derek Lee for asking the question about accountability. Before judging Cronin's response too harshly, I'd like to hear what he thinks about McT who showed some growth offensively but has at times been a train wreck when the puck is not on his stick, basically doubling last year's penalty minutes total in fewer games. Or Vatrano's career high in penalty minutes which exceeds his previous career high from last year. Or Terry's penchant for trying to score 1 on 4.

I'm willing to cut Fowler a little slack because he's being asked to be a #1 shutdown D which is not his skillset. Pair him with Gudas on 2nd pair and he might lead the D in +/-. Ask him to cover for LaCombe and be the shutdown pair and it doesn't end well. That's a roster issue, not a Fowler issue. Also not a criticism of LaCombe who has learned a lot of hard lessons this year.

Ducks need to leverage a couple of those 7 picks in the first 3 rounds to fill some holes on the roster. Proven penalty killers should be a top priority because this roster playing this system will still have penalty problems next year. A big shutdown D would also give a big boost.
- hardenx

For sure on that, we need some excellent PK’ers …

And Pesce or Roy would be buttery….

Kudos to Derek Lee for asking the question about accountability. Before judging Cronin's response too harshly, I'd like to hear what he thinks about McT who showed some growth offensively but has at times been a train wreck when the puck is not on his stick, basically doubling last year's penalty minutes total in fewer games. Or Vatrano's career high in penalty minutes which exceeds his previous career high from last year. Or Terry's penchant for trying to score 1 on 4.

I'm willing to cut Fowler a little slack because he's being asked to be a #1 shutdown D which is not his skillset. Pair him with Gudas on 2nd pair and he might lead the D in +/-. Ask him to cover for LaCombe and be the shutdown pair and it doesn't end well. That's a roster issue, not a Fowler issue. Also not a criticism of LaCombe who has learned a lot of hard lessons this year.

Ducks need to leverage a couple of those 7 picks in the first 3 rounds to fill some holes on the roster. Proven penalty killers should be a top priority because this roster playing this system will still have penalty problems next year. A big shutdown D would also give a big boost.
- hardenx

Derek Lee don't ask any questions that aren't pre-approved by the Ducks organization. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to do press releases a do video clips from The Ducks organization. And The only question that really matters is when will the Ducks win again. And he won't ask that question.

Derek Lee don't ask any questions that aren't pre-approved by the Ducks organization. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to do press releases a do video clips from The Ducks organization. And The only question that really matters is when will the Ducks win again. And he won't ask that question.
- Eman87654

Where do you come up with this crap? I've known Randy Youngman, Lisa Dilman, and Eric Stephens. Not one of them gave the Ducks questions to pre-approve. Besides, if Cronin knew that question was coming, I think he would have been able to come up with a better answer than the one he gave.

Where do you come up with this crap? I've known Randy Youngman, Lisa Dilman, and Eric Stephens. Not one of them gave the Ducks questions to pre-approve. Besides, if Cronin knew that question was coming, I think he would have been able to come up with a better answer than the one he gave.
- duxcup07

Yeah, that seemed like an odd response…

And no reporter worth a damn would give questions in advance. They would walk away before they did that.

Where do you come up with this crap? I've known Randy Youngman, Lisa Dilman, and Eric Stephens. Not one of them gave the Ducks questions to pre-approve. Besides, if Cronin knew that question was coming, I think he would have been able to come up with a better answer than the one he gave.
- duxcup07

Yeah. One day dude just shows up. Has better access to the Ducks organization than the beat reporters. Then begins to tell a story of how good of a job the Ducks organization is doing. All the while never saying anything bad about the organization. Derek isn't a bloger or a reporter. He works for the Ducks.

Honestly I don't mind people making money or tring to further there career. But tell it like it is. Don't sit there and pretend that Derek is unbiased when the Ducks Organization is helping him. And in the the last 10 years nobody has gotten the kind of favoritism that's Derek's getting form the Ducks organization. Not Eric or Lisa or Randy. In Matter of fact the Ducks organization has been outright hostile to anybody who says and negative about them. So anybody who the Ducks organization approves of, isn't telling the whole story.

I agree that there are positives for this season. We have seen growth from our prospects in the NHL, but they are several years away from their prime.

I saw some comments above about GMPV "painting the team into a corner..."? C'mon now. The entire league can see what is being built in Anaheim. We have a state of the art training facility at Five Points arena and a massive amount of cap space. We are absolutely not painted into a corner, whatever that means. The Ducks have more top-rated draft capital than almost any other team in the league and will be able to trade/sign meaningful players this offseason and next.

I doubt we will go all in this year, but I believe we will add. Pesce is my ideal target, but we could also take a bad contract or two PLUS give up one of our first rounders this year and get a true stud RHD this offseason if Pesce is signed by someone else. I think that will add another nice veteran piece to help all the kids we have on D balance their ice time and provide more mentorship.

I think Z stays for at least the end of next season once he is able to stay healthy and play closer to a full season. Remember, this was also the first season he played more on the wing than at center, so not only did he miss camp, he switched to a new position, and dealt with injuries. Oh, and he went through the first big trade of one of his friends in Drysdale. Let's cut the guy some slack! He has actually played quite well these past few games, backchecking much more frequently and finishing his checks.

This feels like the first time in a while where you can see real progress and the potential for a step next year. We may have one more tough year ahead of us, but I actually see lots to be optimistic about for next year. I think there is a chance we are in the hunt for a wild card spot in January of 2025!