Pacific Division Preview, California - Anaheim & San Jose

Anaheim Ducks

2023-24 Regular Season Record: 27-50-5 (59 points, 7th in Pacific Division)

2023-24 Season Result: Missed Stanley Cup Playoffs by 39 points

Additions: Brian Dumoulin, Robby Fabbri, Jansen Harkins

Subtractions: Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Max Jones, Jakob Silfverberg

The Ducks haven’t finished higher than sixth in the Pacific Division in the last six years, but there are many reasons to believe that streak could end in the near future. The Ducks didn’t have a tremendously active offseason compared to many in the division but they didn’t need to. Adding just two players that are expected to play meaningful minutes this season, the Ducks have 11 players that are 25 or younger on their roster, looking to improve internally. Not wanting to take ice time away from their extremely young and talented core, General Manager Pat Verbeek added one forward and defenseman by trading for Robby Fabbri, who is on his final year of a three-year, $12M ($4M AAV) deal. The Ducks also traded for Brian Dumoulin who is on the final year of a two-year, $6.3M ($3.150M AAV) deal.

Expect both physical and mental growth, maturation and increased skill and strength from the young talent on the Ducks roster. Of the 10 players under 25, six of them were drafted in the first round, including four in the top ten. It’s often said to build through the middle of the ice when you’re creating a roster to compete for Stanley Cups and that’s exactly what the Ducks have done. Projected at center this season is a quartet of first rounders: 19-year-old and the 2023 second overall pick Leo Carlsson, 23-year-old and 2019 ninth overall pick Trevor Zegras, 21-year-old and 2021 third overall pick Mason McTavish and finally the 24-year-old and 23rd overall pick in 2018 Isac Lundestrom. Offensive growth is expected from the 6–3, 200-pound Carlsson and the 6–0, 215-pound power forward McTavish. Meanwhile, the uber-talented Zegras looks to return to form off an injury-filled 2023-24 season. Zegras will look to get back to the offensive pace that he had during the 2022-23 season when he notched 65 points (23-42=65) in 81 games.

Not to be forgotten are talented forwards in the one-time 37-goal scorer in 2021-22 Troy Terry and last year’s 37-goal scorer Frank Vatrano who both return.

The Ducks ranked 30th both offensively and defensively last season, averaging 2.48 goals per game, compared to 3.57 goals against per game. The Ducks will look to hold down the fort in front of the emerging 24-year-old goalie Lukas Dostal and John Gibson. Gibson (46 games) and Dostal (44 games) split starts for the majority of last season and enter camp with an undetermined number one.

San Jose Sharks

2023-24 Regular Season Record: 19-54-9 (47 points, 8th in Pacific Division)

2023-24 Season Result: Missed Stanley Cup Playoffs by 52 points

Additions: Yaroslav Askarov, Macklin Celabrini, Cody Ceci, Barclay Goodrow, Carl Grundstrom, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Walman, Alexander Wennberg

Subtractions: Calen Addison, Alexander Barabanov, Kyle Burroughs, Ryan Carpenter, Mike Hoffman, Kevin Labanc, Jacob MacDonald, Filip Zadina

It was an extremely active offseason for the Sharks and for good reason. After putting together the lowest point total in NHL in five years, the Sharks have reloaded with both young and veteran talent. Beginning with the generational talent that the Sharks drafted first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Macklin Celebrini joins San Jose after just one season at Boston University. Celebrini put the hockey world on notice while in college last season after ranking second in goals (32) and third in points (64) as a 17-year-old freshman, becoming just the fourth freshman ever to win the Hobey Baker Award. Now set to make his NHL debut this October, Celebrini is also joined by 2014 Stanley Cup champion with the Kings Tyler Toffoli, who inked a four-year, $24M ($6M AAV) deal this offseason.

Also accompanying the two new Shark forwards will be another duo of a youngling and a veteran. Expected to play another important role down the middle of the ice is the Sharks 2023 fourth-overall pick Will Smith. Smith outdid Celebrini in college and led the NCAA in assists (46) and points (71) across just 41 games played. The veteran joining him is the newly signed Alex Wennberg, who signed with the Sharks after finishing last season with the New York Rangers. Wennberg had spent the previous three seasons with the Seattle Kraken before he was acquired by the Rangers at last year’s deadline. Wennberg has netted double-digit goals in his past four consecutive seasons and enters the Sharks organization having agreed to terms on a two-year, $10M ($5M AAV) deal. The success of the four highlighted forwards will heavily determine if the Sharks can improve their offensive output from last season when they ranked 31st in the NHL in scoring, averaging just 2.20 goals per game.

Also looking to improve in the goaltending department, the Sharks landed one of the offseason’s biggest trades by acquiring Nashville Predators prospect Yaroslav Askarov. Following an eight-year contract extension for starting Predators goalie Juuse Saros, Askarov, 11th overall draft pick in 2020, requested a trade and it was the Sharks who acquired the southpaw tendy. Askarov has appeared in just three NHL games in his career and spent last season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, posting a record of 30-13-1 with an impressive 2.39 GAA and .911 SV%. Askarov joins a Sharks crease currently occupied by NHL-regulars Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek, with the trio expected to compete for minutes this season.