I think you are a bit rich on Z and T's contracts, looks about right otherwise. I imagine perrault stays down until Henrique is moved, and then Fantilli makes the roster next year once Silfverberg is gone.

I think we are much more aggressive buyers of defensemen in FA.

I don’t know if Zegras gets less than 8, but I imagine Terry gets anywhere in the 7-8 range.

This is a weaker UFA class, and I don’t know if the better dmen in the class are willing to go to a rebuilder, unless ANH decides to overpay.

Stecher and Hamonic can be flipped for mid-late assets by the TDL, clearing space to call up Zellweger and Mitts.

Gonna be interesting to see.

We'll see how the cap space shakes out. Guys go where they can get paid to a certain extent (eg Klingberg). At a minimum I think they'd resign Shattenkirk over a guy like Stecher.

There are also more than a few options in trade if Verbeek is willing to part with a pick and or prospect. Boston in particular is HARD up against the cap. The Rangers. The Oilers. I really don't think the Ducks will have to settle for scraps as bad as Stecher and Hamonic.

EDIT - Been there done that with Lettieri. There's no reason to go back him, he's nothing but a marginal AHL/NHL bubble guy that gets in the way of a younger guy like Leason.

Jack Hughes got 8x8 and he was 1OA and has performed better, Dylan Cozens was 7OA and signed a 7.1x7 I know Zegras is flashy and there is still upside there, but I think he is between 7 and 7.5 for 8 years. He has had defensive and attitude problems this year with a lot of bad penalties. I think Terry slots in around 7x7.

The whole idea is to suck for another year before the team decides to start getting competitive.
A decent UFA dman wont do much, rather than get you a decent asset or two. I cant see a Klingberg situation happening again with Anaheim, again, unless Anaheim decides to overpay. This I can’t really see happening.

Stecher and Hamonic aren’t good, but that’s kind of the point.

This is where we disagree. The Ducks don't need to try to be bad again, they need to take a small step forward and a competent defense would be that step.

The fanbase won't support being intentionally bad, and small market teams can't afford to tank like big markets can (Looking at you Toronto). We expected not to make the playoffs, but not be in the Bedard hunt at start of the season. Now that the mercenaries are gone, the team is starting to come together and is playing better hockey. Adding competent defensemen, allowing the kids time to develop, but overall doing better next year is the goal. We still finish bottom half of standings in 2024, but we need to set the stage to do better, not leave the guys we need to carry is in a loosing environment then decide to snap our fingers one day and suddenly they do well. There's a mental aspect of development we need to consider.

Very well said.

There is genuinely no good UFA dmen in this pool, other than maybe Dumba or Severson, who will probably both end up going to contenders for term, neither would be a good fit for the Ducks.

Sure, they don't need to "try", but this team is still a good 2-3 years out before having a genuine shot at making the playoffs (and that's not even talking about being serious contenders). You have the cap space, but you still have to pay the players.
That's why I signed two dmen you can just move at the TDL and call up Zellweger and Mits after a bit of conditioning.

You don't need to throw the money just because you have it, and at the same time, you can still have the mental fortitude to want to do better. I don't see why they have to be mutually exclusive lmao.

While I agree with most of what you say, Zegras doesn't have an attitude problem, his attitude is fine. He has a penalty problem, yes, but that's just him being a very emotional player on the ice, attitude, to me, is more of an off ice thing, which Zegras doesn't have. There haven't been any reports of off ice issues with him and looking at his interviews and off ice videos, he's a very humble guy who just has fun on the ice which some people mistake with bad off ice attitude or arrogance (not saying you do, more so fans of other teams).