Sunday marked the third team officially eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention as the Anaheim Ducks lost 4-2 to the St. Louis Blues and the Vegas Golden Knights won earlier in the day.
It’ll be the sixth straight season that the Ducks miss out on playoff hockey and it marks yet another season of disappointment for the young core they have up and coming.
While there’s a ton to look forward to in terms of the team’s overall depth in the system, the lack of success in recent years remains a worrisome part of the team’s overall development. Now, officially eliminated from the running, here’s a look back on the 2023-24 season for the Ducks and what went wrong, if changes could’ve been made and what they have to look forward to.
Where the Ducks Season Went Wrong
Realistic expectations didn’t quite have the Ducks cracking the postseason in 2023-24. They still have a young core with players like Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Mason McTavish, while others like Leo Carlsson and Pavel Mintyukov got a real taste for the NHL this season.
Still, John Gibson’s injury history and their lack of overall experience with the departure of Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks just aren’t at a level to make a strong push in an 82-game regular season.
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They kicked off the season losing four of their first five games, albeit against some tough opponents. They followed that up by winning six in a row, before an eight-game losing streak to close out November. Another five-game losing streak in January and the current six-game slide that they’re on and those kind of extended streaks broke their season.
On top of that, the team had zero consistency when it came to their lineup. Injuries played a major role this season for the Ducks and that ultimately hurt their ability to develop chemistry throughout their four lines.
In fact, the only player that has suited up in every game thus far is Frank Vatrano, which is why he leads the Ducks with 29 goals and 50 points this season. McTavish, Zegras and former Duck Jamie Drysdale missed significant time which hurt the young squad and forced the Ducks to move a handful of players throughout the year and heading into the deadline — including Adam Henrique, Ilya Lyubushkin and Drysdale.
But it’s safe to say there wasn’t much room for improvement for this team.
Ducks Season Par For the Course
Injuries aside, this team simply isn’t ready for that next level. Their core is still developing after all their veterans moved on and they still seem to be a couple years away from a real playoff push.
Aside from the losses, goaltending was horrific. Both Gibson and Lukáš Dostál have seen a lot of rubber this season and, unfortunately for them, their numbers align with that. But the team in front of them needs more experience and structure.
Offensively, they also didn’t get much support. Next to their top five scorers, Ryan Strome only has 11 goals this season, Leo Carlsson has just nine in his rookie campaign and Jakob Silfverberg has just six in 67 games.
Add to that the fact that the Ducks couldn’t kill penalties for their lives and it was a recipe for disaster that had no chance of working out for Ducks’ fans. They have the second worst penalty kill percentage at 73.1 percent and have the second most goals against overall this season (247) trailing only the San Jose Sharks (263).
While it wasn’t their year — for the sixth season in a row — the Ducks do have a lot to look forward to in the near future.
The Ducks’ Future Is Bright
Along with the core that is already mainstays in the lineup, the Ducks made a decision this season to ride Mintyukov over Drysdale. For the most part it’s seemed like a pretty good call thus far. On top of that, Carlsson is just starting to flourish which means this team has more talent than what we saw this season already on the roster.
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Add to that Olen Zellweger and Cutter Gauthier and the Ducks will have a strong youth movement at very good prices for the foreseeable future. That said, it will also take them time to grow and develop. Which could mean that the Ducks are more like three years away from a real push than seeing something happen in the next couple of seasons.
As for their draft stock, they currently have nine picks in 2024, seven of which are in the first three rounds. They have eight picks in 2025 and still control all of their picks in 2026. So that pipeline will continue to grow.
That said, their currently playoff streak continues this season as they miss out for the sixth straight year and for now, rest in peace to the 2023-24 Anaheim Ducks.
