Improving the Ducks' Woeful Penalty Taking and Penalty Killing is Sure to Yield Better Results
The 2023-24 Anaheim Ducks displayed some outstandingly poor numbers when it came to penalty taking and penalty killing. The slightest improvement in that area will go a long way toward climbing out of the league's cellar.
Special teams likely weren't the sole reason the Anaheim Ducks finished the 2023-24 season with the third-worst record in the NHL, but it surely didn't help matters.
The Ducks finished the season with the 31st-ranked penalty kill, killing at a 72.4% success rate. Those weren't ideal numbers as they were the most penalized team in the NHL last season.
The 2023-24 Ducks incurred a total of 1108 penalty minutes and were penalized for 377 minor infractions, 15 more than the second-place Florida Panthers.
Three of the four leaders in minor penalties taken last season came from the Ducks' roster; Frank Vatrano (40), Radko Gudas (39), and Mason McTavish (38).
Defensive and penalty kill coach Brent Thompson had his hands full in 2023-24, his first as a member of the Anaheim Ducks coaching staff. To his credit, he attempted countless personnel combinations and every modern-era penalty kill system throughout the course of the season.
Despite Thompson's efforts, the Ducks allowed 91 power play goals against, the most in the 2023-24 season by a 26-goal margin and second most in the NHL since the 2006-07 season.
Halfway through July, the Ducks haven't made many roster changes in an attempt to address their penalty-killing woes. Brian Dumoulin and Robby Fabbri have been the team's two significant moves thus far in the offseason. Improvement will have to almost entirely come from within.
In all likelihood, Dumoulin will boost the top penalty kill unit in Anaheim on the back end and negate a noteworthy area of weakness from last season, net-front battles.
Regardless of in-zone penalty kill structure (wedge, diamond, 1-3, etc.), the net-front defenseman consistently lost loose-puck battles or was out-positioned around the crease.
A full season of adjustment from staff and roster to culture and defensive standards brought to the Ducks by Thompson and head coach Greg Cronin along with an overall cleaner bill of health from a year ago should hope to yield better results.
Cronin took a great deal of accountability when it came to his team's penalty-taking habits.
"Clearly, what we did this year wasn't working," Cronin said during his post-season exit interview. "We kept taking them. Probably should have sat some guys. You hate to do it because sometimes you can lose a guy. He gets all wrapped up in his head because he's sitting. I talked to (general manager Pat Verbeek) about this at length. Pat said, 'Sometimes you don't even have to say a word to them, just sit them.' Short-term pain, long-term gain."
Young star center Leo Carlsson was placed on the penalty kill late in the season and forward Troy Terry has expressed his want and willingness to contribute toward that facet of the game. Further personnel adjustments could be made in hopes of icing a more effective penalty kill unit.
Simply improving the results when down a man on the penalty kill along with natural progression and further comfort from young players will likely contribute greatly to seeing increased results in the standings for the 2024-25 season in Anaheim.