{"time":1790016629194,"blocks":[{"id":"mublny8h","type":"video","data":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/b9e29a5b-af8f-43d8-bff2-3026d356b3a0/mp4","caption":"","autoplay":false,"controls":true,"muted":false,"stretched":true,"width":0,"height":0,"image":{"url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/b9e29a5b-af8f-43d8-bff2-3026d356b3a0/thumbnail"},"cdn":{"videoId":"b9e29a5b-af8f-43d8-bff2-3026d356b3a0","libraryId":"372172","collectionId":"30032062-eefd-4041-a355-12ad05bc987b","cdnBaseUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net","mp4Url":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/b9e29a5b-af8f-43d8-bff2-3026d356b3a0/mp4","thumbnailUrl":"https://us-central1-deweb-519a7.cloudfunctions.net/mediaService-api/videos/b9e29a5b-af8f-43d8-bff2-3026d356b3a0/thumbnail","previewAnimationUrl":"https://vz-052fc010-b27.b-cdn.net/b9e29a5b-af8f-43d8-bff2-3026d356b3a0/preview.webp"}}},{"id":"k8_W137S1B","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The 2026-27 NHL season begins on Sept. 29, but the Anaheim Ducks won’t play their first game until Oct. 2, on the road against the defending Western Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights. They’ll play their home opener two days later against the Florida Panthers. "}},{"id":"_1zMYgZAHK","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"After perhaps the most eventful offseason in franchise history, the team ends the offseason with more question marks than they started with, despite seemingly putting an end to their elongated rebuild last season by qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and winning their first playoff series since 2017."}},{"id":"bFnKbLC3nQ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Takeways from the Ducks 6-2 Preseason Win over the Sharks"}},{"id":"VdWyu41gXi","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Ducks Sign Tim Washe to Four-Year Extension"}},{"id":"fpfYV8K_EQ","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Betting odds aren’t necessarily indicative of how likely an event is to occur, but rather how companies feel the public will wager. That said, betting odds are a glimpse into what the public views are, so here are BetMGM’s odds for Ducks’ futures and NHL Awards, and we suggest gambling responsibly:"}},{"id":"RKJceEeTCd","type":"header","data":{"text":"Stanley Cup: +3500 | Western Conference: +1500 | Pacific Division: +750","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"am3elltiw8","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Rightfully, the odds of the Ducks hanging another Division, Conference, and/or Stanley Cup banner in the Honda Center rafters are low. Though they won a playoff round a year ago against a Cup-favorite Edmonton Oilers team, the Ducks core pieces are still in their early-to-mid twenties, and they lost several name-brand veterans from both the forward and defensive groups. "}},{"id":"KTaY1iSo5T","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The Ducks finished third in a historically poor Pacific Division last season with just 92 points, but still three points behind the first-place Knights. This season feels similar in that there are two teams, on paper, who are the class of the division (Edmonton and Vegas). A lot will have to go right for the Ducks to overtake those powerhouses and fend off the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks to take home a division title. "}},{"id":"xsZ1iN78GV","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"If the Ducks qualify for the playoffs again, anything is on the table, but when the West has been shrunk to eight teams, five can likely be considered true Cup contenders (Vegas, Edmonton, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars), and it would be rather difficult for the Ducks, regardless of internal growth and how hot Lukas Dostal can become by spring, to defeat multiple contenders en route to a potential Stanley Cup Final appearance or championship."}},{"id":"zCmCvD0RHi","type":"header","data":{"text":"Hart Trophy | Leo Carlsson: +20000","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"g9OCk7Bgqk","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"If there was ever an extreme long shot on which to place a minuscule amount of cash, this one may make some sense. Carlsson brought considerable pressure on himself, as he’ll enter the 2026-27 season as the NHL's highest-paid player after signing an $18 million AAV offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers, which the Ducks then matched. "}},{"id":"fgalcSjKM2","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Carlsson, who seems to only be improving, with a ceiling still well beyond sight, produced at an MVP rate to kick off the 2025-26 season, scoring 25 points (10-15=25) in his first 15 games before the production slowed (only slightly); he sustained an injury, attempted to play through it, and was ultimately shut down after undergoing surgery for six and a half weeks. "}},{"id":"BdqrlAAUN5","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"He finished the year on a pedestrian scoring pace with 12 points (6-6=12) in his final 15 games, but upped those numbers when the games mattered most, scoring 11 points (4-7=11) in 12 playoff games. Carlsson will need to remain healthy for a full 84 regular season games and sustain most of his early-season production from a year ago to insert himself into Hart candidacy. He has the talent and motivation to do so, but now the book is mostly out on him, and he won’t be catching anyone off guard this season. "}},{"id":"xxeGSP5rp3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"+20000 odds place him in a tier along with Brady Tkachuk and Lane Hutson. If the Ducks return to the playoffs, it will likely be on the back of Leo Carlsson, and if his production matches his on-ice importance and impact, there’s a real shot he finishes the year in the top ten of Hart voting. "}},{"id":"7O-QfWIPJr","type":"header","data":{"text":"Norris Trophy | Jackson LaCombe: +3500","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"rvA2ATjXwG","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"LaCombe finished the 2025-26 season 16th among defensemen in scoring, with 58 points (10-48=58) in 82 games, a 15-point jump from his breakout 2024-25 campaign. He’s the team’s true No.1, all-situations defenseman who, if the Ducks load up a top power play unit in the upcoming season, will run the point behind Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, and Troy Terry (when he returns from injury). "}},{"id":"ezG-RlHyWB","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Opportunity will be there for LaCombe, especially if he continues to improve within Joel Quenneville’s up-tempo system. However, as talented a play-driving force he’s become from the blueline, it’s going to take an astonishing season to threaten the point-per-game realm seemingly necessary to find oneself in if one is to finish the year as a Norris Finalist in 2026-27. "}},{"id":"I6CUyS3rzf","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"He has the 11th-best odds to win the Norris, just behind Jake Sanderson (+3000) and just ahead of Miro Heiskanen (+5000)."}},{"id":"aVlCJ7sq5R","type":"header","data":{"text":"Rocket Richard Trophy | Cutter Gauthier +3500","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"dd07yPP52Z","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Gauthier eclipsed the 40-goal mark in just his second NHL season, at the age of 22. Like Carlsson, Gauthier will enter the year with enormous pressure as his role within the Ducks franchise increases along with his now-top-five cap hit in the NHL ($13.5 million AAV). "}},{"id":"pt4WDFUhGc","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"He finished the year with 41 goals, the 11th-most in the NHL despite averaging just 17:15 TOI/game and 2:48 TOI/game on the power play, fifth-most among Ducks forwards. Both of those numbers will very likely increase this season, as should his 11 power-play goals. "}},{"id":"MfNFMW7Sw0","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Gauthier finished last season second in the NHL in goals/60 minutes (1.88) and shots/60 (12.95), while leading the league in shot attempts/60 (25.58). He shoots the puck a ton, and yet his 14.5% shooting percentage seems low and a number he can eclipse in his third year, with increased ice time and an increased role. "}},{"id":"XmPJR1xxmo","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Despite those factors, he has just the 16th-best odds of winning the Rocket in 2026-27, putting him in a tier with Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Guenther. "}},{"id":"X5I772-31n","type":"header","data":{"text":"Vezina Trophy | Lukas Dostal: +3000","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"M6noNrNVGE","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Dostal’s numbers in 2025-26 were the worst in his three-year NHL career from a traditional numbers perspective (.888 SV%) and the second-worst from an analytics perspective (-2.9 GSAx). "}},{"id":"-EM3mbayeI","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"However, most of modern goaltending is a product of environment when it comes to evaluating goalies in Dostal’s tier, which is, on talent, the tier below the likes of Logan Thompson, Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, etc. "}},{"id":"WN1QlSgFzx","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The environment in which Dostal played a year ago was, in fact, not one many could have thrived in. He faced an onslaught of high-danger chances on a nightly basis as he and the team in front of him adjusted to a brand-new defensive zone coverage system, and those underlying, advanced, strictly shot-based numbers don’t take into account aspects like pre-shot puck movement, screens, tips, odd-man rushes, etc. "}},{"id":"TaGzKrHkEF","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"With a blueline that lost a lot of veteran name-brand talent, on the surface it would seem Dostal is in line for another busy year in the Anaheim crease. However, it can be argued that the Ducks’ current blueline is more conducive to Quenneville’s system and that the pieces they lost were significant contributing factors to the team’s poor defensive metrics as a whole. "}},{"id":"r077_aUqW_","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In a second year playing in the system and with a better understanding of where pucks will be coming from and how plays will develop in front of him, Dostal’s numbers could improve greatly. Could they improve to the point where he’s a recipient of Vezina votes? That’s a taller order and likely outside of the realm of likelihood. "}},{"id":"jXOwtfE0AD","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Dostal has the 12th-best odds of winning the Vezina, placing him ahead of Sergei Bobrovsky (+3500) and behind Jakub Dobes (+2800)."}},{"id":"dHYPYVYFja","type":"header","data":{"text":"Calder Trophy | Roger McQueen: +5000","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"-bHYvhz6UV","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"McQueen is one of two potential rookies in the Ducks organization with an opportunity in training camp to earn a sizable role on the depth chart heading into the season. The other is Nikita Klepov, who, as of now, is ineligible for wagers from BetMGM. "}},{"id":"NPJCl0Q2k3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"With Troy Terry out and the departures of Mason McTavish and Chris Kreider from the top six, the Ducks are in need of secondary production aside from Carlsson, Gauthier, and Sennecke. McQueen has an NHL frame and habits, but hasn’t played much hockey since before he was drafted last year (10th overall in 2025). He produced 27 points (11-16=27) in 36 NCAA games last season at Providence College, which was good enough for third on his team in a defensive system, but his offensive game could potentially use exploratory reps before making the jump into a full-time NHL role. "}},{"id":"uxpHe2uSKV","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Based on early returns from training camp, Klepov is the more likely Ducks rookie to receive a significant NHL role this season and Calder votes, but again, he is ineligible for wagers at this time.McQueen, a higher-profile prospect than Klepov, has the 12th-best odds to win the Calder Trophy, just ahead of Victor Eklund (+5500) and just behind Jacob Fowler (+4000)."}},{"id":"kRKRnz-4Wh","type":"header","data":{"text":"Jack Adams Award | Joel Quenneville: +3500","level":2,"linkUrl":"","anchor":""}},{"id":"YNHq9Vb-Mx","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In his first year behind the Ducks’ bench, the second-winningest coach in NHL history led Anaheim to their first playoff appearance since 2018 and their first series win since 2017. That season was only good enough to receive two third-place votes, so for him to win this award for the second time in his career seems far-fetched at this point in time. "}},{"id":"FNNRD7y0-H","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"However, the narrative surrounding the Ducks remains that they are due for a step back in the upcoming season from their success last year, so though the path to this award likely requires a near-President’s Trophy season from Anaheim, a top-five finish in league standings will be buoyed by a favorable narrative for Quenneville. "}},{"id":"Hw2e7-GhIy","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Quenneville has the 22nd-best odds of winning the Jack Adams, tied with Marco Sturm, just ahead of Andrew Brunette(+4000), Jim Montgomery, and Scott Arneil, and just behind Travis Green (+3000), Todd McLellan, Rod Brind’Amour, and Jeff Blashill. "}},{"id":"JJys3HE6Qy","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Injuries Piling Up for Ducks in the Early Days of Training Camp"}},{"id":"UulVwAffV3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Ducks GM Pat Verbeek Speaks at Training Camp"}},{"id":"2qNqBSq-ZF","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Three Storylines Heading into Anaheim Ducks 2026-27 Training Camp"}}],"version":"2.31.6"}

Ducks to Continue with Same Power Play Personnel