Randy Carlyle returns to Orange County

Neil Parker

2016-06-14

Randy Carlyle - USA TODAY Sports Images

 

Expect fantasy ripples and not waves following the hiring of Randy Carlyle by the Anaheim Ducks …

 

The Anaheim Ducks announced Randy Carlyle would return to the organization as head coach Tuesday, June 14.

The winningest coach in team history, Carlyle has been unemployed since being released as bench boss for the Toronto Maple Leafs January 6, 2015.

The move comes after Bruce Boudreau was axed following Anaheim's Round 1 loss in the Stanley Cup playoffs, despite owning the highest winning percentage among coaches in league history.

 

Carlyle has big shoes to fill with an aging group of stars.

 

There are currently many things out of the hands of Carlyle, though. The organization has four restricted free agents to accommodate in Rickard Rakell, Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm and Frederik Andersen. All were key pieces the Anaheim's midseason turnaround this past year, and all four will be looking for substantial raises.

The familiarity Carlyle has with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry is encouraging, but his tenure with the Maple Leafs was a disaster in terms of possession. Ignoring the correlation of strong possession numbers and success in 2016 would be ignorant.

It's also easy to lay blame on the players for Carlyle's failures, but both interim head coach Peter Horachek and current head coach Mike Babcock turned the Maple Leafs into a better possession club. Obviously, consistent wins weren't obtainable for any of the trio.

Carlyle was an easy whipping boy, but that roster wasn't competitive.

 

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Looking ahead, the fantasy implications of Carlyle returning for the skaters are likely limited. The two superstars are familiar with him, and the forward depth chart doesn't project to undergo a significant change.

On the blue line, it is likely one of Lindholm or Vatanen are traded, which should open up an opportunity for Shea Theodore to have a significant role. In theory, Carlyle should be a good mentor for Theodore, but Jake Gardner would likely disagree. But again, Theodore's fantasy outlook isn't going to soar or skid because of Carlyle.

 

The only real concern is in goal.

The Ducks aren't going to morph into the 2014-15 Maple Leafs, but under Carlyle, Toronto allowed all kinds of high-danger scoring chances. Still, this coaching change is unlikely to seriously impact the fantasy value of Andersen or John Gibson. Perhaps, you downgrade them a notch, but the upside both boast likely mitigates the potential negatives of the coaching change.

 

Perhaps, what is most telling about Carlyle returning to the Anaheim bench is the organization is sticking with the Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan Kesler core and believes it can win a Stanley Cup.

Carlyle likely won't look to make significant adjustments, either. Anaheim has been solid for a long stretch, after all, and this isn't a case where drastic changes are needed.

Plus, it is unlikely Carlyle lived in a bubble over the past 18 months. He'll need to lean on analytics and incorporat them into the systems and style of play more now than he did in the past.

 

From a fantasy perspective, how Anaheim addresses their roster in regards to the four highlighted RFAs will have a larger impact on next season than the hiring of Carlyle.

 

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