When the final horn sounds on the Anaheim Ducks’ April 18 matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, their 2023-24 season will come to a close. It’s been another trying season for the rebuilding Ducks, as injuries and inconsistencies have kept them in the bottom three of the standings for the second year in a row.
Related: More to Blame for Ducks’ Lost Season: Injuries or Penalties?
As a rebuilding team, a bulk of the progress to make Anaheim competitive will happen during the offseason. Between now and the beginning of training camp in September, the Ducks will be one of the busier teams off the ice. Let’s look at the offseason ahead and what we can expect, from the draft lottery to development camps. Not every date is confirmed, but last year’s dates are included to get an idea of the potential schedule.
NHL Draft Lottery – Early May
The first event on the calendar for non-playoff teams is the draft lottery. While we don’t have a specific date for the lottery, it’s been reported to be planned for the first full week of May. For reference, last year’s lottery was held on May 8 as a televised lead-in for a second-round playoff game. Boston University center Macklin Celebrini awaits this year’s lottery winner as the assumed top pick.
The Ducks have clinched the third-best odds at this year’s draft lottery, with an 11.5% and 11.2% chance to win either of the two draws. Because of the lottery system, they are only guaranteed to pick within the top five. The only way Anaheim drafts third is if the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks win each drawing. Any team from the fourth through 13th position that wins the lottery would knock the Ducks down a spot. As a result, Anaheim selecting third is the least likely outcome from any of the top five positions at 7.8%, according to Tankathon. A slide to fourth (39.7%) or even fifth (29.8%) is far more likely.
NHL Draft – June 28-29
After the Stanley Cup Final crowns a champion and brings an end to the 2023-24 season, all eyes turn towards the draft. The Ducks will be particularly busy — in addition to their high-end lottery pick, they’ll have another six picks in the first three rounds, including another first-rounder from the Edmonton Oilers. In total, they have nine picks in the seven-round event.
This year’s draft doesn’t have the absurd top-end potential of last year’s class, but Celebrini is well worth the top pick the lottery winner will spend on him. Beyond Celebrini, this year’s draft class is loaded with defensemen, with as many as six blueliners garnering top-10 consideration. Last week, we listed some of the names that could be available to the Ducks in the top five. After the lottery cements their position, we’ll do several mock drafts similar to last year’s offseason coverage.
Free Agency Begins – July 1
Teams can begin signing free agents three days after the draft concludes. With only 13 skaters under contract for next season (nine forwards and four defensemen), the Ducks will be busy filling out the rest of the roster. The first order of business will be evaluating their restricted free agents. Anaheim has six arbitration-eligible restricted free agents: Urho Vaakanainen, Gustav Lindstrom, Isac Lundestrom, Brett Leason, Max Jones, and Ben-Olivier Groulx. None of these players have significant leverage in arbitration, and general manager Pat Verbeek has spent recent years not extending offers to players like Sam Steel, Max Comtois, and Sonny Milano. Jackson LaCombe is the only restricted free agent not eligible for arbitration.
After qualifying offers have been distributed, we’ll have a clearer picture of how many roster spots are available in Anaheim. While some of these will go to prospects currently at the lower levels, they’ll likely have to sign a few free agents to round out the roster. The Ducks will have the salary cap space to add just about anyone they want, but they should continue to be wise about throwing money around. At some point, the younger players like Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, and Pavel Mintyukov are going to get a pay raise into the upper echelon of NHL salaries, and spending now could impact Anaheim’s ability to incorporate these contracts into a competitive roster. Verbeek has already taken criticism for giving term to 34-year-old Alex Killorn and 33-year-old Radko Gudas, but these alone aren’t enough to handicap the team’s ability to spend money.
Steven Stamkos is one of the more interesting options if the Tampa Bay Lightning can’t work a deal with their longtime captain. He’d be another older signing, but he’s still scoring at a better rate than anyone on the Ducks’ roster. Killorn and Gudas started their careers in Tampa and could lead a recruiting effort to bring him to Anaheim. Elsewhere, the Carolina Hurricanes have some difficult decisions regarding Jake Guentzel, Tuevo Teravainen, and Martin Necas, and any of the three would improve the Ducks’ lineup. Other interesting names that could improve Anaheim’s forward core include Tyler Toffoli, Anthony Duclair, and Anthony Mantha.
Development, Rookie & Training Camps
In the days after free agency opens, we should also learn more about Anaheim’s summer development camp. Last year’s camp was held from July 3-7 and had a 32-player roster. The on-ice practices have been held at Great Park Ice in Irvine and are open to the public, giving fans a first look at many of the prospects within the Ducks’ system. Last year, all nine 2023 draft picks attended the camp, including Carlsson.
Closer to the beginning of the NHL season, the Ducks will come out with more information about their rookie camp and a likely tournament with other Western Conference rivals. Last year’s September camp was also open to the public. The 25-man roster included 19 players drafted by the Ducks in the previous four years. The camp has traditionally concluded with a “Rookie Faceoff” tournament with several other regional teams. Last year’s tournament was hosted by the Vegas Golden Knights and attended by the Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, and Los Angeles Kings. Past tournaments have been streamed live, and I expect this to continue.
Once the Rookie Faceoff concludes, it will only be a matter of days before training camp opens in earnest. With a good portion of the roster not yet solidified, this will be where position battles are won or lost. Does one of the young skilled wingers like Yegor Sidorov or Sasha Pastujov crack the opening night roster? Will a defensive logjam force players like Tyson Hinds or Drew Helleson to be buried on the depth chart? We’ll know a lot more the closer we get to training camp, and we’ll discuss these position battles and much more throughout our Ducks’ 2024 offseason coverage.
Salary cap data courtesy of Cap-Friendly.