More NHL Offseason: | | | The stood at the end of the gauntlet that was the West with the best record in the conference and second-best record in the NHL. They finished just a point shy of the Presidents Trophy in 2013-14 and finished in third place in the entire NHL in 2012-13 season. With head coach Bruce Boudreau at the helm, the Ducks have been playing some great hockey in the regular season. Now they need to just get it clicking a little better in the playoffs.Bolstered by the long-term pillars of the franchise, and , the Ducks have superstars who lead the charge and carry the bulk of offensive production. The duo scored 28 percent of Anaheims goals last season.The Ducks actually had quite a bit of turnover this offseason considering Luis Urias Jersey their succe s last year with some of the lo ses including Mathieu Perreault, , Luca Sbisa, Jonas Hiller, and Even with that turnover, theres reason to believe the Ducks will still be a highly competitive team. Thats particularly due to the addition of to take over the No. 2 center role. He can take on some of the tougher defensive matchups while also requiring teams to focus on the Ducks second line more. The Ducks are going to need younger players to step up to fill the other holes, but they have a good group led by , who is a new addition to the Ducks core group. Theres also a pair of elite-level young goaltenders the Ducks will be relying on in and John Gibson, who will likely battle for the long-term No. 1 job over the next season-plus. They're just a few of the youth movement that could carry the Ducks into a brighter future ahead.Heres a look at the rest of the Ducks core.Core Values: Anaheim DucksPlayers (Age, term remaining on contract): C Ryan Getzlaf (29, 7 years), RW Corey Perry (29, 7 years), C Ryan Kesler (29, 2 years), D (22, 4 years), D Hampus Lindholm (20, 2 years), C (27, 4 years)Total Cap Hit for 2014-15: $29,769,167 (43% of salary cap consumed by six players) Average age: 26Total point production in 2013-14^: 108 goals, 169 a sists, 277 points (61 percent of teams total point production) ^ - Stats do not include Ryan Keslers 25-1843 stat line from the Vancouver CanucksAnaheim Ducks Player Usage Chart About the CoreRyan Getzlaf: After finishing as a runner-up in the Hart Trophy race last season, Getzlaf staked his claim as one of the best centers in the game today. He has 608 points over 633 career games, all with Anaheim. Getzlaf is the team captain and plays in every situation, averaging more than 21 minutes per game. Along with running mate Corey Perry, Getzlaf is under contract for seven more years, which will bring him to age 36. With his rugged two-way game, size and skill level, he could be effective for a lot of years a suming he stays healthy. With two Olympic gold medals and a Stanley Cup, Getzlaf has been on a path Wil Myers Jersey for succe s since he stepped into the league. Now hell be charged as one of the two players expected to lead this club to another title. Corey Perry: Coming off a 43-goal campaign, Perrys NHL career has been downright fascinating. Known primarily as an agitator most of his career, Perrys reputation is now more closely tied to his ability to produce. He won the Hart Trophy in 2010-11 after he scored 50 goals and 98 points. Since that season, only and Steven Stamkos have scored more goals than Perrys 145. Hes still as agitating as ever, but Perry significantly cut down on his penalty minutes last season. Too valuable to be spending time on the box, the Ducks will have to hope that is the start of a trend. With Getzlaf and Perry, the Ducks have one of the more formidable top two forwards in the league and they will help carry this franchise for years to come.Ryan Kesler: The Ducks were smart not to rest on the laurels of a great regular-season record. They went out and got Kesler and now have a No. 2 behind Getzlaf who can eat some of the tougher defensive minutes the teams captain was tackling. The Ducks somewhat sheltered Mathieu Perreault last season, but that wont be nece sary with Kesler, who is good in the circle and already has a Selke Trophy to his credit. Theres also going to be an expectation for Kesler to produce and he should in Bruce Boudreaus offense-friendly system. It is unlikely Kesler is going to hit the career-highs he managed in 2009-10 and 2010-11 with 75 points and 41 goals, respectively, but he should be better than the 43 points he put up last season. A suming he can stay healthy and the younger wings the Ducks have at their disposal can step up into bigger roles, Kesler should have some good support to Carlos Asuaje Jersey have a big year in Anaheim.Cam Fowler:At just 22 years old, Fowler has grown into the Ducks top defenseman. He led the team last season by averaging nearly 24 minutes a game. He also put up 36 points in 70 games and was part of the U.S. Olympic Team in Sochi. Fowler is still chasing his 40-point campaign he had as a rookie, but he also dealt with a concu sion early in his career. Though not as productive, last season was probably his best as an NHLer. With that in mind, the best days of Fowler's career are probably ahead of him. Its pretty clear Bruce Boudreau has a lot of faith in Fowler with his minutes and deployment. Another bonus with Fowler is his cheap contract for a No. 1 D. And with only one year left on veteran Francois Beauchemins contract, this D corps could truly be Fowlers to lead. Hampus Lindholm: Not well known among NHL fans, Lindholm had a standout rookie season with the Ducks last year. He put up 30 points including 24 a sists and averaged 19:26 per game. He's only 20 years old, but Lindholm makes a lot of good decisions on the ice and has some really strong skill. Though protected a bit in his deployment last season, Lindholm had the best Corsi for percentage of any of the Ducks' regular defensemen at 51.1 percent. The former sixth overall pick is going to figure prominently in the Ducks' plans again and he still has two full years left on his cheap entry-level contract, meaning Anaheim should expect a high-value return from its young blueliner.Andrew Cogliano: Though likely to be bumped from the team's core group in the near future, Cogliano still has four years left on his contract and helps give the Ducks tremendous depth down the middle. Slotted behind Getzlaf and Kesler, Cogliano may benefit from some lineup flexibility next season that will see him get into more offensive situations. He played well last season with a career-high 22 goals and 42 points. Odds are Anaheim's goaltenders and guys like Jakob Silfverberg, Emerson Etem, and/or Devante Smith-Pelly will supplant Cogliano, but with the term remaining on his contract and production from a season ago, Cogliano seemed like the most logical pick at the present time to be included as a core player.Whos next in lineIt might be better to ask who isnt next, but thats a testament to the Ducks drafting and prospect management over the last few years. The Ducks have built one of the very best goaltending prospect systems in the NHL. It allowed them to jettison Viktor Fasth and and hand the keys to a couple of young guys. Frederik Andersen made the all-rookie team last year after posting a .923 save percentage in 28 appearances. The Danish netminder is 24 years old and will be looking to handle the bulk of the starting duties next year, but he's not going to be without competition.John Gibson very well could supplant Andersen after he showed glimpses of readine s during his three regular-season starts. The 20-year-old also picked up a pair of postseasonwins, but was between the pipes for the Game 7 disaster against the Kings in the second round. How he bounces back from that may tell just how ready Gibson is to be a full-time NHLer. There's no question he's one of the best goaltending prospects in the game today.The Ducks also have youth at every other position and could look to get more out of that group. The team still has to re-sign Jakob Silfverberg and Devante Smith-Pelly, but once those deals get done, Anaheim should be looking for big things from both. Theres also 22-year-old on the back end. He is coming off a rather succe sful half-season with the Ducks where he put up 21 points in just 48 games. As he becomes a full-time member of the team next season, Vatanen could take another step forward and very well could be a core defenseman before long.Other forwards who should figure prominently in the future of the organization are Kyle Palmieri and Emerson Etem. Bould be top-six forwards. The club also has high hopes for 2014 first-round draft pick Nick Ritchie.OverviewThe Ducks have the luxury of having two players at the top of their lineup that rival just about any teams in Matt Strahm Jersey the league. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are star players who could be top-15 scorers annually in the NHL if surrounded by enough talent. Thats such a great base to build the rest of the team on. The addition of Kesler could be a huge one for the Ducks as they look to take some of that pre sure off their top line. Thats going to require players like Palmieri, Etem and Silfverberg to be ready to take the next step as top-six forwards and give Kesler some quality linemates who can help boost production. Also, if Kesler's two years remaining on his contract prove fruitful for the Ducks, they may ask him to stick around for a while longer. , who saw time on the top line last year, could also be looking to boost his numbers to play a more prominent role on the team after putting up 24 points in 55 games last year.There's really a litany of young forwards this team is going to be able to plug into various roles throughout the season to see what works best. A lot of Brad Hand Jersey the Ducks hopes for succe s next season will rest on the young goaltending tandem of Andersen and Gibson. The team signed as a veteran backup for a little insurance, but the young guys are being handed the keys here. Neither has experienced a full NHL workload yet and theyll probably each get a chance to take control of the job as the season wears on. Both are promising prospects, but the team is banking on them being ready for a lot more right now.The defense, led by Fowler also includes veteran Francois Beauchemin, whose age and one year remaining on his contract left him out of the core group despite his prominent role on the team. is coming off a really good season as well, while also provides a solid veteran presence on the back end. The club also added in free agency, which was an expensive signing. He will definitely bring more of a physical presence the Ducks blue line lacked, but it comes at a premium price.The succe s of the Ducks defense next season may hinge on whether Lindholm and Vatanen take another step forward developmentally. If they do, Anaheim could be looking at a pretty solid group on the back end that will help protect the young goaltenders, while also bolstering offensive production.After big succe s over the last two seasons in Anaheim, the Ducks have raised expectations for themselves. Now they need the young guys surrounding the teams established stars to step up and take the organization to the next level in the very tough Pacific Division and Western Conference.