Anaheim Ducks 2025-26 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

Anaheim Ducks 2025-26 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

the Anaheim Ducks. Listen, there’s been a lot of changes in Anaheim this year. There’s a lot of Oh, yeah. They play. It’s crazy. Uh Chris Krider being chief among them. Uh and it’s exciting because the Ducks have been and I hate to say this, Ducks fans, not just irrelevant, but depressing for a while. And last year was the first year where I felt like, okay, there’s some sunlight here. They made some great They’ve made some really smart moves. They’ve taken advantage of teams, Eastern teams that have had issues, uh, Philadelphia specifically with Cutter Goce, New York with both Chris Krider and Jake Trouba, and they’ve turned it into a, hey, this team doesn’t look so bad. And with Lucas Dostall in net, and that’s where we’re going to start. That seems to be their strongest position. Oh, easily. Uh, Dostall is one of the next big things in goalending in this league. Um, you know, Dustin Wolf obviously just signed that, you know, massive new deal in Calgary. But I kind of wonder if Dostall played somewhere that isn’t Anaheim if we’d be talking about him more. Um, that guy’s faking unbelievable. He’s the reason they won uh as many games as they did last year. For for me, this year is less about vets like Crider who who are showing up who might have a good season. Yeah, I’m kind of I would I would buy low on his stock. Um, the young guys just need to get better. That’s basically it. Uh, but the the cap space to me is the most fascinating uh story with this team because they already have 20 and a half million. Well, by the deadline they’re going to have more and next year they’re they could be they could get whoever they want. And as of this recording, Mason McTavish remains unsigned. So that could diminish slightly. Yeah. Like I mean, how much of that is he really going to take up? Like a third. Yeah. And and listen, typical Steve, I tried to start and focus on the goalending and Steve’s like, “But what about what I want to talk about?” Uh well, what? So, so here’s what’s interesting. I I think there’s going to be a lot of goalending movement around the league. And uh the Ducks have two goalies who and one of them I think is going to end up on waiverss. And I’m not convinced either guy makes it through. They have obviously Dostall is going to get the lion share of the games. I’m not totally sure Morazzic would make it through and I I’m not totally sure Billy Huso would make it through. Mhm. And I’m even less sure about who the heck is going to win a job. They have $13 million wrapped up in three goalenders. Six and a half of that’s Lucas Doto, which I think is worth every penny considering where the cap’s going. 4.25 on the last year of Morazzic Steel and Huso at 2.2 2 million. Jesse Huso is your guy. Uh, you got a little bit of a an affection for Billy Huso. I really liked Billy Huso when he was challenging for Jordan Jordan Bennington’s job. I thought he was going to take it and be a next great goalender around the league and it just hasn’t panned out. You know, when he went to Detroit and signed that deal, I thought it was a great bargain and then he didn’t work out there on their giant rotating cast of goalenders. Eventually got sent down. Eventually got sent to Anaheim for nothing. Eventually sent down there. He’s not a regular NHLER anymore. So, I think like there’s a possibility he falls through waiverss here at that $2.2 million price. And I don’t know, they have a busy goalending room with those three guys. If I had to guess, I’d sayo’s the backup cuz he’s actually played games for them. Okay. I think uh ahead of Morazzic, even though Morazzic’s making double. Well, Morazzic’s making double, but I think he was a necessary evil in taking money back in the Gibson deal, right? But I think Morazzic is the guy that you wave because he’s less likely to get claimed. Don’t you think? It’s a lot of teams have space there. I think with the Ducks season looking at it, focusing on their backup goalending situation might be a little force for the trees there. And I think like they have so much going on and you mentioned like Krider being the the kind of the the piece that stands out on the offseason moves to me. Like the biggest thing the Ducks have done here in the storyline for the season for them is moving from Greg Cronin to Joel Quenville. I think that is an entire organizational change and I think having that not having Greg Cronin within the organization is a plus plus plus by subtraction how he got along with the young talent there. And I don’t know what Joel Quenville is going to be years removed from being in the NHL, but when he was with Florida, I think they were very happy with him there from his coaching standpoint. And I think it’s a big cultural change. You’re going to see something new out of the Ducks this year from just how the guys react in the locker room to having this new head coach. Quenville not being in Florida is one of the craziest butterfly effects uh in recent memory. And and listen, there’s a reason he wasn’t in the league for many years. A lot of people don’t think he should be in there at all, but the if you’re just looking at it from strictly a hockey perspective, the Ducks have in a way fallen ass backwards into going from Greg Cronin to one of the greatest coaches in NHL history, which I think is going to be quite the quite the shock to the system for the organization. And you know, the Ducks did something this year that I think that they haven’t been able to do for a while. Uh, and that’s attract one of the top free agents. Now, a couple of years ago, they did sign Radco Gutas, who’s their captain. Yeah. But to say Radco Gutas was ever a top free agent, it’s a bit of a stretch. He’s a good free agent. Not a top free agent. Uh Michael Granlin coming in out of Dallas, three years, 7 million per and essentially replacing Zegris, which is it’s seemingly a good bet. You look at the mix on this roster because they’ve got a lot of young guys coming up. But they also have I’m looking at Granland 33, Crider 34, Kornne 36, Stro 32, Vertrano signed for three more years, uh 31. And then you uh compare that with some of the younger guys. So obviously Troy Terry’s 28, which I can’t believe, but Paling’s younger side, he’s 26. And then you got Goch, Carlson, McTavish, you know, these are the these are the younger guys that are going to be ushered in by a pretty good veteran core. They actually have a very good mix. Yeah. Yeah. Like it’s balanced. And I just talking about the forwards here. If you look at um you know uh say Jackson Lome or Mchukov or some of these guys, Trouba and Gudas are going to be able to bring them along. And I think that you know, think about Dostall. Do you think Dostall is as good or as confident as John if John Gibson isn’t there? And that’s not to take away from what Dostall did on his own, but I think watching an everyday pro in an extremely tough environment like the Ducks were, uh you got to pick something up. They underratedly had one of the better tandemss in the league. Yeah, actually. Um, which should maybe give you pause that they still finished near the bottom and they were getting goalending that that was that good almost every night. Like, you know, Detroit could take a step like if Gibson, he doesn’t even have to give you prime Gibson. Like, if he gives you what he gave you last year. Um, Detroit’s instantly a better team. Yeah. Yeah. Um uh and like again little unsure like why the Ducks had to do that or maybe they did it as a favorite. He wanted to go they they got the you know some assets back or whatever. Uh one one of my uh the funniest things that I found while doing research for these guys uh Zelwagger is 22. Mhm. He’s their third youngest D. Wow. There are somehow two guys who are younger than that. So, the mix of young and old that they have is is going to be really important. Um, I thought you were a little nuts uh for suggesting a little while ago that they can make the playoffs. It’s not all that out of the question. I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s not all that out of the question. Um, but because of the older guys they have, they’re also in great position that if they wanted to uh sell at this year’s deadline, they could still do it. Absolutely. Trouba and I think Gudas are both on the last years of their deals on the defensive side. And then you telling me no one’s going to want either of them. Yeah. And then you’ve got I mean Krider, Korn, and Stro both have or all three have two years left. No one’s gonna want Krider. Yeah. That’s value. What? Crider playoff Krider when he’s healthy. Amazing. Want Color. One thing I want to point to is I think that that it’s potentially Pat Verbique potentially made the greatest trade in Ducks history and we just don’t know it yet. Uh and that’s that’s the emergence for of Cutter Goce. This guy’s 21 years old. He was traded for a good defenseman, not a great defenseman in in Jamie Dale. And he had a breakout year last year. He got Calder votes uh 44 points in 82 games, 20 goals. Uh he’s got to work on taking care of the puck. He’s got to work on his possession game. But I look at that Cutter Goce deal and if he breaks out and becomes a point a game player rather than the half a point a game player he was last year, that’s the the best value trade the Ducks have ever gotten. Oh, it’s it’s unbelievable. Really, really good. I I think when that trade was made and there was all the controversy around it and who did what and well the the Flyers management come out came out and seued him. Yeah. There was so much about that deal and that story when it broke that was about feelings that we sort of left hockey behind. He’s pretty good at it. Yeah. He’s he’s uh like uh would anyone be shocked if he flirted with 30? I don’t think so. Maybe past 30. And it could be guys Jesse. It could be he could be playing on the first first line wing. Like I I think that’s the key here. He’s going to get the opportunity at 21 years of age to score a bunch on the power play, too. Mhm. So So, okay. So, here’s the deal. We got uh the the Ducks last year. Okay. They finished, are you ready for this? Not dead last in the division. Third last in the division. Uh name the two teams under them. Sharks and Kraken. Sharks and Kraken. Kraken. Kraken were four points behind them. Uh that’s how bad the Kraken were last year. They had 80 points. Bet MGM’s odds currently have the Ducks at an overunder at 84 12 points. Essentially, that amounts to two or three more wins than last year. Are they over or are they under? What was the number? 84 and a half. They had 80 points last year. Can they get three more wins? That’s all it is. I’m going to say under because uh I think the team might actually be better, but the goalending uh tandem was so good last year. It’s going to be difficult for us or uh Morazzic to live up to what Gibson did. Okay. And it’s hard to say, oh yeah, we’re gonna have Morazzic was good in Chicago. He’s on again, off again. Like he’s completely who the hell knows. Okay. All right. So, you’re saying under, Jesse, what are you saying? I’ll say under as well. I think there’s less wins available with the Canucks not having such a tumultuous season and uh I think the Edmonton Oilers are going to not start off slow again. So, I think there’s less wins wins available in the division. So, I’m going to say the Ducks uh under that. Duck fans, I got you. I think this team’s going for 90 points this year. So, I’m saying smash the over. This team is going to be a vibes team. I think they’re going to feel good. You’re going to have a healthy, rejuvenated Chris Krider. You’re going to have Jake Trouba enjoying his life and palm trees. I think the Anaheim Ducks make a run at the playoffs, especially if Mason McTavish is signed. Last bit, where do they finish in the division? Steve and Jesse. I have the Ducks finishing in the same spot they finished last season. That would be one, two, three, four, five, sixth in the division. Okay, Steve Dangle. I’m struggling. I’m struggling because I think I really like the direction they’re heading in. I do. I do. And that’s different from a couple years ago when I was like, “Dude, these guys are miserable and they suck and they’re they’re not just bad, they’re irrelevant. I don’t feel that way about them anymore.” Mhm. But like, okay, are you passing the Flames? Are you passing the Oilers? Definitely not. You passing the Kings? No. Are you passing the Canucks? I doubt it. Sharks is interesting. crack. I’m gonna say seventh, man. Wow. No faith. I have the Ducks in fifth. I I think they are. I think they’re the real deal, and I think they’re going to climb. I I really truly believe it to see the three teams you have behind them. Uh there was one that you said there’s no way they pass them. They absolutely will pass that team, but you’re going to have to wait for that preview. Okay. The Oilers. No, no, not the Oilers.

Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake preview the upcoming season for the Anaheim Ducks and predict where they will finish in the Pacific Division.

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