After the NHL trade deadline, Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek stated his desire to improve the bottom six of the forward group
After the NHL trade deadline, Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek stated his desire to improve the bottom six of the forward group
Anaheim Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek had made several appearances in the days following the NHL Trade Deadline that passed on Friday, March 8. He made himself available for media questions, appeared on his Ducks Stream podcast "The Beeker," was interviewed at intermission of Friday night's game vs the Dallas Stars, and gave an extensive interview during the team's second annual "Ducks Migration" event for season ticket holders. A constant message was relayed from Verbeek in every one of those interviews: the need for increased production from the bottom-six of his forward group.
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"Where we're failing, is our bottom-six production," Verbeek expressed at the "Ducks Migration" event on March 9. "When you start to look at those one-goal games that we keep losing, that's the difference for me."
The Ducks bottom two forward lines as of March 14 consist of Brett Leason, Isac Lundestrom, Jakob Silfverberg, Ross Johnston, BO Groulx, and Pavol Regenda. Brock McGinn is on injured reserve, Max Jones missed Tuesday night's game with an illness, and newly acquired Ben Meyers played on the first line. Of that entire group of players, only Ross Johnston and Brock McGinn have contracts in place for the 2024-25 season. Everyone else will be an RFA at the season's end with the exception of Jakob Silfverberg who will be a UFA.
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There will be a natural boost to that group as top of the lineup forwards like Trevor Zegras and Leo Carlsson return from injury. Zegras has been out of the lineup since Jan. 9 with a broken ankle. Carlsson has missed the team's last six games with an upper-body injury that we now know is a concussion.
Verbeek has also stated the Ducks are looking to sign top prospect, Cutter Gauthier, to his ELC when his NCAA season is over with Boston College. It is presumed Gauthier will get an immediate opportunity at the top of the Ducks lineup upon signing.
The Ducks will also be in the market for a top six right-shot winger in the summer of 2024, Verbeek stated.
"I'd like to probably find another top six right winger," Verbeek added. "We have so many left shots on the team, and you need a variety. We don't have enough right-hand shots in our lineup."
It would be understandable to expect a massive overhaul to the bottom of the forward lineup after Verbeek's statements. However, with those potential additions to the top of the Ducks lineup heading into the 2024-25 season, there may be a natural boost to that group at the bottom. Players like Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano, and Alex Killorn are currently playing heavy minutes and could find themselves assuming lesser roles as additions are made.
If Pat Verbeek, Greg Cronin, and the Ducks decide to spread out their high-end talent, core players like Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, and Cutter Gauthier could even find themselves on the listed third line on any given night. This would presumably lead to the Ducks receiving that depth scoring that they have been lacking in 2023-24 and create a deployment of a "top-nine + fourth line" lineup instead of a "top-six + bottom-six" one. The team would have the ability to attack in waves and be difficult to match up against.
As for filling out the bottom of the roster beyond the top three lines, it appears the players who are currently pending RFAs will be evaluated with great attention over the last stretch of this season. Ben Meyers is a pending UFA, but with Verbeek acquiring him for an draft pick, it could be assumed an extension will be on the horizon at some point.
Between the Ducks' current pending RFAs, potential UFA signings, and a few forwards currently in San Diego with the Gulls of the AHL, there are several players who will potentially be battling for only a couple of spots on the Ducks opening night roster for the 2024-25 season.
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