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NHL.com's 32-in-32 series shines its spotlight on Anaheim this week. The annual exercise, which dissects every franchise before the start of the season, comes at an opportune time for a Ducks team that had a turbulent summer. Between the record check signed by Leo Carlsson and the expected breakout of Cutter Gauthier, Southern California wants to believe that the rebuild is nearing its end.
Carlsson, a $90 million bet
On July 3, the Philadelphia Flyers made a hostile offer of five years, $90 million to Leo Carlsson, a restricted free agent.
On July 3, the Philadelphia Flyers made a hostile offer of five years, $90 million to Leo Carlsson, a restricted free agent. Eighteen million per season. Unprecedented in NHL history for a 21-year-old player. Six days later, general manager Pat Verbeek matched the amount without batting an eye. Anaheim matched.
The Swede became overnight the highest-paid hockey player on the planet, ahead of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. A dizzying status for a center coming off a 68-point season and whose team finished with only 28 wins. The management's message is clear: the window for progress is now.
The case left marks in the locker room. Frank Vatrano, a 32-year-old veteran, publicly supported his young teammate amid the media turmoil. But the salary cap, for its part, shows no sentiment: with $18 million swallowed up on a single name, the room for maneuver to strengthen the depth of the roster shrinks like a shagreen skin.
Gauthier, the rising cannon
NHL EDGE advanced statistics this year train their sensors on Cutter Gauthier. The 22-year-old winger, acquired from Philadelphia in January 2024 in the trade that sent Jamie Drysdale to Pennsylvania, displays one of the highest shot speeds in the league. His slap shot regularly exceeds 155 km/h, a weapon that produced 31 goals last season.
Gauthier embodies the second pillar of the project. Tall, powerful, with a shot reminiscent of Auston Matthews in his early days, he forms with Carlsson the most promising young duo in the Western Conference. The task remains to convert promise into results: the two men have never yet played a playoff game.
A lopsided roster, a hurdle to overcome
Behind the two headliners, the picture is more nuanced. Trevor Zegras is coming off a season shortened by injuries. Mason McTavish must confirm after encouraging 2025 playoffs but a lackluster 2025-2026 campaign. The defense, led by Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger, still lacks depth against the top teams.
Training camp will tell whether the summer additions — a few veterans signed at low prices — will suffice to plug the gaps. Because the goal is no longer to aim for a good draft pick. With $90 million invested in Carlsson, the time for excuses is over.
Last season, Anaheim allowed 278 goals, the fourth-worst total in the league. If Gauthier continues to bombard and Carlsson lives up to his new status, the Ducks can aim for a wild-card spot. But the margin is slim, and the pressure has never been greater on a franchise that has not tasted the playoffs since 2018.