Dreams deferred and deals denied came to define the Ducks during their absence from the postseason, which began in 2019, but a reshaped roster, renewed commitment to its talent and the NHL’s Second Star of the Week have all provided promise of late.
Ahead of Tuesday’s confrontation with the team directly above them in the Pacific Division, the Calgary Flames, Troy Terry garnered recognition from the NHL.
His six points and four goals, including an OT winner in Winnipeg, allowed him to join the Kings’ Darcy Kuemper and Marco Rossi of the Minnesota Wild among the league’s three stars. Terry, along with the recently re-signed Frank Vatrano, have been vocal proponents of the Ducks’ rebuild.
They’ve helped the Ducks to four wins over elite teams in their past five games, losing only a hermetically sealed affair to the defending conference champion Edmonton.
“We’re ready to take that next step as a group and we’re ready to win these big games,” Terry said after a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. “Once you see the result and start to believe in it –– in the last couple weeks, there’s been games where we’re down a goal with two minutes left, there’s been games where we’re down by two goals –– it just feels that no matter what the situation is, we can play the style that is needed.”
Coach Greg Cronin said Terry had “found his game,” performing cost-benefit analysis at Formula 1 speed on the ice while playing a more trusting game.
“He felt that because he was the highest-paid player in the organization, that he had to make a play every time he stepped on the ice, and he had to beat the same guy twice to add some flash to it. That’s a reflection of how confident he is, but we’ve been talking to him repeatedly about being efficient with his puck possessions,” Cronin said. “Sometimes when you give the puck up and chase it down, it’s a good thing. That goal he scored in Winnipeg late in the game was a reflection of that.”
Terry and Vatrano combined for five points in the win over the Lightning, mere hours after Vatrano signed a unique extension with half its salary deferred.
“You’ve got to look at the bigger picture. For me, it’s money that can help set up my family for the future and whatnot, but, at the end of the day, it also helps the team out,” Vatrano said. “We have a few guys who are going to be due for big contracts in the future, and I understood that. Some guys take less money or guys find ways to be cute with the salary cap. I wanted to be part of [the organization].”
Terry, Vatrano and their centerman Ryan Strome have also been complimented by what Cronin called “a talent upgrade on the back end,” with in-season acquisition Jacob Trouba and offseason addition Brian Dumoulin helping every defensive component click into place by taking on the toughest matchups themselves.
That sort of on-the-fly reconfiguration was not unlike what the Flames attempted to do across last season and the summer, opting to go with more of a re-tool than a rebuild.
Despite trading away Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane, Calgary sat just one point out of the final wild-card spot entering Monday’s docket, with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri spearheading its attack.