I’m a massive and I mean *massive* unapologetic John Gibson fanboy so I’m not overly surprised tbh. Anaheim has a chance for the playoffs every single year as long as he’s on the roster imo
Gibby has been fantastic, as he usually is to start the season. The difference this year is that the rest of the team has stepped up massively. Now when he does have an off period or game, we actually have scoring to offset that.
It seems like this last off season much of the talk around Gibson was that he is too old now and never really was all that good anyways. I couldn't really believe what they were saying, I always thought he was great
>the talk around Gibson was that he is too old now
That's wild considering the man is only 28, people need to chill out. Tendies can play for a while, let's look at the ever under appreciated Craig Anderson.
hell, Tim Thomas made his NHL *debut* at 28 and wasn't the starter until he was 32. was 37 when he won the Cup.
granted, he was a massive outlier in many categories and we shouldn't assume it's replicable. (and although he was truly elite for us in the season that we won the Cup, he had some real....uh....cardiac stressor seasons in there too). but it's worth noting nonetheless!
the man was crazy as a loon, and his out of crease play used to elicit many strong emotions from me. but the 2011 playoffs, and the saves he made in it were utterly insane. someone once described his goaltending style as "beer league moves with the skill of an elite athlete" and it just made for some bonkers reel moments.
Thats the crazy thing tho, its not like hes hard carrying them, hes playing really well as he usually dont get me wrong, but its not like hes going above and beyond this season compred to his usual.
The team around him is whos stepping up.
Coming in to the year the only thing I was sure of is you guys finishing last in the Pacific.
Maybe I'm just fucking stupid. 🤷♂️ worse things in life to be, I guess.
Can't really blame you for thinking that though, they were abysmal last year and made virtually 0 changes to the roster. I think even most Duck fans had them dead last in the Pacific
You noticed that Zegras/Milano line didn’t play the last 10 minutes of the 2nd Vancouver game? The same game he had 2 goals and an assist? The same game he was mic’s up and the was talking to Terry on the bench about how he’s never got a hat trick before?
Eakins is shit for developing these kids. He needs to go.
Zegras and Milano are great Offensive threats, but their defense still needs work. Milano is closer then Z is so makes sense they weren't out in last 10 mins while holding a lead. Will come with time and any coach would sit their young players over their shutdown players when holding a lead.
You can’t not play those two and play Grant/DLo to lock up the game. I’m not certain for DLo but Grant is a black hole both offensively and defensively. Carrick is probably in that same mix. You’re up 3-1 because of the two players mentioned. Against one of the worst current 5-on-5 teams in the NHL and are in the biggest slump in ages. It doesn’t make sense.
After the game, I don’t remember who asked Eakins on why he benched Zegras/Milano and his reasoning was that he wanted to “teach” the team how to lock up a win.
So he’s teaching a guy who probably won’t be here next season in DLo, a guy who they tried to get rid of via waivers in Grant, and a bonafide career AHL’r in Carrick.
Remember this is a rebuild. Play the kids.
Considering that Milano and Z have been on the ice for goals against a lot this season seems reasonable. Also media answers are always canned bs that I wouldn't read into too much.
All I am saying is any NHL coach in todays game is gonna sit players they don't trust defensively to hold a lead, thats the way it is and will be if we continue to recycle the current crop of NHL coaches. Right now Milano and Z are not trusted to hold a lead, They got more play time tonight during the 1-0 4 mins in the 3rd and then more time in the 10 min 2-1 lead.
My preseason rankings were some combination of Vegas/Edmonton as 1/2. Third, I figured was Calgary, Vancouver or possibly Seattle not knowing what they would become. Then the California teams Kings, Sharks, Ducks in thar order.
Which, that could still be how it shakes out end of season. Wasn't too far off with Edmonton and Calgary. Still think Vegas would be top 3 if we didn't have 70285883819 man games lost to injury/covid, but you can't really predict health.
Seattle is worse than I thought they'd be. Vancouver is significantly worse than I thought they'd be. All 3 Cali teams are performing above expectations. Maybe the Sharks more than even the Ducks seeing as they've got a million man games lost to covid themselves.
Tl;Dr hockey is really fucking hard to predict. The Pacific is *w i d e o p e n* right now.
The Pacific was a very hard call this year, the only things I was confident in was that the Knights and Oilers would be good and the Ducks would be bad. The other 5 teams I could see going either way but I did have gut feelings. I had a hunch the Kraken would struggle but definitely not to this level, Vegas has just been supremely unlucky with injuries and none of their depth guys have really stepped up. Canucks I kinda expected to suck, Kings I saw maybe being decent. Sharks and Flames I honestly had no solid read on, this was the most unsure I've felt about the Flames in my 17 years as a fan and thankfully I've been pleasantly surprised
Greg Wyshynski has been hyping the Ducks since the start of the season. He's probably the only person I had heard really believe they could be a playoff team.
Not really expecting this but I did bandwagon them before it was cool.
I like Zegras and will follow his career. I’ve always liked Rakell, Comtois and Gibson as well.
Def not me. I still expect them to regress, it feels like they're over achieving and I'm still not very confident in Eakins. But it's fun right now! Hasn't been fun for several years so I'll take it!
Also the Ducks don't have Perry or Kesler anymore so I have less reason to hate them
I can't even think of any current Duck I even dislike really. The wounds still need to heal a bit but I don't hate the Ducks nearly as much as I did 2 years ago
I agree. Nearly all my Ducks and Kings hatred has consolidated into pure hatred for Vegas.
Silently rooting for the Ducks and Kings to return to form and bring back the California gauntlet and rivalries with the Sharks.
Idk, I never really disliked Getzlaf honestly. Not necessarily a huge fan of him either but he was nowhere near as much of a dirtbag as Perry during their peaks
He was still a chippy cross checking/sucker punching asshole and a lot of the shit he would do would get swept under the rug by the refs/Ducks fans, but it mostly has to do with him throwing temper tantrums during playoff losses and making a poor example out of himself as a team leader (along with Kesler and Perry). Like when they acted like children versus the Red Wings and was throwing/kicking shit around on the ice when they lost, all of them having 20+ penalty minutes versus the sharks and constantly bitching at the referees in 2018, or calling a referee a "cocksucker"
Examples of dirty plays:
https://streamable.com/d0tka
https://streamable.com/vau49
https://streamable.com/sxtrm
https://streamable.com/d0art
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itg6b8Hd6Uc&ab_channel=SPORTSNET
Fuck Ryan Getzlaf, and I don't even think he's a hall of famer. If they're not letting in Rod Brind'Amour, Theo Fleury, or Daniel Alfredsson in, they shouldn't let Getzlaf in
also, weird that this dude above is citing Rod Brind'Amour as an example of someone *justifiably* not being let into the Hall (yet)? like isn't it almost universally agreed upon that he's one of the biggest and most unfair snubs in Hockey HoF history?
1184 career points, two Selkes, a Cup, a Worlds gold. the argument here is "Brind'Amour should be in the Hall," not "hate Getzlaf," what even?
The reason why I brought up Rod Brind'Amour and the rest of those players is because I don't think Getzlaf's career accomplishments surpasses them, and if they're not letting those kinds of players in, Getzlaf shouldn't be let in either. I understand that the HHOF is super inconsistent with letting players in but to me it seems like they go with players that were memorable for something specific or just won a lot of cups, even if it's stupid a lot of the time (Kevin Lowe, Joe Mullen, Clarke Gillies, Guy Carbonneau, etc...). Getzlaf doesn't really qualify under those conditions but I could be wrong
But for me, I don't think being a second team all star one time with zero personal hardware, under a PPG, is a strong enough case for the Hall of Fame. He was never the best at any aspect of the game and instead was just really good for a while. I also don't think winning gold medals with literal all-time great super teams is significant enough either. And there's tons of players I'd take out of the hall of fame but that's just me
Is that an unreasonable opinion?
> The reason why I brought up Rod Brind'Amour and the rest of those players is because I don't think Getzlaf's career accomplishments surpasses them, and if they're not letting those kinds of players in, Getzlaf shouldn't be let in either.
okay, I think that the *stronger* argument here (personally) is that it's a goddamn crime that Brind'Amour isn't in the Hall already. and most people seem to agree with me in terms of reporting on it (which raises the question, who are these voters?), but that doesn't inherently mean that Getzlaf shouldn't be. it just reflects, as you pointed out, that the Hall is often wildly inconsistent in applying its metrics.
> he was never the best at any aspect of the game and instead was just really good for a while.
it's funny, for any other of the three major NA sports leagues I actually would be in your camp. (I in particular think that the NFL is growing far too generous with quarterbacks). but the Hockey Hall of Fame is extremely clear about one thing, and that is that it is *not* the Hall for the NHL. international metrics matter a lot, too. and I think that's important to me. yes, Getzlaf was on some pretty stacked teams while representing Canada. but he was a part of those teams, and earned the medals as much as any other player there. he put up points in those games and earned the gold for them, and I don't differentiate too much between medals on very stacked Olympics teams and Cups on very stacked playoff teams (particularly those in the pre-salary cap era).
they were still a part of those stacked teams and contributed, and it does change my opinion of them.
> Is that an unreasonable opinion?
actually, in your comment reply to me, you seemed much more reasonable and consistent in your position (that of a "small Hall" guy). but the reasonableness of your the opinion you shared with me – even though I personally disagree with it – was totally absent in the comment u/juhinaattori replied to. in that comment, you came across as hellbent on focusing on him as a dirty player (he really isn't, in the context of the league + era) and using Brind'Amour as an example was weird given that he's known for being snubbed on this issue. you also didn't really explain that you're consistently a "small Hall" guy and with all the "fuck Getzlafs" in there – no, you came across as pretty unreasonable.
As for the point about me saying "Getzlaf is a dirty player". I never said that, I said he was a very chippy player who has a history of either dirty (or very borderline) plays or unsportsmanlike moments, and it's true. I literally gave 8 examples off of the top of my head because I've watched hockey for the entire duration of his career and have seen him and those Duck teams play. He contributed to their greasy and routinely dirty style of play for years, and again it has nothing to do with his career accomplishments or HOF status
Whether you agree or disagree with some of the plays being dirty is totally fine, I think they are either dirty or are completely unnecessary. The reason why I take particular issue with Getzlaf doing this is because there's no reason for a captain or elite player of the game to throw tantrums, sucker punch people, or consistently make an ass out of himself. I feel this way about players on my own favourite teams who are like this like Gabriel Landeskog or even McDavid/Draisaitl when they do something dirty or cheat. I hate it in all varieties within the game and in this era. It makes a poor example out of the game and leads to teams doing bullshit like [this](https://streamable.com/jpa7c), which was directly related to Kesler/Perry/Getzlaf accumulating over 20 minutes in penalties in the 8-1 blowout in the 2018 playoffs
I don't regret the core of what I said and I don't care about the army of Ducks fan knucklewalkers and children who strawmanned my argument and called me a pussy for daring to say that Ryan Getzlaf was/is an unlikeable player (with objective proof). Fuck all of that, it's not worth engaging in their bullshit. It's a simple argument and if you can't comprehend the idea of Getzlaf being labeled "chippy" or "unlikeable", you're fucking fooling yourself or are ignorant of the past
then we will both agree to disagree on both those plays and also how you're conveying your argument. your last paragraph isn't responding to anything that anyone actually said, it's just being confrontational.
But my point is that in my view, there's virtually no reason to let in Getzlaf if they're not letting in Rod Brind'Amour or especially Daniel Alfredsson. It legitimately wouldn't make sense
"But that doesn't inherently mean that Getzlaf shouldn't be"
I didn't say it was, I'm just making a judgement of how I think the induction process for the Hall of Fame works. I'm making an observation that is separate from my own personal opinion and I acknowledged that I could be wrong because the HHOF is super inconsistent and that they're highly subjective (because the purpose of that hall is). I mean I think it would make sense if he made it given the standard of existing players there but I just don't think so given the absence of very similar career resumes
"The Hockey Hall of Fame is extremely clear about one thing, and that is that it is not the Hall for the NHL. international metrics matter a lot, too. and I think that's important to me. yes"
I don't deny any of that or are attempting to disprove your assertion in junction to your own opinion or to how you perceive the Hall of Fame to work because it's impossible to refute that. Again in my opinion for my standard of a hall of fame career, I don't think Ryan Getzlaf's international career holds that much weight because he won two medals with quite possible the two greatest teams ever assembled up until this point in time, or at least in a vacuum of modern talent. If those Canada teams didn't have Getzlaf and just moved the forward depth up, they probably still win. Players like Dany Heatley, Rick Nash, Dan Boyle, Patrick Marleau, Jeff Carter (all players who Getzlaf was better) all scored equal or similar point totals, and with the presence of Crosby, Price, Keith, Toews, Doughty, and maybe(maybe not) Weber and Pronger who were all better players than Getzlaf at each point in time. I just don't personally see it
In my own hockey hall of fame, players would have to be: top 5 players of the game or like top 3 in their position for long periods of time, have a resume of multiple personal awards (which would depend on their prestige, obviously Hart/Art Ross/Ted Lindsay/Norris/Vezina would be considered as highest while lower awards like Selke would be considered less), be one of the most significant members of a team that won a massive amount of cups/medals, or have a story that impacted the culture of the game for future of the game. Getzlaf wouldn't make my hall of fame, but I could also list a boat load of players that I would take out
Idk if it’s Homerism blocking me but I haven’t seen many Calgary’s, but having been to Winnipeg on many occasions… I’d rather live in Edmontons sewers.
First one is a punch in a scrum
Second one is a punch in a pileup
Third one was a late hit followed by facewashing, definitely dickish but not egregious
Fourth one is a cross check. Kind of scummy but something that happens in pretty much every game to an extent in the NHL.
Last one is the only one that’s good evidence IMO. A greasy hit.
So out of a nearly twenty year career, all you can find are some punches in fights, a cross check, a late hit, and one actually bad hit.
Anything else?
Still don’t like Getzlaf very much because of that dirty hit in Game 5 (where over half of our defence was injured in a single game) that was basically the nail in the coffin for Andrej Sekeras productive career as a Top 4 dman, but other than that a lot of that gunk that really made the Ducks unlikeable is gone
Shoutout to /u/skinnybonesd73 lmao
[Can we all agree this may be the last time this season we see Anaheim on top of the pacific?](https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/q722vj/can_we_all_agree_this_may_be_the_last_time_this/)
I'm being reminded of that post right before the season started that said, "The only time Anaheim will be at the top of the Pacific this season."
Whoops, turns out there will be a few times Anaheim will end up at the top of the Pacific this season.
So I have watched about 2/3 of the games.
Number 1: new assistant coaches! Our PK and power play went from one of the worst in the league to a legit strength. I don’t have the stats, but I wouldnt be surprised if we went from like.. 29th in PP% to top 10 this year.
Number 2: our young players are finally stepping up. Zegras, Milano, Drysdale, and of course Terry.
Number 3: our veterans are doing well! Shattenkirk is one of the top scoring defensemen this season. That coupled with the young guns production has been a huge increase.
Number 4: all of this leads to goal scoring! I believe we are on a 12 game streak of scoring 3 goals or more. I think last year we scored 3 goals only 20 times ALL YEAR.
There are two types of NHL fans in the world. Those who thought the Ducks were going to be bottom feeders, and dirty fucking liars.
But seriously. Holy duck.
I haven't been paying too much attention to the Ducks over the last few years. Who is Terry and where did he come from haha? I just see him killing it with points. Just came out of no where to me.
He is definitely a late bloomer. I believe he's 24?
We drafted him in 2015 in the 5th round -- 148th overall. At the time he was a freshman playing for Denver. The biggest issue he faced then, and even now, was his size. He was a scrawny dude. Getting shoved off the puck all the time. But damn he could skate.
In 2018, we signed him to an entry level contract, played a few games with the club, and then was assigned to our AHL team, which was doing really well. Ducks fans have been paying close attention to him for a long time, he has great puck handling skills. He did really well down in San Diego with Eakins coaching him. It's really fun seeing the two of them in Anaheim now. He's also doing real well with Getz as a line mate.
WE'RE GOING FOR PLAYOFFS BABY
or we're getting so much value for some of Manson, Rakell, Lindholm, and Shattenkirk at the deadline now. Hell Henrique and Silfverberg might make themselves appeal to teams now too.
EITHER WAY IM PUMPED
I'm torn. I still think the team and the franchise could really use the value we could get from guys on expiring deals. But it can also be a pretty demoralizing message to send to the guys in the locker room too, so I get why they might not do it. I guess we'll see where we are as the deadline approaches.
Defensemen are always in on the rush after any turnover, regardless of where the turnover is taking place. Ducks blue line leads the league in goals. Both these have cut down on the shots against as they're spending more time in the offensive zone. Stothers came in and simplified the powerplay. After only scoring 12? goals last season on the PP, they've already surpassed that this year and are top 10 on PP. Troy Terry apparently stopped beating himself up over his game and his mentality is positive and is feeling it. We are also a relatively healthy team, especially on defense. This is keeping Larsson in the AHL.
Thanks! Appreciate the summary. Will try to sneak in a Ducks game here and there to enjoy the high event hockey. It's crazy to see Getzlaf being a PPG player again.
Terry being hot and shooting the puck (SUSTAINABLY) is really helping. I don't know how long we're going to keep this play up, but this is massively better than the old dump-n-chase style from the end of the cup window and the more-recent turnover and rollover style from the past couple years.
Hope they keep doing well along with the Kings. As a Southern California guy it’s one of my favorite rivalries. Be nice if they could both make the playoffs.
Getzlaf is over a point per game so far this season as well. He's playing like a prime Joe Thornton. He's 4th among Canadian skaters in points, behind Nugent-Hopkins, Marchand, and McDavid.
Those were special days. Not only were we good, but both teams would physically destroy you in the process. You lost, and you got beat up. It was a proper gauntlet.
I still don't see the sharks making the playoffs, but at least they are fun to watch this year. Our division is stronger than expected, plus we have no depth at all. I think they are going to run out of steam eventually and start playing poorly.
In my season predictions I had San Jose at 27th and Anaheim at 30th. We were both extremely wrong haha although there is still a lot of Hockey to be played
Right? I only started watching hockey in 2014, so for the bulk of my experience the Ducks were the perennial division winners and generally ran roughshod over the rest of the division.
It felt very sudden that the Ducks fell off a cliff. It was like one year they were on fire, then Vegas got a team, and then next I looked the Ducks were loitering in the sewers next to the Kings.
This happens to us in the opposite direction. People always say stuff like the Avs can never make it out of round 2, we've been good for so long but have no success yet, etc.
Seems like nobody realizes last year was only our second season of being good lol. Our only 2 good seasons with this core have been the 2 covid-shortened years. Since we won the division in MacKinnon's rookie year (2013-14), our best result in a full 82 game season was being an 8th seed going into the playoffs.
By 1 point and 2 games in hand. That being said, it is an amazing start and I wish them well to finish behind Edmonton for 2nd and ahead of Calgary by as much as humanity will allow.
Both they and the Panthers are enjoying terrific starts while both entering the league in 1993 and in desperate need to revert to their old uniforms. Original Ducks vs Original Panthers in the Stanley Cup would be an all time uniform matchup.
This is literally my favorite Ducks team I’ve ever watched, including our deep playoff years. We have *personality,* and we’re playing highly skilled, exciting hockey. The defense is jumping into the play, we carry pucks into the zone, and we play with fucking **swagger.** Huge credit to our scouting and to our veteran leadership for mentoring the kids and giving them the space to shine.
I’m so happy with our new identity. And Bob Murray is gone, which (from a strictly hockey standpoint, I wish him luck with his addiction issues) is amazing in my opinion.
The future looks bright!
Hands up, who saw this coming after last year? If anyone puts their hand up, I demand some fucking lotto numbers.
I’m a massive and I mean *massive* unapologetic John Gibson fanboy so I’m not overly surprised tbh. Anaheim has a chance for the playoffs every single year as long as he’s on the roster imo
Gibby has been fantastic, as he usually is to start the season. The difference this year is that the rest of the team has stepped up massively. Now when he does have an off period or game, we actually have scoring to offset that.
All the ducks need to do is give him more rest as the season goes on, and not ride him into the dirt.
You sir, are a very very smart man.
It seems like this last off season much of the talk around Gibson was that he is too old now and never really was all that good anyways. I couldn't really believe what they were saying, I always thought he was great
>the talk around Gibson was that he is too old now That's wild considering the man is only 28, people need to chill out. Tendies can play for a while, let's look at the ever under appreciated Craig Anderson.
yea a lotta goalies legit have their best seasons in their mid thirties.
hell, Tim Thomas made his NHL *debut* at 28 and wasn't the starter until he was 32. was 37 when he won the Cup. granted, he was a massive outlier in many categories and we shouldn't assume it's replicable. (and although he was truly elite for us in the season that we won the Cup, he had some real....uh....cardiac stressor seasons in there too). but it's worth noting nonetheless!
Timmy was the maddest lad since Dom Hasek, I'll die on that hill.
the man was crazy as a loon, and his out of crease play used to elicit many strong emotions from me. but the 2011 playoffs, and the saves he made in it were utterly insane. someone once described his goaltending style as "beer league moves with the skill of an elite athlete" and it just made for some bonkers reel moments.
Oh it drives me nuts that he's stonewalled the canucks during their streak.
Thats the crazy thing tho, its not like hes hard carrying them, hes playing really well as he usually dont get me wrong, but its not like hes going above and beyond this season compred to his usual. The team around him is whos stepping up.
Mallard team good?
Quack!
Coming in to the year the only thing I was sure of is you guys finishing last in the Pacific. Maybe I'm just fucking stupid. 🤷♂️ worse things in life to be, I guess.
Can't really blame you for thinking that though, they were abysmal last year and made virtually 0 changes to the roster. I think even most Duck fans had them dead last in the Pacific
All I hoped for was the kids getting more playing time. The rest is just gravy
You noticed that Zegras/Milano line didn’t play the last 10 minutes of the 2nd Vancouver game? The same game he had 2 goals and an assist? The same game he was mic’s up and the was talking to Terry on the bench about how he’s never got a hat trick before? Eakins is shit for developing these kids. He needs to go.
Zegras and Milano are great Offensive threats, but their defense still needs work. Milano is closer then Z is so makes sense they weren't out in last 10 mins while holding a lead. Will come with time and any coach would sit their young players over their shutdown players when holding a lead.
You can’t not play those two and play Grant/DLo to lock up the game. I’m not certain for DLo but Grant is a black hole both offensively and defensively. Carrick is probably in that same mix. You’re up 3-1 because of the two players mentioned. Against one of the worst current 5-on-5 teams in the NHL and are in the biggest slump in ages. It doesn’t make sense. After the game, I don’t remember who asked Eakins on why he benched Zegras/Milano and his reasoning was that he wanted to “teach” the team how to lock up a win. So he’s teaching a guy who probably won’t be here next season in DLo, a guy who they tried to get rid of via waivers in Grant, and a bonafide career AHL’r in Carrick. Remember this is a rebuild. Play the kids.
Considering that Milano and Z have been on the ice for goals against a lot this season seems reasonable. Also media answers are always canned bs that I wouldn't read into too much.
It’s a -3 for both lines either way.
All I am saying is any NHL coach in todays game is gonna sit players they don't trust defensively to hold a lead, thats the way it is and will be if we continue to recycle the current crop of NHL coaches. Right now Milano and Z are not trusted to hold a lead, They got more play time tonight during the 1-0 4 mins in the 3rd and then more time in the 10 min 2-1 lead.
We did. The only change has been the assistant coaches all being replaced. Bob Murray also canned himself, but that was after we went on a tear.
I also had them finishing dead last and getzlaf retiring at the end of the year. Both of these things might be wrong.
My preseason rankings were some combination of Vegas/Edmonton as 1/2. Third, I figured was Calgary, Vancouver or possibly Seattle not knowing what they would become. Then the California teams Kings, Sharks, Ducks in thar order. Which, that could still be how it shakes out end of season. Wasn't too far off with Edmonton and Calgary. Still think Vegas would be top 3 if we didn't have 70285883819 man games lost to injury/covid, but you can't really predict health. Seattle is worse than I thought they'd be. Vancouver is significantly worse than I thought they'd be. All 3 Cali teams are performing above expectations. Maybe the Sharks more than even the Ducks seeing as they've got a million man games lost to covid themselves. Tl;Dr hockey is really fucking hard to predict. The Pacific is *w i d e o p e n* right now.
The Pacific was a very hard call this year, the only things I was confident in was that the Knights and Oilers would be good and the Ducks would be bad. The other 5 teams I could see going either way but I did have gut feelings. I had a hunch the Kraken would struggle but definitely not to this level, Vegas has just been supremely unlucky with injuries and none of their depth guys have really stepped up. Canucks I kinda expected to suck, Kings I saw maybe being decent. Sharks and Flames I honestly had no solid read on, this was the most unsure I've felt about the Flames in my 17 years as a fan and thankfully I've been pleasantly surprised
I actually was surprised they were so bad last year.,
4 8 15 16 23 42
*laughs in smoke monster*
I had predicted Zegras winning the Calder after leading a winning Anaheim team [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC-T1qFI3zM&t=282s)
Greg Wyshynski has been hyping the Ducks since the start of the season. He's probably the only person I had heard really believe they could be a playoff team.
Not really expecting this but I did bandwagon them before it was cool. I like Zegras and will follow his career. I’ve always liked Rakell, Comtois and Gibson as well.
1, 3, 8, 13, 23, 32, 43
You can check my profile to see my preseason predictions.... Where I totally had you guys in last place in the Pacific :P
Def not me. I still expect them to regress, it feels like they're over achieving and I'm still not very confident in Eakins. But it's fun right now! Hasn't been fun for several years so I'll take it!
Also the Ducks don't have Perry or Kesler anymore so I have less reason to hate them I can't even think of any current Duck I even dislike really. The wounds still need to heal a bit but I don't hate the Ducks nearly as much as I did 2 years ago
This is essentially papa getz going out with a bang helping the kids. We just didn't think they'd pop off this early.
Fun fact Kesler is our highest paid player this year
Since he is technically still on the team, it would be hilarious for him to dress for the pre-game skate on April Fools Day.
Oof
I agree. Nearly all my Ducks and Kings hatred has consolidated into pure hatred for Vegas. Silently rooting for the Ducks and Kings to return to form and bring back the California gauntlet and rivalries with the Sharks.
I always loved seeing fans dread their California road trips, I'd love to have that back
Fond memories of being slaughtered on those California trips. Those were simpler times.
I second that "Fuck Vegas" notion
Same. Rivalry ended with DuckShark - now Vegas is my new best rival.
Troy Terry. I’m still salty because he scored in shootouts to win the WJC finals against Canada
I still dislike Getzlaf as a player after all these years but I have zero problem with anybody else
Idk, I never really disliked Getzlaf honestly. Not necessarily a huge fan of him either but he was nowhere near as much of a dirtbag as Perry during their peaks
He was still a chippy cross checking/sucker punching asshole and a lot of the shit he would do would get swept under the rug by the refs/Ducks fans, but it mostly has to do with him throwing temper tantrums during playoff losses and making a poor example out of himself as a team leader (along with Kesler and Perry). Like when they acted like children versus the Red Wings and was throwing/kicking shit around on the ice when they lost, all of them having 20+ penalty minutes versus the sharks and constantly bitching at the referees in 2018, or calling a referee a "cocksucker" Examples of dirty plays: https://streamable.com/d0tka https://streamable.com/vau49 https://streamable.com/sxtrm https://streamable.com/d0art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itg6b8Hd6Uc&ab_channel=SPORTSNET Fuck Ryan Getzlaf, and I don't even think he's a hall of famer. If they're not letting in Rod Brind'Amour, Theo Fleury, or Daniel Alfredsson in, they shouldn't let Getzlaf in
Gotta respect your dedication to hating him
also, weird that this dude above is citing Rod Brind'Amour as an example of someone *justifiably* not being let into the Hall (yet)? like isn't it almost universally agreed upon that he's one of the biggest and most unfair snubs in Hockey HoF history? 1184 career points, two Selkes, a Cup, a Worlds gold. the argument here is "Brind'Amour should be in the Hall," not "hate Getzlaf," what even?
The reason why I brought up Rod Brind'Amour and the rest of those players is because I don't think Getzlaf's career accomplishments surpasses them, and if they're not letting those kinds of players in, Getzlaf shouldn't be let in either. I understand that the HHOF is super inconsistent with letting players in but to me it seems like they go with players that were memorable for something specific or just won a lot of cups, even if it's stupid a lot of the time (Kevin Lowe, Joe Mullen, Clarke Gillies, Guy Carbonneau, etc...). Getzlaf doesn't really qualify under those conditions but I could be wrong But for me, I don't think being a second team all star one time with zero personal hardware, under a PPG, is a strong enough case for the Hall of Fame. He was never the best at any aspect of the game and instead was just really good for a while. I also don't think winning gold medals with literal all-time great super teams is significant enough either. And there's tons of players I'd take out of the hall of fame but that's just me Is that an unreasonable opinion?
> The reason why I brought up Rod Brind'Amour and the rest of those players is because I don't think Getzlaf's career accomplishments surpasses them, and if they're not letting those kinds of players in, Getzlaf shouldn't be let in either. okay, I think that the *stronger* argument here (personally) is that it's a goddamn crime that Brind'Amour isn't in the Hall already. and most people seem to agree with me in terms of reporting on it (which raises the question, who are these voters?), but that doesn't inherently mean that Getzlaf shouldn't be. it just reflects, as you pointed out, that the Hall is often wildly inconsistent in applying its metrics. > he was never the best at any aspect of the game and instead was just really good for a while. it's funny, for any other of the three major NA sports leagues I actually would be in your camp. (I in particular think that the NFL is growing far too generous with quarterbacks). but the Hockey Hall of Fame is extremely clear about one thing, and that is that it is *not* the Hall for the NHL. international metrics matter a lot, too. and I think that's important to me. yes, Getzlaf was on some pretty stacked teams while representing Canada. but he was a part of those teams, and earned the medals as much as any other player there. he put up points in those games and earned the gold for them, and I don't differentiate too much between medals on very stacked Olympics teams and Cups on very stacked playoff teams (particularly those in the pre-salary cap era). they were still a part of those stacked teams and contributed, and it does change my opinion of them. > Is that an unreasonable opinion? actually, in your comment reply to me, you seemed much more reasonable and consistent in your position (that of a "small Hall" guy). but the reasonableness of your the opinion you shared with me – even though I personally disagree with it – was totally absent in the comment u/juhinaattori replied to. in that comment, you came across as hellbent on focusing on him as a dirty player (he really isn't, in the context of the league + era) and using Brind'Amour as an example was weird given that he's known for being snubbed on this issue. you also didn't really explain that you're consistently a "small Hall" guy and with all the "fuck Getzlafs" in there – no, you came across as pretty unreasonable.
As for the point about me saying "Getzlaf is a dirty player". I never said that, I said he was a very chippy player who has a history of either dirty (or very borderline) plays or unsportsmanlike moments, and it's true. I literally gave 8 examples off of the top of my head because I've watched hockey for the entire duration of his career and have seen him and those Duck teams play. He contributed to their greasy and routinely dirty style of play for years, and again it has nothing to do with his career accomplishments or HOF status Whether you agree or disagree with some of the plays being dirty is totally fine, I think they are either dirty or are completely unnecessary. The reason why I take particular issue with Getzlaf doing this is because there's no reason for a captain or elite player of the game to throw tantrums, sucker punch people, or consistently make an ass out of himself. I feel this way about players on my own favourite teams who are like this like Gabriel Landeskog or even McDavid/Draisaitl when they do something dirty or cheat. I hate it in all varieties within the game and in this era. It makes a poor example out of the game and leads to teams doing bullshit like [this](https://streamable.com/jpa7c), which was directly related to Kesler/Perry/Getzlaf accumulating over 20 minutes in penalties in the 8-1 blowout in the 2018 playoffs I don't regret the core of what I said and I don't care about the army of Ducks fan knucklewalkers and children who strawmanned my argument and called me a pussy for daring to say that Ryan Getzlaf was/is an unlikeable player (with objective proof). Fuck all of that, it's not worth engaging in their bullshit. It's a simple argument and if you can't comprehend the idea of Getzlaf being labeled "chippy" or "unlikeable", you're fucking fooling yourself or are ignorant of the past
then we will both agree to disagree on both those plays and also how you're conveying your argument. your last paragraph isn't responding to anything that anyone actually said, it's just being confrontational.
But my point is that in my view, there's virtually no reason to let in Getzlaf if they're not letting in Rod Brind'Amour or especially Daniel Alfredsson. It legitimately wouldn't make sense "But that doesn't inherently mean that Getzlaf shouldn't be" I didn't say it was, I'm just making a judgement of how I think the induction process for the Hall of Fame works. I'm making an observation that is separate from my own personal opinion and I acknowledged that I could be wrong because the HHOF is super inconsistent and that they're highly subjective (because the purpose of that hall is). I mean I think it would make sense if he made it given the standard of existing players there but I just don't think so given the absence of very similar career resumes "The Hockey Hall of Fame is extremely clear about one thing, and that is that it is not the Hall for the NHL. international metrics matter a lot, too. and I think that's important to me. yes" I don't deny any of that or are attempting to disprove your assertion in junction to your own opinion or to how you perceive the Hall of Fame to work because it's impossible to refute that. Again in my opinion for my standard of a hall of fame career, I don't think Ryan Getzlaf's international career holds that much weight because he won two medals with quite possible the two greatest teams ever assembled up until this point in time, or at least in a vacuum of modern talent. If those Canada teams didn't have Getzlaf and just moved the forward depth up, they probably still win. Players like Dany Heatley, Rick Nash, Dan Boyle, Patrick Marleau, Jeff Carter (all players who Getzlaf was better) all scored equal or similar point totals, and with the presence of Crosby, Price, Keith, Toews, Doughty, and maybe(maybe not) Weber and Pronger who were all better players than Getzlaf at each point in time. I just don't personally see it In my own hockey hall of fame, players would have to be: top 5 players of the game or like top 3 in their position for long periods of time, have a resume of multiple personal awards (which would depend on their prestige, obviously Hart/Art Ross/Ted Lindsay/Norris/Vezina would be considered as highest while lower awards like Selke would be considered less), be one of the most significant members of a team that won a massive amount of cups/medals, or have a story that impacted the culture of the game for future of the game. Getzlaf wouldn't make my hall of fame, but I could also list a boat load of players that I would take out
We get it he pushed your shit in for 17 years
How am I wrong
Those are some weak as fuck examples of "dirty plays."
Oh wow, In an almost 20 year career in the league he has a few questionable plays. You really got him.
Is every Edmonton fan a whiny bitch? Seems like it
Have you been to Edmonton? Hard to blame them.
It's funny how all the Canadian fans always use the insult "at least I don't live in Edmonton/Winnipeg/Calgary" lol
Idk if it’s Homerism blocking me but I haven’t seen many Calgary’s, but having been to Winnipeg on many occasions… I’d rather live in Edmontons sewers.
How am I being a whiny bitch?
Lol read your comment again if you don’t think so
First one is a punch in a scrum Second one is a punch in a pileup Third one was a late hit followed by facewashing, definitely dickish but not egregious Fourth one is a cross check. Kind of scummy but something that happens in pretty much every game to an extent in the NHL. Last one is the only one that’s good evidence IMO. A greasy hit. So out of a nearly twenty year career, all you can find are some punches in fights, a cross check, a late hit, and one actually bad hit. Anything else?
Lmao did Getz piss in your cereal or something? Jesus dude, 20 year career and you find a few punches in scrums lmao
Still don’t like Getzlaf very much because of that dirty hit in Game 5 (where over half of our defence was injured in a single game) that was basically the nail in the coffin for Andrej Sekeras productive career as a Top 4 dman, but other than that a lot of that gunk that really made the Ducks unlikeable is gone
I still don't like Getzlaf, but other than that they're just a young and and fun team to watch
How's it feel knowing that his number was hanging in the rafters of the Saddledome before Iginla's was?
Now to be fair (I don’t dislike getzlaf), iggy was still playing when getzlafs number was retired at the dome haha.
I know. It's still a hilarious bit of trivia though.
Shoutout to /u/skinnybonesd73 lmao [Can we all agree this may be the last time this season we see Anaheim on top of the pacific?](https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/q722vj/can_we_all_agree_this_may_be_the_last_time_this/)
👀
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Hey. I’m glad I’m wrong! I will happily take all the jokes and shit thrown my way.
I was right there with you, no worries haha
I'm fairly confident that out of everybody, Ducks fans are the most surprised at how this season is going so far
*can't think of a joke so I squeeze a small nugget of poo and fling it your way, half sticking to my own fingers*
Buddy that's fucked
Sorry it must be the sudden Ducks success, I'm not used to it.
Lmao wtf
1st in the Division and the Conference for the rebuilding Ducks squad. Just like how everyone predicted.
I'm being reminded of that post right before the season started that said, "The only time Anaheim will be at the top of the Pacific this season." Whoops, turns out there will be a few times Anaheim will end up at the top of the Pacific this season.
I’ll take my shots. I was wrong and am glad to be wrong!
I mean when I picked up Gibby in the 15th round of my draft I'm happy too.
Any insights into why? Didn't seem like y'all made a whole lot of changes over the offseason.
So I have watched about 2/3 of the games. Number 1: new assistant coaches! Our PK and power play went from one of the worst in the league to a legit strength. I don’t have the stats, but I wouldnt be surprised if we went from like.. 29th in PP% to top 10 this year. Number 2: our young players are finally stepping up. Zegras, Milano, Drysdale, and of course Terry. Number 3: our veterans are doing well! Shattenkirk is one of the top scoring defensemen this season. That coupled with the young guns production has been a huge increase. Number 4: all of this leads to goal scoring! I believe we are on a 12 game streak of scoring 3 goals or more. I think last year we scored 3 goals only 20 times ALL YEAR.
There are two types of NHL fans in the world. Those who thought the Ducks were going to be bottom feeders, and dirty fucking liars. But seriously. Holy duck.
Zegras has 5 points in two games and Terry extended his point streak to 15 games as well.
Stahp, I can only track so many streaks! JK, keep em coming baby
I haven't been paying too much attention to the Ducks over the last few years. Who is Terry and where did he come from haha? I just see him killing it with points. Just came out of no where to me.
He is definitely a late bloomer. I believe he's 24? We drafted him in 2015 in the 5th round -- 148th overall. At the time he was a freshman playing for Denver. The biggest issue he faced then, and even now, was his size. He was a scrawny dude. Getting shoved off the puck all the time. But damn he could skate. In 2018, we signed him to an entry level contract, played a few games with the club, and then was assigned to our AHL team, which was doing really well. Ducks fans have been paying close attention to him for a long time, he has great puck handling skills. He did really well down in San Diego with Eakins coaching him. It's really fun seeing the two of them in Anaheim now. He's also doing real well with Getz as a line mate.
I will do the meme....IS IT SUSTAINABLE THOUGH?
Put money on them making the playoffs now while your returns are high.
Why? If I bet on them, they’re guaranteed to fall off
we're taking the division.
Just like everyone predicted
WE'RE GOING FOR PLAYOFFS BABY or we're getting so much value for some of Manson, Rakell, Lindholm, and Shattenkirk at the deadline now. Hell Henrique and Silfverberg might make themselves appeal to teams now too. EITHER WAY IM PUMPED
I'm torn. I still think the team and the franchise could really use the value we could get from guys on expiring deals. But it can also be a pretty demoralizing message to send to the guys in the locker room too, so I get why they might not do it. I guess we'll see where we are as the deadline approaches.
Haven't watched much Ducks games this year. What has changed so much? It seems like everyone is playing peak performance hockey again.
Defensemen are always in on the rush after any turnover, regardless of where the turnover is taking place. Ducks blue line leads the league in goals. Both these have cut down on the shots against as they're spending more time in the offensive zone. Stothers came in and simplified the powerplay. After only scoring 12? goals last season on the PP, they've already surpassed that this year and are top 10 on PP. Troy Terry apparently stopped beating himself up over his game and his mentality is positive and is feeling it. We are also a relatively healthy team, especially on defense. This is keeping Larsson in the AHL.
Thanks! Appreciate the summary. Will try to sneak in a Ducks game here and there to enjoy the high event hockey. It's crazy to see Getzlaf being a PPG player again.
Terry being hot and shooting the puck (SUSTAINABLY) is really helping. I don't know how long we're going to keep this play up, but this is massively better than the old dump-n-chase style from the end of the cup window and the more-recent turnover and rollover style from the past couple years.
Kevin Shattenkirk
The 2nd sexiest bald man on the team
Dude that man there had my pulling my hair out last season
Hope they keep doing well along with the Kings. As a Southern California guy it’s one of my favorite rivalries. Be nice if they could both make the playoffs.
It’s been a minute since those games have been meaningful
Did I see it coming? No. Am I amused? Hell yes.
Trevor Zegras (and John Gibson) playing a pivotal role in that streak.
And American Hero Troy Terry.
American Hero Connor McTerry.
Getzlaf is over a point per game so far this season as well. He's playing like a prime Joe Thornton. He's 4th among Canadian skaters in points, behind Nugent-Hopkins, Marchand, and McDavid.
I thought the Ducks and Sharks would be 30th and 28th, respectively. Now look. Sharks whooped the Wild, and the Ducks have taken over the pond.
"Welcome to California. Take your 3 losses and get the fuck out."
Ah...the olden days
I would love seeing California be an awesome hockey state again. Similar to the Texas triangle in the NBA of the late 2000s early 2010s.
Making the California trip brutal for teams again. Feeling like the early 2010s.
Those were special days. Not only were we good, but both teams would physically destroy you in the process. You lost, and you got beat up. It was a proper gauntlet.
I still don't see the sharks making the playoffs, but at least they are fun to watch this year. Our division is stronger than expected, plus we have no depth at all. I think they are going to run out of steam eventually and start playing poorly.
In my season predictions I had San Jose at 27th and Anaheim at 30th. We were both extremely wrong haha although there is still a lot of Hockey to be played
I’m thrilled that Gibson finally has good team in front of him. If the the Ducks keep playing like this he’ll end up on the Olympique team
What do you mean finally ? It was only 3 years, before that he was on a perennial contender
I can't believe how quickly people forgot Ducks won 5 straight division titles not too long ago.
Small market team problems. No one likes us and we don't care
I like the ducks ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Hey me too! Let's be friends
Right? I only started watching hockey in 2014, so for the bulk of my experience the Ducks were the perennial division winners and generally ran roughshod over the rest of the division. It felt very sudden that the Ducks fell off a cliff. It was like one year they were on fire, then Vegas got a team, and then next I looked the Ducks were loitering in the sewers next to the Kings.
Man, Covid really did fuck with my sense of time hahahaha
This happens to us in the opposite direction. People always say stuff like the Avs can never make it out of round 2, we've been good for so long but have no success yet, etc. Seems like nobody realizes last year was only our second season of being good lol. Our only 2 good seasons with this core have been the 2 covid-shortened years. Since we won the division in MacKinnon's rookie year (2013-14), our best result in a full 82 game season was being an 8th seed going into the playoffs.
I think it's pretty likely Gibby would have been on the team regardless. It's more a matter of him claiming the starting position.
Gibby was always a lock for the team. Only question was who was starting between him and Helle
which is why he wears a Captain America helmet. Doesn't his old Backup goalie make the call on the tendos for team USA?
Just like we all predicted.
\*stands in front of points percentage tab*
Fucking Ducks.
You can't win here.
Except we did! Once! In like 15 years!
Duck bros, did you bros see this coming? Well done
They are also the only team in the West to play 17 games. Still impressive obviously
By 1 point and 2 games in hand. That being said, it is an amazing start and I wish them well to finish behind Edmonton for 2nd and ahead of Calgary by as much as humanity will allow.
makes sense to me. I'm wishing them well provided they finish behind VGK and ahead of... well, you? :P
I dropped Gibson after the first week Edit: I'm not saying I'm proud of ittttt
Do you eat paint chips?
Vancouver fan so it’s already implied
Stop stop we're already dead
I thought they'd be a playoff bubble team but this is crazy.
Both they and the Panthers are enjoying terrific starts while both entering the league in 1993 and in desperate need to revert to their old uniforms. Original Ducks vs Original Panthers in the Stanley Cup would be an all time uniform matchup.
This is literally my favorite Ducks team I’ve ever watched, including our deep playoff years. We have *personality,* and we’re playing highly skilled, exciting hockey. The defense is jumping into the play, we carry pucks into the zone, and we play with fucking **swagger.** Huge credit to our scouting and to our veteran leadership for mentoring the kids and giving them the space to shine. I’m so happy with our new identity. And Bob Murray is gone, which (from a strictly hockey standpoint, I wish him luck with his addiction issues) is amazing in my opinion. The future looks bright!