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Ducks see ‘room to get better’ after gaining playoff experience

May 16, 2026

IRVINE — Roughly 15 hours after being eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round, most of the most prominent Ducks shared their thoughts regarding their season on Friday.

While it’s normal for a young club to be in search of its identity, the Ducks weren’t even quite sure what to anticipate from themselves in a year of apogees and perigees.

“We had a moving target on expectations for the team all year. Going into the season, we wanted to push for the playoffs, be a team that was in the mix at the end and play meaningful games the whole year,” said winger Troy Terry, after his eighth season with the team but his first that went beyond Game 82. “Then we went on some big runs and had higher expectations. But at the end of the year, we were sliding and just trying to get in the playoffs. Once we got in, we just wanted to do well, and then all of a sudden, we thought we could do something really special.”

He added: “We proved a lot to ourselves and we have a lot of room to get better, which is exciting.”

Veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba said the postseason run for the double-digit Ducks who made their playoff debuts was invaluable, because no matter what veteran players tried to impart about spring hockey, there was no substitute for feeling and living the experience.

Forward Mason McTavish was one of those debutants. He said the mental aspect of the playoffs was what stuck with him most, from the Ducks knocking off two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton before being squeezed out of contention by Vegas.

“You’ve just got to stay even keel. There are so many ups and downs, and you try to not get sucked into thinking like ‘we’re the best team ever,’” McTavish said. “The first game in Edmonton we lost, then we won three straight before we went back to Edmonton thinking ‘we’re so good,’ and we got worked. Managing that is the biggest thing.”

Managing injuries was also a factor for the Ducks. Though nearly their entire roster was available, several players were clearly inhibited. Chris Kreider was unavailable (personal) on Friday and John Carlson said he felt fine despite both veterans’ diminished impact, particularly in the Vegas series.

Terry and forward Cutter Gauthier were forthcoming about their physical struggles. Terry said his situation was “complicated with a couple different parts that had stuff going on,” and that it dated to January. He was uncertain if surgery was in his future.

Gauthier, who sustained an injury in what amounted to a revenge game for the Toronto Maple Leafs after captain-on-captain violence in Toronto saw Radko Gudas knock Auston Matthews out for the season, was even more specific about a late-campaign injury that “definitely lingered into the playoffs.”

“I broke the L1 and L2 vertebrae in my back, it wasn’t a very fun one for sure, having a broken back and not being able to play at my best,” said Gauthier, who led the Ducks with 41 goals in 2025-26. “I got back as soon as I could, it was a lot shorter [time] than what the docs and trainers thought. Kudos to them for putting in all that work to get me back and healthy.”

Gauthier and franchise center Leo Carlsson are both pending restricted free agents. While No. 1 defenseman Jackson LaCombe had his extension done this past fall, McTavish, like former Ducks Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, saw his RFA negotiations spill all the way into training camp.

“I’d like to get it done as soon as possible, but we all have to cooperate with one another,” General Manager Pat Verbeek said, adding that he was trying to “make sure that everybody’s excited for training camp and all of us are happy.”

The Ducks soared in Round 1, with Connor McDavid’s fractured foot and other Oilers injuries dovetailing with a superb effort from LaCombe, Gauthier, Carlsson and others. But in Round 2, they ran into a grittier, nastier Golden Knights squad that salted every wound, turned up the defensive pressure and got superlative series from their top players: Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev and the Duck who got away, Shea Theodore.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s also satisfying in the sense that the group understands now that every play matters, that every play that you make in a tight series matters,” Verbeek said.

Verbeek issued a joint statement on Friday with team president Aaron Teats that touted the “undeniable growth and trajectory” of the franchise. While it’s tough to dispute that the Ducks have a bright future, Verbeek said he planned to take a bit more cautionary tone with the players.

“My message to them is going to be, ‘guys, we haven’t arrived. It’s actually going to be harder to make the playoffs next year, because you’re not sneaking up on anybody anymore.’”

Orange County Register

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Ducks see ‘room to get better’ after gaining playoff experience

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