Random Hockey Thoughts
@therkt.bsky.social
Some random guy dropping random thoughts about more than just Anaheim Ducks
San Diego Gulls Reassign Konnor Smith and Roman Kinal To Tulsa | San Diego Gulls
www.sandiegogulls.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:55 PM
The main thing though is still the same. Carlsson must become the force he was in first 20 games on every day basis. If he’s not 100 pt player this team is not a contender. He needs to be so much better along the boards for man of his size. Protect the puck and make plays in the offensive zone.
I think they should let Gudas and Trouba go. Trade Zellweger or try him as RD. Trade any two of Strome, Vatrano, Killorn or Kreider. #FlyTogether have their core, now it’s time to bring the supporting cast. Poehling is good, but might not be worth his next contract.
I’m not so down on #FlyTogether right now as most of the fanbase but there are questions to be answered. It should be clear now that there is no reason to bring the same roster back for the next season. It’s important to keep right players and trade others. Don’t repeat LA mistakes.
January 3, 2026 at 4:38 PM
The main thing though is still the same. Carlsson must become the force he was in first 20 games on every day basis. If he’s not 100 pt player this team is not a contender. He needs to be so much better along the boards for man of his size. Protect the puck and make plays in the offensive zone.
I think they should let Gudas and Trouba go. Trade Zellweger or try him as RD. Trade any two of Strome, Vatrano, Killorn or Kreider. #FlyTogether have their core, now it’s time to bring the supporting cast. Poehling is good, but might not be worth his next contract.
I’m not so down on #FlyTogether right now as most of the fanbase but there are questions to be answered. It should be clear now that there is no reason to bring the same roster back for the next season. It’s important to keep right players and trade others. Don’t repeat LA mistakes.
January 3, 2026 at 4:33 PM
I think they should let Gudas and Trouba go. Trade Zellweger or try him as RD. Trade any two of Strome, Vatrano, Killorn or Kreider. #FlyTogether have their core, now it’s time to bring the supporting cast. Poehling is good, but might not be worth his next contract.
I’m not so down on #FlyTogether right now as most of the fanbase but there are questions to be answered. It should be clear now that there is no reason to bring the same roster back for the next season. It’s important to keep right players and trade others. Don’t repeat LA mistakes.
January 3, 2026 at 4:20 PM
I’m not so down on #FlyTogether right now as most of the fanbase but there are questions to be answered. It should be clear now that there is no reason to bring the same roster back for the next season. It’s important to keep right players and trade others. Don’t repeat LA mistakes.
#FlyTogether enter extremely tough week with 4 games on the road with a 5 game losing streak. They need to stop bleeding. Somehow. Or it might be over before the Olympic break.
January 3, 2026 at 11:59 AM
#FlyTogether enter extremely tough week with 4 games on the road with a 5 game losing streak. They need to stop bleeding. Somehow. Or it might be over before the Olympic break.
Another game another proof. Carlsson needs to wake up like yesterday. He actually got few rush opportunities as of late and all of them went nowhere. Kreider resurgence was fake. We badly miss talent in top 6 again.
Watching #FlyTogether games lately I noticed that I have hopes for something good to happen when Terry or Sennecke are on the ice. Those two seem like the only ones who could make things happen. So I went and checked stats and them indeed leading ANA in pts in December.
January 3, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Another game another proof. Carlsson needs to wake up like yesterday. He actually got few rush opportunities as of late and all of them went nowhere. Kreider resurgence was fake. We badly miss talent in top 6 again.
I guess it’s fair to say that you’d not expect to drive the play from guys like Gauthier or Kreider. McTavish is not the guy either. He does what he can, but he is limited. So it goes down to Carlsson. He is non factor lately and this needs to change. His line must thrive not just be neutral.
Terry is usual suspect here, but Sennecke being the guy is kinda shocking. The one everybody wanted in juniors 3 months ago is now their best player in month of December. And I don’t know if this tells how good he is or that others are not that good. It might be the latter.
Watching #FlyTogether games lately I noticed that I have hopes for something good to happen when Terry or Sennecke are on the ice. Those two seem like the only ones who could make things happen. So I went and checked stats and them indeed leading ANA in pts in December.
January 1, 2026 at 4:17 PM
I guess it’s fair to say that you’d not expect to drive the play from guys like Gauthier or Kreider. McTavish is not the guy either. He does what he can, but he is limited. So it goes down to Carlsson. He is non factor lately and this needs to change. His line must thrive not just be neutral.
Terry is usual suspect here, but Sennecke being the guy is kinda shocking. The one everybody wanted in juniors 3 months ago is now their best player in month of December. And I don’t know if this tells how good he is or that others are not that good. It might be the latter.
Watching #FlyTogether games lately I noticed that I have hopes for something good to happen when Terry or Sennecke are on the ice. Those two seem like the only ones who could make things happen. So I went and checked stats and them indeed leading ANA in pts in December.
January 1, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Terry is usual suspect here, but Sennecke being the guy is kinda shocking. The one everybody wanted in juniors 3 months ago is now their best player in month of December. And I don’t know if this tells how good he is or that others are not that good. It might be the latter.
Watching #FlyTogether games lately I noticed that I have hopes for something good to happen when Terry or Sennecke are on the ice. Those two seem like the only ones who could make things happen. So I went and checked stats and them indeed leading ANA in pts in December.
January 1, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Watching #FlyTogether games lately I noticed that I have hopes for something good to happen when Terry or Sennecke are on the ice. Those two seem like the only ones who could make things happen. So I went and checked stats and them indeed leading ANA in pts in December.
Is Kevin Kurz the dumbest hockey journalist out there?
December 30, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Is Kevin Kurz the dumbest hockey journalist out there?
Emotions running high now in Ducks fan land. Let’s see if coaching stuff has it under control. TBL and MIN are extremely good. Time to put everything together and finally deliver.
December 30, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Emotions running high now in Ducks fan land. Let’s see if coaching stuff has it under control. TBL and MIN are extremely good. Time to put everything together and finally deliver.
It’s hard to blame Dostal for any of the goals but the fact is that the goaltending is letting Ducks down as of late. A couple of saves made on those great Sharks chances and the result is different.
December 30, 2025 at 9:31 AM
It’s hard to blame Dostal for any of the goals but the fact is that the goaltending is letting Ducks down as of late. A couple of saves made on those great Sharks chances and the result is different.
#FlyTogether Strome situation is getting really weird. He doesn’t move the needle, but he’s better than at least 3-4 guys playing regularly. If this is the route we are going it is probably best to trade him now.
December 29, 2025 at 9:56 PM
#FlyTogether Strome situation is getting really weird. He doesn’t move the needle, but he’s better than at least 3-4 guys playing regularly. If this is the route we are going it is probably best to trade him now.
LaCombe-Moore. Hell yes
Anaheim Ducks practice lines 12/28:
Kreider-Carlsson-Granlund
Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke
Nesterenko-Poehling-Terry
Johnston-Strome-Killorn
Harkins
LaCombe-Moore
Zellweger-Trouba
Mintyukov-Gudas
Helleson
Dostál-Mrázek
#FlyTogether
Kreider-Carlsson-Granlund
Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke
Nesterenko-Poehling-Terry
Johnston-Strome-Killorn
Harkins
LaCombe-Moore
Zellweger-Trouba
Mintyukov-Gudas
Helleson
Dostál-Mrázek
#FlyTogether
December 28, 2025 at 8:07 PM
LaCombe-Moore. Hell yes
If anything it might be even good that they have such a bad stretch now. Verbeek should have seen their true level by now and it should prevent him from doing anything stupid at the deadline.
December 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
If anything it might be even good that they have such a bad stretch now. Verbeek should have seen their true level by now and it should prevent him from doing anything stupid at the deadline.
Seeing a lot of pissed #FlyTogether fans out there. Understandable. They got smoked for the 3rd time in 3 weeks. Truth is however is that they played in these games better than for example in the game vs PIT. There are concerns. Many of them. But it’s not time for the full panic mode yet.
December 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Seeing a lot of pissed #FlyTogether fans out there. Understandable. They got smoked for the 3rd time in 3 weeks. Truth is however is that they played in these games better than for example in the game vs PIT. There are concerns. Many of them. But it’s not time for the full panic mode yet.
Well, it kinda worked. Just for the wrong team lol
Anyway I hope #FlyTogether got some rest and we'll see them back at their best tonight. Lots of guys went cold as of late, it would be nice to see them score some goals. LA is not exactly great opponent for that but it is what it is.
December 28, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Well, it kinda worked. Just for the wrong team lol
Anyway I hope #FlyTogether got some rest and we'll see them back at their best tonight. Lots of guys went cold as of late, it would be nice to see them score some goals. LA is not exactly great opponent for that but it is what it is.
December 27, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Anyway I hope #FlyTogether got some rest and we'll see them back at their best tonight. Lots of guys went cold as of late, it would be nice to see them score some goals. LA is not exactly great opponent for that but it is what it is.
Well, overthinking themselves is a great strategy apparently. Why NHL coaches are so adamant to make dumb decisions is beyond me
Ducks morning skate lines 12/27 @ Kings:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke
Vatrano-Granlund-Terry
Johnston-Poehling-Killorn
(Harkins, Nesterenko)
LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Moore-Helleson
(Mintyukov)
Dostál-Mrázek
#FlyTogether
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Gauthier-McTavish-Sennecke
Vatrano-Granlund-Terry
Johnston-Poehling-Killorn
(Harkins, Nesterenko)
LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Gudas
Moore-Helleson
(Mintyukov)
Dostál-Mrázek
#FlyTogether
December 27, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Well, overthinking themselves is a great strategy apparently. Why NHL coaches are so adamant to make dumb decisions is beyond me
It was a fun episode on the @crashthepond.com podcast yesterday! I think guys were too hard on LaCombe though. I disagree that he's not playing at the number one D level. He's not elite, that's true and nobody said that, but there are definitely worse number one D in the NHL. A lot of them.
December 24, 2025 at 4:19 PM
It was a fun episode on the @crashthepond.com podcast yesterday! I think guys were too hard on LaCombe though. I disagree that he's not playing at the number one D level. He's not elite, that's true and nobody said that, but there are definitely worse number one D in the NHL. A lot of them.
There are rumors again about #FlyTogether being in a search for a top winger. I think reporters running the old story. Obviously it would help, but it is not the most pressing need anymore. Also I doubt any really top winger is available. At least for a reasonable price.
December 24, 2025 at 9:46 AM
There are rumors again about #FlyTogether being in a search for a top winger. I think reporters running the old story. Obviously it would help, but it is not the most pressing need anymore. Also I doubt any really top winger is available. At least for a reasonable price.
NHL approached the Xmas break and there are some shocking standings. At least for me. West is kinda fine, just swap ANA and WIN and it will be normal. East though. PHI and NYI most bizarre. DET too. Really looking forward to the next checkpoint before Olympics
December 24, 2025 at 9:41 AM
NHL approached the Xmas break and there are some shocking standings. At least for me. West is kinda fine, just swap ANA and WIN and it will be normal. East though. PHI and NYI most bizarre. DET too. Really looking forward to the next checkpoint before Olympics
Dougie Hamilton reportedly available which makes perfect sense given NJ situation. Depending on the price I wouldn't mind #FlyTogether getting involved. 1st + prospect could be enough, I'm just not sure if Hamilton is the guy you spend 1st on.
December 22, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Dougie Hamilton reportedly available which makes perfect sense given NJ situation. Depending on the price I wouldn't mind #FlyTogether getting involved. 1st + prospect could be enough, I'm just not sure if Hamilton is the guy you spend 1st on.
It's incredible how perception changes because of the results. It sure feels like #FlyTogether play worse as of lately but the underlying metrics do not agree. 5v5 play is now 51% xGF in Dec, PP is dead, PK is bottom third. Nothing new. They just getting below average goaltending recently.
The biggest mystery is what happened to #FlyTogether PP. Their 5v5 play is consistently at 49% in November and December which is fine, up from 45% in October. PK got better and now average and PP fell off hard from being top-5 in October to bottom 10 in both next months.
December 22, 2025 at 11:01 AM
It's incredible how perception changes because of the results. It sure feels like #FlyTogether play worse as of lately but the underlying metrics do not agree. 5v5 play is now 51% xGF in Dec, PP is dead, PK is bottom third. Nothing new. They just getting below average goaltending recently.
Been thinking about recent struggles of #FlyTogether top line and came to the conclusion that they just lack forecheck ability. Kreider and Carlsson are non factor and Terry is just okay. So when they can’t enter the zone with the puck it’s over.
December 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Been thinking about recent struggles of #FlyTogether top line and came to the conclusion that they just lack forecheck ability. Kreider and Carlsson are non factor and Terry is just okay. So when they can’t enter the zone with the puck it’s over.