Pat Verbeek orchestrated a bold rebuild, transforming the Ducks into playoff contenders. Discover the strategic moves that forged Anaheim's unexpected contender.
The Anaheim Ducks have punched their ticket to the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This will be their first appearance in eight years, since the 2018 playoffs, where they were swept by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.
Their opponents for their first playoff series in the 2020s will be the back-to-back Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers. The series will begin on Monday, April 20.
Before breaking down storylines and matchups, it’s worth looking at how this Ducks roster was constructed, what general manager Pat Verbeek’s vision is for them, and how it will look in these playoffs and beyond.
Verbeek took over as Ducks general manager just six weeks ahead of the 2022 trade deadline with the goal of building a sustainable Stanley Cup-contending team. In order to do so, he felt his best route would be to perform a full, immediate teardown of the roster and fully commit to a rebuild.
His first two seasons spent in the chair were the two worst in franchise history, totaling 58 and 59 standings points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively. His first four trade deadlines (2022-2025) were spent shipping out expiring UFAs for prospects and draft capital.
On the Ducks current roster, the players who were either on the team or drafted by Verbeek’s predecessor are Lukas Dostal (85th overall in 2018), Tyson Hinds (76th in ‘21), Jackson LaCombe (39th in ‘19), Mason McTavish (3rd in ‘21), Ian Moore (67th in ‘20), Troy Terry (148th in ‘15), and Olen Zellweger (34th in 21).
Every other roster player was either drafted, signed via unrestricted free agency, acquired via trade, or claimed off waivers by Verbeek since Feb. 2022.
It’s safe to state that the core of the Ducks in the present and moving forward consists of LaCombe, Dostal, Leo Carlsson (2nd in ‘23), Cutter Gauthier (from Philadelphia via trade, 2024), and Beckett Sennecke (3rd in ‘24). There’s potential for players like McTavish, Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov (10th in ‘22), Tristan Luneau (53rd in ‘22), Roger McQueen (10th in ‘25), and others to continue their development and breakthrough into consideration to be named among the team’s core.
Troy Terry (28) is consistently among the team’s leading scorers and has four years remaining on his seven-year contract. He is considered among “core” pieces, but would represent the eldest statesman in that regard.
When analyzing the Ducks’ roster, core, and future core and comparing it to teams on a similar trajectory like the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and Montreal Canadiens, the aspect that stands out most is how, in theory, Verbeek has built and procured this core and pipeline with this time of year (the Stanley Cup Playoffs) in mind.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are traditionally a war of attrition, where the ice “shrinks,” scrums occur after nearly every whistle, and in tight games, infractions leading to special teams can be harder to come by.
As a whole, the collective of players mentioned above are long, heavy, speedy, skilled in open ice, skilled in small areas, and more than willing to engage in extracurriculars after whistles, even (and often especially) the youngest among them.
The Ducks’ young core will get their first taste of playoff experience, starting on Monday, when the puck drops on their best-of-seven series against the Oilers. They have a long way to go yet in their development to realize their potential, both as players and as a group in the most high-stakes games they’ll play in their careers.
These are also the games where details are paramount, and mistakes are amplified to the highest degree. With the exceptions of Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier (to a much lesser extent), who can be relied upon to provide instant, game-changing offense, the remaining projected core pieces have the capability and skillsets to progress into quality 200-foot impact players and control game flow in every zone.
In the crease, Lukas Dostal (25) has traditionally played his best when games matter most, whether on the Olympic, World Championship, or World Junior stage. Though the playoffs are a completely different beast, Dostal has placed the team firmly upon his back for extended stretches, kept them in games they have no business remaining in, and has the talent to steal an entire series for the Ducks. The hockey world has witnessed what can happen when goalies heat up in the spring.
Beyond this playoff run, the Ducks have a stable of young, talented potential roster contributors with complementary skill sets at various levels below the NHL. Players like Eric Nilsson, Nathan Gaucher, and Lucas Pettersson down the middle, wingers like Nico Mayatovic, Herman Traff, and Maxim Masse, defensemen like Stian Solberg, Noah Warren, and Lasse Boelius, and finally, goaltenders like Damian Clara, Tomas Suchanek, and Calle Clang all have the potential to be excellent foils to the Ducks’ high-profile core pieces.
Though young, though inexperienced, the Ducks’ youngest players are their drivers and lifeblood, and the next two weeks will provide themselves an opportunity to display how translatable and effective their styles, brands, skillsets, etc. are in the Stanley Cup playoffs and confirm that Verbeek’s approach and blueprint for the rebuild was, ultimately, the proper direction for the Anaheim Ducks organization.