Ducks News: NHL Columnist Unveils Anaheim's Biggest Strength to Future Success

The future is now in Anaheim!

The Anaheim Ducks aren't too far away from being a contending team again. They have a plethora of young talent on their roster, plenty of cap space to use, and recently signed some veteran free agents to serve as mentors for the young players.

The team has a chance to make some major growth in terms of their team simply by the available space they have financially. Yahoo Sports NHL Writer Nick Ashbourne sees the Ducks as one of the more "powerful" teams across the NHL this offseason.

The Ducks currently have around $29 million left to spend in cap space, which is almost $10 million more than the next closest team. They still do need to re-sign their restricted free agents, but the gap gives them as much flexibility to work with than anyone in the league.

They can look to add more talent to the roster, be used as a salary dump for other teams while gaining future assets, or just get to the salary floor and then see what else becomes available. General Manager Pat Verbeek has options at his disposal, and that should scare the other teams. 

Verbeek was one of the masterminds behind building the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he learned how to build a sustainable winner. Anaheim may not be considered contenders for next season, but it shouldn't be too long before we see the Ducks back in the postseason.