It’s time to preview the Pacific division with Pacific Primer. As usual, the Flames will play these teams four times in 2024-25 (with the exception of the Oilers who they’ll only play three times). In Pacific Primer, we will examine each team’s moves this off-season and then see how they stack up against the Flames.
We’re starting off Pacific Primer with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks had a quiet off-season, with a few trades and no major signings. There were also no major RFA’s for the Ducks to deal with. The last signing was on July 15th, so General Manager Pat Verbeek and co. had a nice long summer. The most newsworthy event in Ducks land was probably them switching back to the Mighty Ducks logo full-time:
Off-season moves:
Trades
- Acquired LD Brian Dumoulin from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a 2026 4th rounder.
- Acquired LW Robby Fabbri and a conditional 2025 4th rounder from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for G Gage Alexander (condition: Anaheim will receive the better of Detroit’s 2025 4th or Boston’s 2025 4th).
RFAs
- Re-signed C Isac Lundestrom to a 1-year, 1.5M AAV deal.
- Re-signed LD/RD Jackson LaCombe to a 2-year, 925K AAV deal.
UFAs
- Re-signed LD Urho Vaakanainen to a 1-year, 1.1M AAV deal.
- Re-signed RW Brett Leason to a 1-year, 1.05M AAV deal.
- Signed LW Jansen Harkins to a 2-year, 787.5K AAV deal.
Mock Lineup
Forwards:
Alex Killorn – Mason McTavish – Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier – Leo Carlsson – Frank Vatrano
Robby Fabbri – Trevor Zegras – Ryan Strome
Brock McGinn – Isac Lundestrom – Brett Leason
Ross Johnston – Jansen Harkins
Defence:
Brian Dumoulin – Cam Fowler
Pavel Mintyukov – Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger – Jackson LaCombe
Tristan Luneau
Goalies:
Lukas Dostal
John Gibson
Cap space: 21.7M
How the Flames stack up against the Ducks
Both teams will likely be backstopped by a young goaltender. Dostal was incredibly underrated on the Ducks last year, playing 44 games and putting up a .902 SV%. I could see a similar trajectory for Dustin Wolf this season.
The Ducks still have a way to go before they’re considered a playoff team. But there’s tons of young talent on this squad. McTavish, Carlsson, and Zegras up the middle with Gauthier coming in on the wing could prove deadly in a few years. Mintyukov and Zellweger on the blue line is pretty nice as well.
Ultimately, I’ll give the Flames the advantage for forwards just because they have more guys who are certain. On the defensive side, I’d have to give it to the Flames again, but it’s pretty close. If Mintyukov takes a big step, defence probably goes to Anaheim. On the goaltending side, I’m going to give it to Anaheim because Dostal has a few more games under his belt compared to Wolf.
The Ducks have a pretty good mix. They have some veterans in Fowler, Gudas, and Dumoulin to blend with their young D. There are some quality vets up front in Alex Killorn and Ryan Strome.
Season series prediction: Calgary 2-1-1
Last year, Calgary had a record of 2-1-0 against the Ducks.
Ducks predicted division finish: 8th
2024–25 Pacific Primer Series
Anaheim Ducks Edmonton Oilers LA Kings San Jose Sharks Seattle Kraken Vancouver Canucks
