Season Preview: Anaheim Ducks

With NHL pre-season just over 30 days aways and the regular season just under 50 days away, it's time to gear up for the 2013-2014 NHL season. This will be the first instalment in the new "Season Preview" series, where we'll be teeing up the season for all 30 NHL teams. Our first stop will be in Anaheim, as we take a look at the Ducks upcoming season.

The Ducks are coming off a solid 2013 campaign that saw them back in the playoffs after a disappointing 2012-2013. Unfortunately, the Ducks didn't stay long in the postseason, as the Detroit Red Wings eliminated them in the first round.

Much like the Chicago Blackhawks, the Ducks were also able to ride their hot start right through to the playoffs. The Ducks opened the season winning 13 of their first 16 games. But with a full training camp and pre-season games, catching teams sleeping early on wont be easy. The good news is the Ducks will get their first training camp under Bruce Broudreau and have time to adjust to his fast-passed offence right off the bat.

Heading into next season there are three crucial questions the Ducks must answer. Who will play on the top line, will Teemu Selanne return and who starts between the pipes?

After sending Bobby Ryan to Ottawa this offseason, the Ducks must now find someone to step up and Dustin Penner, Jakob Silfverberg and the Ducks x-factor from last season Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri saw some time on the top line with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf during the playoffs and may be able to spark the top line again. After putting up 10 points last season and having some experience on that line, Palmieri may get the first chance to crack the top line. Jakob Silfverberg would be another player who could slide up the line-up. He was acquired in the Bobby Ryan deal and also put up 10 goals last season. Dustin Penner could be reunited with his linemates who helped bring the Stanley Cup to Anaheim in 2007, should he get a chance to play on the top line. Penner, Silfverberg and Palmieri will be fighting it out to gain chemistry and a chance to anchor the Ducks top line.
fill his spot. There are three players who could easily fill in on that top line;

The great Teemu Selanne's future is once again up in the air. The Ducks have said that if Selanne wants to return they would leave a spot for him on their second line. Selanne now 43, is an unrestricted free-agent, but has made one of the greatest late career resurgences with the Ducks over the past 8 seasons. Does Selanne have one more season in him? He scored 12 goals and put up 24 points in 46 games last season with the Ducks, pretty solid numbers for someone in their 40's. If Selanne does decide to come back for one more season, it will no doubt help solidify the Ducks roster.

The Ducks don't have a goaltending controversy, they have a goaltending blessing right now. Both Viktor Fasth and Jonas Hiller are playing stellar hockey and they get along perfectly. Last season the John Gibson. Gibson burst onto the national scenes last season for his performance during the World Junior Championships, in which he not only lead the USA to a championship, he was also named MVP. In all likely hood Gibson will start the season in the AHL, but it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine him finishing the season with the Ducks, especially after he turns some heads at the US Olympic evaluation camp. If Fasth or Hiller, go down with an injury Gibson will be ready to step up to the plate. I'm not sure there is a team in the NHL with a better goaltending future than the Anaheim Ducks.
Ducks rode both Fasth and Hiller for various stretches and it worked, plus they both got along great off the ice. Hiller is entering the final year of his contract and Fasth is looking to take over the crease after signing his two-year extension. Both goalies will battle hard and likely split time for the majority of the season. Waiting in the wings is almost NHL ready goaltender

Player to Watch-
Ryan Getzlaf
After a rough season in 2011-2012, Getlaf bounced back putting up 49 points in 44 games last season. Has Getzlaf re-found his game? Can he lead the Ducks back to the post-season in 2014?

Outlook
Things are looking bright in Anaheim next season. They have a steady mix of young players who are desperate to prove themselves and veterans who want to prove they've still got game. Riding either Fasth or Hiller throughout the season will help give the defence a little added boost. Look for the Ducks to make another trip to the postseason.

Why Having Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer Is Great For the Leafs

For many it came as a surprise that the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for goaltender Jonathan Bernier, after James Reimer helped propel the team back to the playoffs and nearly upset Tuukka Rask and the Boston Bruins. But it's really not that surprising that the Leafs were still looking to upgrade their goaltending after they were rumored to be looking at both Roberto Luongo and Miikka Kiprusoff during the season.

James Reimer proved himself to be a solid goaltender, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding the Leafs crease. What happens if, and based on the past, when Reimer goes down with an injury? In the two seasons Reimer has been the Leafs starter, he's been injured for periods of time in both. Can Reimer continue to shine when the Leafs don't? And most importantly can he perform in the playoffs? Reimer is a young goaltender trying to find his way in the NHL. He doesn't play many back-to-back games and can't really be counted on to start more than 50 games. The Leafs needed a better, more reliable and proven second goaltender other than Ben Scrivens, to help when Reimer needs a break.

Whether Reimer or the Toronto fans like it or not, the Leafs needed an update behind Reimer. Sure they didn't have to go and acquire another young goalie looking to become a bonafide number 1, when they had Reimer, but they did. While it may seem like acquiring Bernier was a deterrent for Reimer's confidence, it was actually a brilliant move by the Leafs.

When you look at the goaltending situations around the league you start to notice a trend; goalie tandems. Last season saw teams such as the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins,  Anaheim Ducks and Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, use both their goaltenders throughout the season. All five of the teams listed above not only operated with a 1A, 1B goaltending system- they also all made it to the postseason.

But let's focus on the Chicago Blackhawks use of the goalie tandem. After two rocky seasons with Corey Crawford at the helm and two first round playoff exits, the Blackhawks decided to bring in another goaltender to not only mentor Crawford but to also give him a break. The plan worked perfectly as Crawford led the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup Championship.

Obviously the Leafs didn't go with the veteran back-up route, but they got a young goalie who will help push Reimer to perform his best. If you're looking for someone to compare Reimer to you can look across to Crawford. Both are fairly young, in-experienced goaltenders with just 3 NHL seasons under their belts, have very similar career numbers, and both still have a lot to prove. It helped Corey Crawford to have another goaltender behind him, and it wouldn't hurt to give Reimer some motivation.

Is Jonathan Bernier an immediate upgrade over Reimer? No. It's too early to tell just how good Bernier
is. He's only played in 62 NHL games and while he's shown flashes of greatness during those games, the sample size is too small. Any half-decent goaltender can post solid numbers through 15 games, but until a goalie starts 30 games in a season their numbers don't say much.

With Bernier the Leafs don't know what they have yet, with Reimer on the other hand they know exactly what they have. A solid goaltender that is capable of bailing the team out and backstopping a team to the postseason. Based on experience and Reimer's play last season he should get the key to the crease to start off the year, but with Bernier bitting at his heals Reimer will be forced to play his best hockey. Besides, what's so bad about a little competition for the starting job?

Having both Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer battling for the right to claim the crease is a win-win for the Leafs. Both are solid young goaltenders, which want a starting role in the NHL and will have to play their best to get between the pipes. The Leafs now have two capable goalies that can step up to the plate anytime they're called upon. If Reimer get's hurt, goes through a rough patch of games or needs a rest, they can throw Bernier in without any worries and vice versa.

Having two capable starting goaltenders is a great move by the Leafs and a great strategy to capitalize on the latest NHL trend. If the season starts and both goaltenders are playing well it will also give the Leafs the edge over their competition by not having to ride just one goaltender all the time. If Randy Carlyle plays his cards right and allows both goaltenders time to prove themselves and keeps the media circus away from the goaltenders, the Leafs could ride their goaltending tandem back to the playoffs once again.

Top 10 NHL Goalies From the 2013 Season

It's the constant debate; Who is the best goaltender in the NHL? The answer changes every season and if you lined up 100 people you're likely to get 100 different lists. The lockout-shortened season gave fans the opportunity to watch some fantastic hockey right through to the final buzzer. There were some tremendous goaltending performances and a lot of goaltenders really started to turn heads. Here's my list of the top 10 goaltenders from the lockout-shortened NHL season.

10. Braden Hotlby
Braden Holtby edged out Carey Price for the 10th spot in the countdown based on his numbers and Alex Ovechkin's resurgence. Holtby won 23 of his 35 starts posting a .920 Save Percentage and 2.58 Goals Against Average. Braden Holtby is a goaltender on the rise; he's earned the rights to the Capitals crease and shows no signs of giving it up. If he continues improving he'll climb up the NHL netminder ranks in no time.
playoff success. Holtby had a great season between the pipes for the Capitals and helped keep the team afloat before

9. Jimmy Howard
Jimmy Howard had a tremendous season between the pipes for the Detroit Red Wings and he had to do so without Nicklas Lidstrom on defence. Howard passed the test and made the Red Wings blue line look better than it was. Howard has really elevated himself to the front line of NHL goaltenders. He should battle for a spot to represent team USA at the 2014 Olympics.

8. Corey Crawford
It's tough to put a goaltender who backstopped his team to a Stanley Cup Championship so low on this list, but no one is sure which Corey Crawford is the real one as of yet. He split time this season with Ray Emery and if the veteran Emery hadn't gotten injured there's no guarantee Crawford would have started the playoffs. Once in the playoffs Crawford elevated his game and out-duelled some of the best goalies in the game today; the spotlight is now on Crawford, will he deliver again next season?

7. Craig Anderson
If not for an ankle injury which derailed his season, Anderson would have likely skated away with the Vezina after posting a 1.69 Goals Against Average and .941 Save Percentage after 24 games. Anderson was lights out during the regular season and helped backstop the Senators to the playoffs. At times last season Anderson looked Hasek-esque.

6. Sergei Bobrovsky
After last season how badly are the Philadelphia Flyers kicking themselves for getting rid of Bobrovsky? Bobrovsky had a career year, which earned him the Vezina and made him a finalist for the Hart trophy. But the biggest question is whether he'll be able to perform at that elite level again. Despite his career year, Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets fell just short of the playoff; Is Bobrovsky bound to be another great goalie on a non-playoff team?

5. Tuukka Rask

Don't look now Leafs' fans, it appears Tuukka Rask has finally solidified himself as an NHL starter, Tim Thomas return to Boston. Rask is a goalie who's knocking on the door of the NHL elite and if he can have another solid season or lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup he may just step right through that door.
and a pretty good one at that. After another solid season between the Bruins pipes, leading the team to the Stanley Cup Finals, Rask appears to have wiped away any thoughts of a

4. Pekka Rinne
Pekka Rinne has established himself as an elite goaltender in the NHL. He had a tough 2012-2013 season but his team didn't help him with their goal scoring or lack there of. With the acquisition of Seth Jones, the Predators blue line should be fine for years to come which should help get Rinne back to the top 3.

3. Antti Niemi
Everyone remembers Niemi as the goalie who stumbled his way through the playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks and won a Stanley Cup before promptly heading to San Jose. But since leaving Chicago, Niemi has quietly become one of the top goalies in the NHL. He put up solid numbers through the regular season playing 43 games and improved his game in the playoffs posting a 1.87 GAA. Has Niemi finally arrived or is he finally earning the respect he deserves?

2. Jonathan Quick
Since bursting onto the NHL scene and winning the Stanley Cup last season, Quick has quickly become one of the best puckstoppers in the NHL. Quick and Lundqvist are the two best goaltenders in the NHL and differentiating between who's better is like asking a parent which of their children are cuter. Quick has a bright future between the pipes and will look to lead team USA in 2014.

1. Henrik Lundqvist
As evenly matched as Quick and Henrik Lundqvist are, the King was slightly better through the

lockout-shortened season and get's the nod as the best goalie from last season. When king Henrik is on he is truly unbeatable. Lundqvist is the standard for all other NHL goalies, if you're going to be the best you have to beat the best. Maybe Lundqvist and Quick can battle it out in the Olympics?

Here's my list, who's in your top 10? Let me know who I missed!