theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
The Anaheim Ducks have won four consecutive Pacific Division titles, but the club still enters the 2016-17 campaign under enormous pressure to take the next step.
With essentially the same roster, and a new coach in Randy Carlyle, the Ducks are likely to be in the thick of contention in the Western Conference once again next season.
Here's a projected depth chart for Anaheim next season:
Forwards
LW
C
RW
Nick Ritchie
Ryan Getzlaf
Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano
Ryan Kesler
Jakob Silfverberg
Mason Raymond
Rickard Rakell
Chris Wagner
Stefan Noesen
Antoine Vermette
Jared Boll
Newcomer Antoine Vermette is a nice addition to the Ducks' bottom six, and expect Rickard Rakell to move to center, as Nate Thompson is out indefinitely with an Achilles injury suffered in the offseason.
Defense
LD
RD
Hampus Lindholm
Sami Vatanen
Cam Fowler
Kevin Bieksa
Simon Despres
Clayton Stoner
Hampus Lindholm is a restricted free agent in need of a contract.
Josh Manson and Shea Theodore made strong impressions last season, and could very well play into a roster spot.
Goalies
G
John Gibson
Jonathan Bernier
23-year-old John Gibson will finally be the No. 1 man in the Ducks crease, as Frederik Andersen was dealt to Toronto in the offseason
The 2016-17 season could provide a scenario, the likes of which Fleury has not endured in nearly 10 years, as the emergence of Matt Murray has put his starting job in question.
However, while Fleury understands he could see less playing time this season, he is not ready to ask for a trade.
"No. No. No. I've always said this is like my home," Fleury said, according to Jonathan Bombulie of Triblive.com. "I wish I could play here my whole career. I try to do my best for the team and for the organization."
Of course there is the chance that both Fleury and Murray will share the goaltending duties 50-50, which though not ideal, the veteran understands.
"I'm sure Matty is in the same boat, too," Fleury said. "We'd like to play games. But if that's what it is, that's what it is. You deal with it and try my best when I'm in there."
In the end it's all about winning games and as Fleury sees it, both goaltenders give the Penguins a great chance to do just that.
"Me and Matty playing gives us a chance to win games, and bottom line, that's what matters," Fleury said. "It doesn't matter who's in the net."
On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, continues with another World Cup of Hockey installment. In the latest edition, our editors debate whether Connor McDavid could have made Team Canada - were he eligible.
Gold-Smith: McDavid would have a strong case for inclusion on the Canadian roster in a tournament without a 23-and-under Team North America.
He might have had to play out of position for this Canadian squad, though, unless one of the country's five elite centers - Crosby, Toews, Bergeron, Getzlaf, and Thornton - were left off.
Thornton is in the twilight of his career, and while he's still an effective player, few would argue if the Edmonton star was picked over him. McDavid is arguably more valuable - even at this stage - than the aging Thornton, Jeff Carter, or even Carter's replacement on the right wing, Corey Perry.
Still, McDavid likely isn't too broken up about not being able to play for his home country at this tournament, knowing full well he'll have plenty of opportunities to represent Canada in the future. If the NHL goes to the Olympics in 2018 and he stays healthy, he'll be there wearing the red and white.
Wilkins: There's no doubt that, if the rules permitted, McDavid would have made Team Canada. He's already considered to be one of, if not the best player in the NHL, so why not one of the best in Canada and at the World Cup?
McDavid scored 48 points in 45 games in his rookie season. That works out to 1.07 points per game, and, if healthy for all 82 games, good for 88 points.
That's just 14 fewer points than Sidney Crosby had in his rookie season. It's also 11 more points than Artemi Panarin, last year's top scoring rookie. By comparison, only two players topped 88 points last season, and just one Canadian, as Jamie Benn had 89 points.
Furthermore, McDavid put up that performance on a terrible Oilers team - they finished dead last, next to Toronto. It stands to reason that McDavid's numbers would only improve surrounded by the greatest talent that Team Canada has to offer.
Hagerman: The idea of McDavid representing Canada is certainly intriguing, but the fact is there is much to consider besides his pure talent.
What might get lost in the idea of McDavid making the team, is the fact that he not only would have to beat out the All-Star caliber players that currently reside on it, but would have also needed to initially beat out the likes of Benn, Carter, and Tyler Seguin, who ultimately bowed out with injuries.
Benn and Carter are not only much bigger and stronger options, but they are seasoned veterans used to the international stage, which are both important facets to the team as proof in the latest addition of Ryan O'Reilly.
Of course the other glaring criteria for Mike Babcock's roster is experience.
Canada's roster includes 13 members of the team that won gold in Sochi, eight who won gold in Vancouver, and Stamkos - who didn't make the Sochi roster due to a broken leg.
Sorry Connor, but those are intangibles that talent alone just can't match.
Another member of the Montreal Canadiens' blue line could soon be on the move.
The defenseman currently in question is Nathan Beaulieu, and while the team is not actively shopping him, they are fielding offers for the 23-year-old, general manager Marc Bergevin told Francois Gagnon of RDS, with translation from Sportsnet's Eric Engels:
Beaulieu finished last season with 19 points in 64 games, good enough for third among Canadiens' defensemen, behind only P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov. He has one year remaining on his contract at a very affordable $1 million.
The Anaheim Ducks, perennial juggernauts in the mighty Western Conference, enter the 2016-17 in need of something new.
The Ducks have won four consecutive Pacific Division titles, but it has translated into no success when it really counts: The postseason.
While Anaheim gears up for another year in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, here are three questions facing a team under enormous pressure to take their play to the next level.
Can they erase haunting playoff memories?
Four consecutive seasons, four consecutive blown Game 7s on home ice.
In the last four series in which Anaheim has been eliminated from the playoffs, they've relinquished a 3-2 series lead, and the latest instance cost former head coach Bruce Boudreau his job.
It truly is tough to pinpoint why the Ducks can't make the leap, but general manager Bob Murray made it abundantly clear that Anaheim's core players need to be held responsible for the team's most recent postseason blunder: An unexpected elimination at the hands of the wildcard-seeded Nashville Predators.
It's evident a refresh is in order, and perhaps Anaheim would be wise to take a page out of the San Jose Sharks' book, a team that brought in a new coach to help erase the memory of recent failures, and wound up two wins shy of the Stanley Cup.
Is Randy Carlyle the answer?
Murray appointed Boudreau - a man who accumulated a record of 208-104-40 in four seasons - the team's sacrificial lamb after Anaheim's latest Game 7 failure, resulting in the return of Randy Carlyle.
Carlyle's last gig - bench boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs - ended in turmoil, but the Ducks are optimistic the man who delivered the franchise's lone Stanley Cup (2007) can bring them back to the promised land.
He inherits a team that ranked first league-wide in goals against per game (2.29), power-play efficiency (23.1%), and penalty kill (87.1%).
The building blocks to contend are there, and it's up to Carlyle to extrapolate all he can out of franchise linchpins Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry while their window among the NHL's elite is still open.
Will John Gibson deliver in his first chance as No. 1?
At last, John Gibson is alone in the Ducks' crease.
The 23-year-old All-Star has battled injuries in his brief tenure with Anaheim, as well as sharing starting duties with Frederik Andersen and Jonas Hiller in years' past.
Last season, Gibson and the departed Andersen split the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed. Individually, Gibson was strong, posting a 21-13-4 record with a 2.07 goals against average and .920 save percentage.
He has a sturdy defense in front of him, and numbers suggest he'll be more than capable to succeed in his first stint as a full-time starter.
Standing 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Grossmann could add more size to Calgary's blue line. The 31-year-old also has 589 games of NHL experience, scoring 86 points over that time.
He spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes after previous stops in Philadelphia and Dallas.
The goaltender spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes, posting a 5-7-1 record with a .894 save percentage in 19 appearances. An Achilles injury forced him to miss the last three months of the season.
After moonlighting as an analyst for NBC's Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage, theScore asked New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider to put on his analyst cap again at media day for the World Cup of Hockey.
theScore: You received rave reviews for your work with NBC during the playoffs last spring. Were you as comfortable as you looked in front of the camera?
Schneider: Thanks (laughs). Once it got going, yeah. You have to forget that you're on camera and just sort of have a discussion. Everyone there made it really easy on me. They didn't put too much on my plate, didn't have me try to do too much. They just said "Hey, chime in when you have an opinion and feel comfortable, and just say it. Don't be intimidated." They were actually very, very friendly and easy to work with, so that helped a lot too.
theScore: We'll let you play analyst again here. You saw Taylor Hall a lot in your time with Vancouver. What makes him just a dangerous attacking player?
Schneider: It starts will his speed. When he comes up the ice with the puck with a head of steam he backs defenders off. It's a simple as that. He plays the game with one gear, and the game is obviously trending that way. You look at Pittsburgh, you look at San Jose, the Tampa Bay Lightning - they are fast teams that can get up and down the ice. We have good players and a good system here in New Jersey, but I think he'll add a different element for our team that we didn't have before.
theScore: On the other side of the coin, what should Edmonton fans expect in Adam Larsson?
Schneider: He's a great person first of all. He's a really good kid. He worked hard. He wasn't given anything for being a top pick. He wasn't gifted ice time. He had to work his way onto the team, and he did. He really enjoys the nitty-gritty things that some guys don't like to do. He likes blocking shots. He likes getting physical in front of the net, winning puck battles. He really embraces that part of the game. And I think with Edmonton his offense could flourish a bit. I know people point to his scoring numbers and say, "Oh, he doesn't create offense," but that wasn't what he was asked to do in New Jersey. I think with the high-end skill Edmonton has that he'll be able to put some points up.
theScore: Criminally underrated is almost a blanket theme in Jersey. After one season with Jon Hynes in charge, are you willing to put him under that sort of distinction?
Schneider: There are a lot of underrated guys in New Jersey, just because we don't get a lot of attention there. We had a good year. It wasn't quite the year we wanted, but with where people were expecting us to finish, we exceeded a lot of those expectations. But the goal is to set our own expectations and meet those. We're not basing our success or growth on what other people think. Coach Hynes set the tone from day one. He said, "Hey, I know what people are expecting, but this is what we expect inside this room." We had a good step last year, we have to take that next step this year, and hopefully with guys like Taylor Hall and coach Hynes having a year under his belt - we'll see some growth from him as well - hopefully we can do that.
theScore: With yourself, Jonathan Quick, and Ben BIshop, three of the best goaltenders on the planet are in one dressing room. What sort of information is shared between the three of you?
Schneider: We keep it pretty light. Bish is an easy-going guy, and Quickie is quiet but he likes to joke around and get a few cracks in. We haven't talked too much about the hockey side of it. We're just trying to get along, and (perform) for our team. But it is fun sitting there and seeing how they go about their business. We all have a lot of respect for each other, and we all play against each other quite a bit. We're familiar with each other's set-up, but it's fun to get a look at the elite goalies and see what they do that makes them so good.
(Note: Interview was condensed and edited for clarity.)
