How the Ducks are building a new Western power

IRVINE, Calif. -- "My archetypal fewer years, this spot was a nightmare."

Any acceptable of eyebrows that are wrong earshot of what Chris Kreider has conscionable said are instantly raised, due to the fact that this is his effect to a question astir what allowed the Anaheim Ducks to go much of a desired destination present than they had been successful the caller past.

"I mean, the full Cali travel was awful," Kreider said.

This is erstwhile Kreider becomes a storyteller and a comedian, sharing what it was similar to play the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and the Ducks 3 times implicit the span of a four-day California misadventure.

The Kings were filled with "monsters" -- due to the fact that each but 3 players connected their roster were taller than six feet, portion weighing an mean of 210 pounds. The Sharks were their ain peculiar benignant of hellhole due to the fact that they had Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton.

"Burns pinned maine against the boards and I thought, 'I'll determination my feet, the refs volition spot I can't spell anyplace and I'll gully a penalty,'" Kreider said. "That's erstwhile I looked down and my feet weren't touching the ice. I'm 6-3, and I was playing astatine 230 pounds. Brent Burns conscionable lifted maine disconnected the ice."

Then there's what happened successful Anaheim.

"I don't deliberation I ever touched the puck erstwhile I was successful this building," Kreider said. "It was [Corey] Perry and [Ryan] Getzlaf and whoever they were playing with astatine the time. ... I got the 'honor' of matching up against them a fewer times, and I was called into the coaches' country aft that trip. I got told that my crippled wasn't wherever it needed to be."

Reliving specified amusive times is what makes Kreider constituent toward the stalls that beryllium to teammates similar Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Jackson LaCombe.

"You look astatine those guys," Kreider said. "There's going to beryllium a time successful the adjacent aboriginal wherever [opponents] are saying the aforesaid happening astir them."

That, successful Kreider's mind, is wherefore the Ducks are a destination again. But are they a playoff team?

"From my perspective, the anticipation is to marque the playoffs," Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said. "So, your reply to that is yes."

AFTER MISSING THE PLAYOFFS for 7 consecutive seasons, determination were questions astir the Ducks' trajectory. However, they've developed 1 of the NHL's champion workplace systems done beardown drafting -- and are present answering those questions. They missed the playoffs past season, but finished with 80 points -- their highest full successful six years.

This past offseason was 1 of the astir pivotal successful franchise history. Verbeek and his unit traded John Gibson and Trevor Zegras -- 2 players who astatine abstracted times were the look of the Ducks. They added veterans similar Mikael Granlund and Kreider, portion signing members of their young halfway to semipermanent contracts.

Verbeek besides fired manager Greg Cronin aft 2 seasons, and hired three-time Stanley Cup victor Joel Quenneville, who had guided the Read Entire Article