The 2023-24 NHL regular season was an entertaining one, with races for playoff position, point and goal leaders, and major trophies all coming down to the bitter end.
But not every fan base got to enjoy all of it so much.
With eliminations piling up, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. Clubs that didn’t quite hit the mark this season will use the draft, free agency and trades in an effort to be more competitive in 2024-25.
Read on for a look at what went wrong for each eliminated team, along with a breakdown of its biggest keys this offseason and realistic expectations for next season. Note that more teams will be added to this story as they are eliminated.
Note: Profiles for the Atlantic and Metro teams were written by Kristen Shilton, while Ryan S. Clark analyzed the Central and Pacific teams. Stats are collected from sites such as Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference and Evolving Hockey. Projected cap space per Cap Friendly.
Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BUF | CGY
CHI | CBJ | MIN | MTL
NJ | OTT | SJ
SEA | STL
Non-playoff teams
Projected 2024-25 cap space: $33,755,833
2024 draft picks: 1st, 1st (EDM), 2nd, 2nd (BOS), 3rd, 3rd (PIT), 3rd (SJ), 4th, 6th
What went wrong?
Young teams are going to lose games. What hindered the Ducks is that their defeats came in bunches. An eight-game losing streak in November set the stage for a five-game losing streak in early December. There was the four-game losing streak to start the new year. They had a pair of three-game skids in January and February before going on a six-game losing streak to start March and then losing five straight to end the month.
Injuries didn’t help the Ducks either — especially when it came to Trevor Zegras. The two-time 60-point scorer sustained a lower-body injury in early November that saw him miss 20 games before he suffered a broken ankle in January that was slated to keep him out of the lineup for six to eight weeks. The day the Ducks announced they’d be without Zegras, they lost rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov for six weeks because of a separated shoulder. Plus, rookie center Leo Carlsson missed time with a sprained knee.
Looking at the stats, the Ducks struggled in both zones. They finished in the bottom five of shots per 60 minutes, fewest goals scored per 60, fewest scoring chances per 60 and fewest high-danger chances per 60. They were also in the top 10 of most shots allowed per 60, most goals allowed per 60 and most high-danger chances allowed per 60.
Keys to the offseason:
Finishing with one of the worst records in the league means the Ducks are among the main entrants in the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes. Winning the draft lottery would give them their center tandem of the future in Celebrini and Carlsson, whom they selected with the No. 2 pick of the 2023 draft.
They have four picks in the first two rounds and seven through the first three rounds. Drafting Celebrini would be the centerpiece of those plans. But even if the Ducks don’t win the lottery, they can still use this draft to add to what’s already considered one of the most promising systems in the NHL.
Rookie defenseman Jackson Lacombe is part of a seven-player RFA class, while their major UFA Jakob Silfverberg is retiring. It leaves the Ducks with what Cap Friendly projects to be nearly $34 million in cap space. Having that much space could allow the Ducks to strengthen their roster with the expectation that they’ll see improvement in Year 2 under coach Greg Cronin.
Realistic expectations for 2024-25:
The Ducks are not a team that’s ready to challenge for a playoff spot in the extremely crowded Western Conference. But the progress they saw from a rookie class that featured Carlsson, Lacombe, Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger suggests the next step for the Ducks is…
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