Anaheim Ducks: The Barbaro of Dark Horses

The word "perplexing" best describes the current state of the Anaheim Ducks.

On one hand, they have a roster featuring young All-Star players like Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, and Jonas Hiller, but are coming off a losing 2009-2010 campaign.

A top-notch collection of young talent and a losing record is usually indicative of a team who are rebuilding their roster, but the Ducks have one of the highest payrolls in the NHL, including long-term investments in veterans like Jason Blake and Toni Lydman—who they signed this offseason. While such an uneven combination is usually a recipe for disaster—or more accurately, mediocrity—the Ducks are a different breed of team.

If there ever was a team built for the playoffs, it's the "mighty" Anaheim Ducks.

Three seasons removed from a Stanley Cup Championship, and without key defensive cogs Scott Neidermayer, Chris Pronger, and Francois Beauchemin, the Ducks have grown noticeably thin on the back end over the past two seasons.

However, this past offseason, GM Bob Murray completely revamped the unit. In addition to drafting exceptionally talented defenseman Cam Fowler, he added gritty veterans Andy Sutton and Paul, as well as former Buffalo Sabers work horse Toni Lydman. Surrounding top defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and the upcoming Luca Sbisa, there's great potential for the defense to improve, especially on the penalty kill, where they ranked 24th.

Given that the high-flying offense led by Getzlaf and all-time great Teemu Selanne—who knows how to score—finished seventh in goals for last year, the Ducks defense doesn't have to improve all that much; just to the point of competence, which they were not at last season.

As evidenced by their first round thumping of the President's Trophy winning San Jose Sharks in 2008-2009, all it takes is squeezing in the playoffs for this team to do some serious damage.

In 2010-2011, expect the Ducks to finish back where they belong.