3 questions facing Anaheim Ducks

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Anaheim Ducks.

1. Will they name a captain?

Anaheim has not had a captain since Ryan Getzlaf retired following the 2021-22 season. Getzlaf played 17 seasons for the Ducks, held the title for 12 (2010-22) and is their leader in games (1,157), points (1,019) and assists (737). Last season, Anaheim rotated five players as alternates -- defenseman Cam Fowler and forwards Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, Jakob Silfverberg and Adam Henrique. Silfverberg retired following the season and Henrique was traded to the Edmonton Oilers on March 6.

If the Ducks were to name a captain, Fowler, their longest-tenured player (14 seasons), and McTavish would be two of the most likely candidates.

"I think whoever we name, we've got a lot of great choices and a lot of great options," forward Ryan Strome said. "And I think obviously it's going to be a first-time captain for whoever it's going to be, but I'm sure they'll handle it, and we've got a really good group by committee that is really mature and takes things in stride. We've had a lot of ups and downs the last couple of years, so I think we need somebody to kind of right the ship and steer the ship and be the leader. Whoever gets it will do a great job."

2. Where will the offense come from?

The 203 goals scored by the Ducks last season were 30th in the NHL, ahead of only the San Jose Sharks (180) and Chicago Blackhawks (178). In 2022-23, they scored 206 goals, which ranked 31st, and they've ranked no higher than 24th in the past six seasons. Frank Vatrano (37 goals) and Troy Terry (20) were the only players to score at least 20 goals last season.

Anaheim has yet to upgrade in that area. Robby Fabbri, acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on July 3, scored 18 goals last season, tying his NHL career high set as a rookie for the St. Louis Blues in 2015-16.

"Obviously scoring goals and producing is great but for me," Vatrano said. "Wherever I play in this lineup to help this team win, whether it's forechecking, killing penalties or whatever, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help this team succeed. And obviously we have great younger guys who are going to get better next year and we're going to rely on them, and we have a great support cast. 

"We have older guys that have been there and won Cups. Obviously, we added (defenseman Brian) Dumoulin and Fabbri, who are two veteran guys who've been around a long time, so we have a good mix of young guys and older guys and we're all trying to help each other play for the same goal."

3. Will Trevor Zegras and Leo Carlsson have bounce-back seasons?

They will be counted on for offense if they can stay healthy. Zegras was limited to 31 games last season because of a lower-body injury and broken ankle and had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) after scoring 23 goals and at least 61 points the previous two seasons.

Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, played 55 games and had 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists), missing time with a knee injury and concussion.

"[Carlsson has] got a really high ceiling, a higher ceiling than a lot of people realize, so obviously you don't want to expect too much out of him," Strome said. "But the games he was healthy and playing in this year, he was our best player, so we'll see how it goes. The sky is the limit for him."

NHL.com staff writer Jon Lane contributed to this report