Apr 13, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson (91) skates with the puck across center ice against the Colorado Avalanche in the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7a030e89-f862-466a-95a2-ec5dcbb28c0d.jpeg] Apr 13, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson (91) skates with the puck across center ice against the Colorado Avalanche in the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images As the conference final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is about to commence, teams out of the race look ahead to the offseason, the NHL Draft, and free agency. Ducks Name Joel Quenneville Head Coach [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-name-joel-quenneville-head-coach] Enhanced Depth Will Give Ducks Options [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/enhanced-depth-will-give-ducks-options] For the Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks], their first order of business has been handled: the hiring of their next head coach ahead of the 2025-26 season, Joel Quenneville. Quenneville’s hiring demonstrated the Ducks intend to graduate from their rebuild phase and enter their playoff contention phase, as general manager Pat Verbeek was given the green light from ownership, Henry and Susan Samueli, to spend whatever is necessary to ensure the icing of a competitive team come autumn. Quenneville’s salary is reported to be a two to three-year contract with a higher value than the team had historically paid a head coach. The Samuelis are said to be spending roughly $5 billion in renovations to Honda Center and development of the surrounding area, intended to become a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment district, OCVibe. With $38.63 million to play with, the Ducks enter the summer with the third-most projected cap space in the NHL behind the San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] ($43.93 million) and the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] ($41.27 million). “I expect us to be very active and aggressive,” Verbeek said following the dismissal of Greg Cronin on April 19. “I think I see this team at a point to where my expectation of this team is to make the playoffs next year. I expect our group to take a step, and so I'm going to be active and aggressive in making our team better.” In the 2024 offseason, Verbeek was reported to offer more substantial contracts, both in terms of length and value, to free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault than the ones they ultimately signed. Both players rejected the Ducks in favor of the Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators]. “We're going to have a bunch of different strategies going into that,” Verbeek continued. “There'll be a bunch of different plans. I’m going to be aggressive like I was last summer, but there'll be different plans put in place based on what happens in the different scenarios.” The Ducks will need to spend over $8 million simply to reach the $65 million cap floor for the 2025-26 season, a non-issue when considering they only have 33 players under contract in the organization and high-profile RFAs Mason McTavish and Lukas Dostal in need of new contracts. Verbeek feels the team will need to add more goal-scoring to take their next steps toward contention. Some of that will come with natural progression from the youngest and most talented players on the roster, and some of that will come with additions made in the upcoming offseason, additions Henry Samueli has no problems breaking out the checkbook for. “Bringing in someone of Joel’s stature, that’s going to cost more money, but we’re willing to make that investment into the team,” Samueli said at Quenneville’s introductory press conference. “We’ve told the same thing to Pat. Going out looking for players, you will have the budget you need to make this a serious playoff team. You don’t have to pinch pennies anymore. Do what it takes to make us a contender.” The 2025 free agent class won’t be the deepest, with names like Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Aaron Ekblad near the top of most publicly available free agents lists. However, there remains an ultimate prize on the market, a prize that is potentially one of the highest-profile UFAs in NHL history: Mitch Marner. While the odds may be low when it comes to Marner landing in Anaheim this summer, they can offer him (or any free agent) as much money as any opposing team in the market, will now have the second-winningest coach in NHL history behind their bench, and one of the most talented young cores in the league. Spending every cent of the nearly $39 million in cap space isn’t even out of the question. “Potentially, if necessary,” Samueli said when asked about Verbeek approaching the cap ceiling. “He’s going to spend wisely. We’re not going to write stupid checks, but I told him, ‘Do what it takes to make this a really steady, perennial playoff contender and Stanley Cup contender down the road. And if that means signing big-name free agents, go for it.’ We told him, going forward, you will not be constrained by the budget.” The Ducks have been on the outside, looking in at the playoffs during this time of year for seven consecutive seasons. That marks the third-longest such streak in the NHL, behind the Buffalo Sabres (13 seasons) and Detroit Red Wings (eight seasons). Ownership seems to have had enough of the rebuild and has now given the green light to spend serious green cash this offseason in order to put those days behind them. Anaheim Ducks Prospect Spotlight: Sennecke's Season Comes to an End in OHL Championship [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/anaheim-ducks-prospect-spotlight-sennecke-s-season-comes-to-an-end-in-ohl-championship] Ducks Prospect Swaps Swedish Clubs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-prospect-swaps-swedish-clubs] Three Ducks Players Who Could Benefit Most from Quenneville Hire [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/players/three-ducks-players-who-could-benefit-most-from-quenneville-hire]
