Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
...As much as I dislike the Ducks, I think that they are going to only have a small window of not being a factor in the Pacific...
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I am not remotely convinced of this. For years, Anaheim’s success was on the backs of their top three forwards—Getzlaf, Perry, and Kessler—who were good enough to run over everyone else in the League on a regular basis. Perry is gone, and Kessler is broken. Getzlaf is 34, and last year he looked—for the first time in his entire NHL career—like a mortal hockey player. He is approaching a point in his career when he can no longer dominate and take games over on his own. The Ducks currently do not have a player who can replace what Getzlaf brought, and it will take at least a few years to draft and develop another top-line centre.
Yes, they will continue to ride Gibson like they did last year, but look at that roster—it is a far cry from even average, and is not the sort of player group that requires tweaking or supplement. The Ducks are at the starting line of their rebuild. It will take a few years before they are even again in the conversation for the playoffs. Because Getzlaf was once THAT good, and without him in top form the Ducks are THAT bad.
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