If you think that it’s time for the Anaheim Ducks to start leveling up again after several poor — and even dreadful — seasons, you’re not alone.
Since their last playoff appearance, the Ducks have the worst point percentage (.421) of all 32 teams over the last six seasons. Talent, at least through the draft and the rare one-for-one headline youngster swap, hasn’t been hard for Anaheim to accumulate. Wins have. And while they showed some signs of forward progress under Greg Cronin in 2023-24, the Ducks had only one point more than they totaled in Dallas Eakins’s final year. Too many injuries, too much inconsistency, far too many penalties, far too little killing of those misdeeds. And, again, too little scoring.
Pat Verbeek is entering his third full season as general manager. Verbeek dove headfirst into the rebuild waters that Bob Murray only seemed to wade into. Starting over may have been necessary, but how long are fans willing to put up with following a team that doesn’t play meaningful games each spring?
Here’s where you readers can have your say. The Ducks are thought to be a team that could rocket upward at some point, but they’ve yet to get off the launch pad. Training camp and six preseason games will commence next month ahead of the Oct. 12 opener in San Jose.
Call this a temperature check. We’ll leave this survey up for a few days and then do a story on the results. I’m genuinely interested in your thoughts. Hopefully, I’ve asked some of the correct questions and provided good options for answering. Let’s get a ton of responses.
(Anyone having difficulty accessing the survey also can find it by clicking here.)
(Photo of Cutter Gauthier: Zak Krill / NHLI via Getty Images)
