The acquisition of Ryan Kesler during the Anaheim Ducks offseason has overshadowed what might have been a more significant shift in the team's roster.
Quietly, the Ducks have lost half of their entire offensive lineup from just one year ago.
After trading Dustin Penner and absorbing the retirement of Teemu Selanne, the Ducks declined to offer contracts to Saku Koivu, Mathieu Perreault and Daniel Winnik, effectively releasing them into free agency. Nick Bonino, who had a breakout year in 2014 scoring 22 goals and 49 points, was part of the package that brought Kesler to Anaheim.
That's a lot of movement for a team that played the best season of their existence, just one year ago.
Why is it that Anaheim seems to have so much turnover after great seasons?
We saw the steady dismantling of the 2006-2007 team, which some argued was one of the best ever assembled, and now we're seeing a team that was statistically better follow in the same path.
What does that imply for the 2014-2015 season?
It at least means that a significant change in the team's identity has taken place ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Bobby Kittleberger
How Anaheim Ducks Identity Has Changed During the Offseason
August 13th, 2014 by Bobby Kittleberger Leave a reply »
Advertisement