New Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle doesn't expect his team to look all that different, systematically at least, from last year.
The difference will come in its lineup construction and deployment. Carlyle thinks it needs more youth and energy.
"You always have to transition youth into your lineup," he said during a recent phone conversation. "We're a budget hockey club; we're going to be forced to use younger players."
With youth comes a little more pace. It's usually the veteran players who know how to slow the game down and make it work at their speed. Ryan Getzlaf is as good at that as anyone.
But during offseason phone conversations between Carlyle -- who coached the Ducks from 2005-06 until early in the 2011-12 season and won a Stanley Cup with the franchise -- and his former players, like Getzlaf and Corey Perry, the pace of play became the central part of discussions.
"They play more of a pace game. They're veteran players. That's one of the things we're going to ask them -- to play the game at a higher pace," Carlyle said.
He doesn't need any more proof they can do it. Carlyle watched the pair play for Team Canada in the World Cup and saw the kind of skating he's going to require from his veteran players, especially Getzlaf.
"And Corey Perry is in the best shape he's ever been in," Carlyle said. "They put the work in. It's a tribute to them."
Best new faces
GM Bob Murray was aggressive in addressing his roster needs before last season, and the result was a team that took half of a season to get going. The biggest change this time around is behind the bench, while the main pieces of the roster have been essentially untouched -- except for one position.
Frederik Andersen is gone as the starting goalie, with John Gibson now expected to get a majority of the starts. Gibson has long been regarded as a great, young goalie, but now comes the moment of truth. He had a .920 save percentage in 38 starts last season, even earning enough votes to finish tied for seventh in the Vezina.
After the Maple Leafs gave Jonathan Bernier his signing bonus, the Ducks grabbed him in a trade for a conditional draft pick. It was a shrewd move for a budget-conscious team that has cap space but gets Bernier at a discount, after Toronto paid his bonus.
Bernier had his best season as a starter while playing for Carlyle in Toronto, finishing the 2013-14 season with a .923 save percentage. He struggled last season, but playing for a bad team tends to do that to goalies.
"Everybody in the league is looking more to the 1A and 1B situations," Carlyle said. "Yes, Gibby is highly rated. It's hard not to give him an opportunity. Goaltenders have to earn it. You have to earn it night in and night out. We feel we have a capable option in Jonathan Bernier."
Biggest unknowns
It's not particularly great that the Ducks had two restricted free-agent no-shows at the start of training camp, with Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell both still unsigned when camp began. Not only was Rakell unsigned, he was dealing with complications that followed his appendectomy in September.
Even if both of those situations get settled, you never know how a player is going to react following an intense contract negotiation.
The bigger concern in Anaheim is the possibility of a decline coming from its aging stars. The Ducks are very dependent on the trio of Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan Kesler. When they're on and playing well, the Ducks can beat anybody. They're also at the collective age where it's not unreasonable to expect some depreciation, especially considering the style in which they play. As the league speeds up and gets younger, it's quite possible that trio will get old in a hurry. Maybe not this year ... but the clock is ticking.
Sure things
Here's one -- Sami Vatanen is going to outplay the value of his contract. During an offseason in which teams struggled to get deals done with their restricted free agents, Vatanen was off Anaheim's to-do list quite early. He signed a four-year deal worth $19.5 million in mid-June.
With an average annual value of $4.875 million, his contract is going to look good in a hurry.
"I wanted to be there," Vatanen said. "That was the main thing. I saw the GM and coaches -- they wanted me there. It helped a lot. I'm very happy about that."
They wanted the 25-year-old defenseman for good reason. He has pushed 40 points each of the last two seasons, is offensively gifted and is a right-handed shot. Lindholm is the best pure defenseman on the roster, good enough to challenge for a Norris Trophy at some point. But Vatanen is the kind of defenseman you need behind your top guys to keep the puck moving in the right direction.
Prediction
The Duck have concerns. Is John Gibson ready to be a full-time starter? Will the contract issues linger into the season? How will the team respond to the return of Randy Carlyle?
But, ultimately, this team has too many good defensemen and star power up front to decline too far below their 103-point total from last season. The Ducks will clear the playoff hurdle but maybe not as easily as they'd like to. Second place in the Pacific.