Better luck next year: Some real bright spots emerging for Anaheim Ducks

But are there enough of them?

Welcome back to Better Luck Next Year, a series that will focus on each team as they get eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. What went wrong, why it went wrong, what (if anything) went right, and what is next. We continue today with the next team to be eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention: The Anaheim Ducks

Nobody should have looked at the Anaheim Ducks before the 2024-25 season and had any expectations for a playoff appearance. It just is not that type of roster at this point, not that type of team, and there was too much of a gap between them and the Western Conference playoff teams to think this group could erase that. Especially without many major outside additions over the summer.

The best hope for this season was going to be some sort of progress that gets them closer to playoff contention, as well as some serious improvement from the young core.

To some extent, the Ducks provided that.

They are on track to have their best record in seven years. They at least have a chance to finish with a points percentage over .500 for the first time since the 2017-18 season. A lot of individual players have taken some steps forward and given them something to be happy about.

There are still some big concerns and flaws in the way the team is playing. The results are marginally better. The process is still lacking.

The improvement in the standings is promising, but they have some of the worst defensive-metrics in hockey. They are 32nd in the league in expected goals against, scoring chances against and high-danger scoring chances against, while also only averaging 2.69 goals per game (27th in the league). A lot of the improvement in the standings comes from the fact the goaltending has been significantly better than expected.

Even if that continues, they still need a lot more from the rest of the roster and a lot more help around their improving young core.

What went right this season