2015-16 record: 46-25-11 (103 points)
Lost to Nashville in Conference quarterfinals
Captain: Ryan Getzlaf
The Bruce Boudreau era in Anaheim ended the same way it started: unable to win a game seven. This time, it happened in the opening round to a Nashville Predators team that until that point, never played in one. That failure cost Boudreau his job, and in his place as new head coach is the guy he replaced originally. Randy Carlyle is back as head coach and it will be up to him to get the Ducks back to playing a more physical style to compliment their offensive output.
Despite the slow start to last season, the Ducks still won the Pacific Divison title, but thanks to a sudden offensive outage that saw Corey Perry net precisely no goals in the seven series defeat, there is much for the Ducks to prove when it counts the most. Neither Andrew Cogliano nor Nate Thompson should be outscoring Perry in the playoffs. The regular season isn't much of a problem, particularly since four players scored 20 goals or more, with Getzlaf providing 50 assists. Defensively, while there is no true number one defenseman, the unit as a whole does a good job, and certainly, depth is a major strength, as there are two players (Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour) still waiting their turn to land full time jobs. In goal, it's John Gibson's job to lose now, and despite having a rocky playoff start that caused him to cede the job to Fredrik Andersen for the rest of the time, he did make the All-Star game during the regular season and he did net a 2.07 GAA in 40 games. Special teams only have down to go, as both the power play and penalty kill units were top ranked.
Prediction: 2nd in the Pacific Division
Familiarity with an old coach should help the Ducks, but just how soon the bad feelings the previous time subsides will determine how well they go out of the gate. Of course, their success will ultimately fall on whether or not they make the Stanley Cup Finals.
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