The Ducks have made the most noise over the summer since their seven-season playoff drought began, but will their ambition come to fruition and will their activity lead to achievement?<\/p>\n
Whereas last season they came up empty-handed in free agency despite possessing an obscene amount of salary cap space, this time they landed Mikael Granlund<\/a>, who had been coveted by teams firmly ahead of the Ducks in the Western Conference standings. They had already acquired another firmly-in-his-30s forward, seizing a buy-low opportunity on former 52-goal scorer Chris Kreider<\/a> as the New York Rangers angled to open up cap space for former Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.<\/p>\n Their biggest addition of the offseason might have been not on the bench but behind it. They abruptly fired Greg Cronin<\/a>, who presided over the second-largest leap in the NHL standings and the biggest in the West last year, and then oh-so-slowly confirmed the obvious: they were hiring Joel Quenneville<\/a>. Quenneville lugged four Stanley Cup titles in tow, but also the baggage of a grim scandal in Chicago that left him out of the game for the better part of four seasons.<\/p>\n \u201c(The Ducks) took a really big step last year. With some of the new players that are coming in and with \u2018Coach Q\u2019 coming in, it really feels like we\u2019re taking the next step,\u201d said Granlund, whose 66 points last season were three shy of a career high. \u201cIt\u2019s not about just (developing) some players and learning, it\u2019s about starting to win some hockey games.\u201d<\/p>\n The NHL\u2019s investigation into Quenneville was lightyears from flattering, indicating that he not only was aware of sexual assault allegations against video coach Brad Aldrich toward at least one Chicago prospect, Kyle Beach (Quenneville said he was unaware until 2021, previously), but that he also provided Aldrich with a favorable evaluation at year\u2019s end. Three years later, Aldrich pled guilty to sexually assaulting a high school player in Michigan.<\/p>\n Quenneville has shown what the Ducks consider to be appropriate contrition, though in his lengthy introduction nothing was said or asked about another player currently suing the Blackhawks in litigation similar to the Beach lawsuit. Ducks players have emphasized Quenneville\u2019s success, particularly with the Blackhawks, where he won Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Frank Vatrano played for him in Florida and played up his locker room presence. Ryan Strome said he hadn\u2019t followed the scandal too closely. Granlund said his experience was invaluable.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has won in this league, a few times. He knows what winning takes and how the game looks when you\u2019re winning,\u201d Granlund said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big thing in the NHL, you have to know what it takes to be a good team, what it takes to actually win something.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ducks won just a little something last year, chasing a .500 points percentage until nearly the final game of the season, and showed individual improvement among some cornerstone players. Overall, however, their special-teams and underlying numbers were atrocious, reflecting in part a team that has sold off more than it has replaced in terms of established talent year after year during its doldrums.<\/p>\n Part of this offseason was also about resolution, especially for the man who had been the longest-tenured Duck, John Gibson, and for another who had been the team\u2019s leading scorer just two years ago, Trevor Zegras.<\/p>\n In a swap that netted a couple of mid-tier draft picks and enough salary flexibility to bring back Ville Husso as a veteran No. 3 netminder, Gibson was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings<\/a>. The deal didn\u2019t make the Ducks\u2019 goaltending any better, younger or significantly cheaper, but it did re-home Gibson to a place where he can both get starts and get a fresh start.<\/p>\n