THE ADDITION OF prospect Cutter Gauthier to the pipeline and the subtraction of Jamie Drysdale was an unexpected speed bump in the rebuild. Drysdale was expected to lead the Anaheim blueline for the next decade and beyond, but at least the Ducks got stronger with a potential game-breaker up front. Gauthier was the No. 2 prospect in Future Watch 2024.
IMMEDIATE NEEDS: The Ducks have some excellent defense prospects already making NHL impacts in Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger and Tristan Luneau. But the club needs veteran stability on the back end – especially a right-shot defensive sort to log heavy minutes and boost an ailing penalty-killing unit.
LONG-TERM NEEDS: For as impressive a job as the Ducks have done building their stable of young defensemen, they struggle when it comes…
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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Draft Preview 2024