The Anaheim Ducks had a busy offseason and believe they are ready to compete for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth after not qualifying each of the past four seasons.
On the first day of free agency, the Ducks signed forwards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano to play in their top six.
"I think Ryan's going to be a good addition from a couple different angles," general manager Pat Verbeek told the Ducks website July 18. "From a leadership standpoint, it's going to be very, very important. Obviously, he's a really good playmaker and had a good year scoring goals this year as well. So, I think having someone that's very productive offensively and someone that is going to provide really good culture and really good leadership in the locker room was very important for our club and we addressed that."
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Strome had an NHL career-high 21 goals with the New York Rangers last season; Vatrano had 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 71 games for the Rangers and Florida Panthers.
"I think we want to just try and win some hockey games," Strome said. "We got some good older guys and hopefully we come in here and continue to grow as a team. That seems to be the direction everything is headed. A bit of some turnover [in the past few seasons] losing some guys who have been here for decades (Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Hampus Lindholm). That isn't necessarily easy to replace, but I think we're trying to do that."
Getzlaf retired after 17 seasons, including the past 12 as captain.
"Ryan was an incredible captain and an incredible player and an even better person," coach Dallas Eakins said. "So, it does leave a hole, but Adam Henrique is a great leader. Troy Terry is growing into a very good leader. Pat added Strome and Vatrano in there. 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."
In addition to Strome and Vatrano, the Ducks signed defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year contract July 29.
"Well, obviously if you look at their team, I think they have some real interesting young players," Klingberg said. "I think they took a step last year. Just looking at their team, I think they had a lot of injuries and COVID issues last year and still ended up getting a lot of points. I'm just excited to be able to come there and try to help the team get better next season."
Adding those three players to a core that includes forwards Trevor Zegras and Terry, and it's not hard to see why it's an exciting time in Anaheim. Zegras had 61 points and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year last season. Terry led the Ducks with 37 goals and 67 points; it was the first time since 2017-18 that Anaheim had a 30-goal and 60-point scorer.
"Obviously [Zegras and Terry] both had very productive seasons points-wise. I think Troy Terry's shooting percentage (19.3 percent) 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.
"… We're hoping Jakob Silfverberg (blood clot) is back and fully recovered, hoping Max Jones (torn pectoral muscle) can be recovered -- he only played two games last year -- and we're looking for a huge bounce-back year from Max Comtois (16 points in 52 games)."
