NHL Pacific Division Preview 2026
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What are the Ducks’ offseason contract moves and cap challenges?
Well, first preview of the year, and it happens to be the team that were one of my favorites to watch last year. The team that I actually called making the playoffs. I didn't call them making the second round, though. Holy moly. The ducks shocked a lot of people this year and have really paid the price for it. Some eye-watering contracts as of this record and Cutter Goche's deal has not been signed. However, Leo Carlson's has eighteen point. Million dollars. Cutter Gauche expected to come somewhere in the $15 to $16 million range. And this is kind of one of those what the F happened this summer to the Ducks because they also had some huge losses on the back end. We will get to that first though, or do I wait till the end?
I think maybe we'll wait on the over-under points till later, but they are 95 and a half. And I want to start up front because assuming cutter goche's deal gets done, which we kind of know that it Well, he doesn't really have any other choice. Um, it's still Carlson, it's still Goche, it's still Chris Kreider, there's Kalorne, there's Granlin, there's Seneca, uh Vitrano Paling. Um a lot of good players here.
So the where I'll stop you is that in order to do cutter goche, they're going to have to free up some cap space. Right. So guaranteeing that all those guys are on the in the lineup come opening night, I don't think is a guarantee.
Well, I'm I'm gonna go out in a limb, Jesse. They ain't trading a defenseman.
Because they don't have a lot. Yep. So someone from that forward group, I think, is gonna have to go, maybe pending an injury, um, maybe pending the uh goaltender. I don't know if you're gonna trade Dostal, who knows what they'll do. But they're gonna need an extra four million bucks or something based on where their cap is right now to get Gauche under at that.
number. Sure feels like Frank Fertrano's number at four and a half million dollars, who was barely playing. The other what question I have for you then, Jess, is are they regretting signing AJ Greer to 4.25 million dollars?
Possibly. It's a lot. Yep. It's uh I d I don't man. I mean it I think it's pretty obvious that Pat Verbeek thought this offseason was going to go differently. I think it's pretty obvious we all thought this offseason was gonna go differently because when we stopped doing content a little over a month ago, we're like, well They've uh sure have backed themselves into a corner, can't wait to see what they do, and so far it's nothing. They have some work to do.
And I mean, the their last offer reportedly reportedly to Leo Carlson before he signed the Philadelphia offer sheet was like somewhere in the neighborhood of thirteen million dollars. And he signed for 18. Well, it was 18 million. I I aired. I thought it was 18.8. It's actually just 18 flat. But you know, you look at that alone. You know, had they got that deal done earlier, they wouldn't be in this position. Had they got Leo Carl or sorry, uh Cutter Goche's deal done earlier, they wouldn't be in this position. I'm assuming that you're probably moving on from Vertrano, but could there be a Kreider or Calorne who both make six six six point two five? Could they also be moving as well to make room for this?
Can
I can I give you something that could happen that would also be a bad uh resolution here? Sure. They signed Cutter to one year. And the number sucks. Right? The n the number Let's say it's
eight,
ten. Eight or nine or what whatever it is in terms of cap space. Uh that stinks. That stinks. We on the day we're recording this, Fraser Minton, who has like 40 NHL points to his name, just got 7.2 million dollars. Cutter Goche just hung 40 goals on the league.
Yeah, he has more goals than Fraser Minton has points.
That right So if you sign him to one year, yeah, you Survive this offseason. Next offseason's gonna hurt. Yeah. And that number's gonna be it, it might be bigger than Carlson's.
And this offseason I think has been hurt for the ducks. And like when I'm looking at this team, I'm just I just look at all the talent that they've bled from their really good playoff run.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What are the Ducks’ offseason contract moves and cap challenges?
0:00–4:05
2
How does the Ducks’ cap space situation affect their roster decisions?
4:05–10:32
3
What are the predictions for the Ducks’ points, playoff finish, and goaltending performance?
10:32–25:18
4
How does the overall Pacific Division outlook shape the teams’ over‑under picks and playoff chances?
25:18–55:10
5
How will goaltending shape the San Jose Sharks' chances in the Pacific Division?
55:10–1:18:29
6
What did the Seattle Kraken’s recent franchise audit uncover and how might it affect their 2026 outlook?
1:18:29–1:48:26