Many teams would consider falling one win short of a Stanley Cup finals berth as a sign all was good with the direction of the organization.

Not to mention losing to the eventual Cup champion.

But for the Anaheim Ducks, getting outscored 10-5 over the final two games of the Western Conference finals by the Chicago Blackhawks did not sit well. Not with management, not with the coaching staff, not with the players. And not after they followed the same script as the previous season, when the Ducks had the rival Los Angeles Kings down 3-2 in the second round and couldn't finish the job.

"I was not happy with how it ended," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said during training camp. "Two years in a row we've been beaten in Games 6 and 7. To be blunt, we've beaten a couple of teams along the way, the teams we've beaten in the playoffs -- and I say this respectfully -- are teams on the way up [Dallas in 2014; Winnipeg and Calgary in 2015]. They're where we were a few years ago, and we should have beaten them. They'll be tougher to beat going forward.

"But we've lost to two teams in the last two years, two champions, who are good hockey teams; well-coached, well-structured, good goaltending, and they've won Games 6 and 7 on us. Both years, I was extremely disappointed in Game 6. Both Game 6s are the games you should have won, for sure. Because the other teams at that point were ready to be beat, and we didn't."

Murray responded with a flurry of offseason changes. The Ducks' players responded with a vibrant training camp.

Yes, folks, your Anaheim Ducks have quite the edge to them entering this season. It's time to win now.

"Coming to camp this year, you could tell guys were hungry," said center Ryan Kesler. "The mindset we have is that last year wasn't good enough. It's not, 'Oh, we got to Game 7 of the conference finals, we had a good year.' It's back to square one now."

BEST NEW FACES

Welcome to Anaheim: Kevin Bieksa, Carl Hagelin, Anton Khudobin, Shawn Horcoff, Chris Stewart, Mike Santorelli and Shane O'Brien, as well as assistant coach Paul MacLean and AHL head coach Dallas Eakins.

There was no standing pat by Murray.

"The management group does a great job of continually putting us in positions to be successful," Ducks blueliner Cam Fowler said. "It would have been easy to look at our team last year and be like, 'Hey, we were three periods away from competing for the Stanley Cup.' But [GM Bob Murray] saw opportunities for our team to get better. I personally really like the people he brought in this year. It's tough losing some of the guys we did. [Francois] Beauchemin was a key guy for us on the blue line, but we bring in Bieksa, who has just as much experience and played in a Stanley Cup final. I'm excited about it."

Captain Ryan Getzlaf offered his input: "[Murray] did a good job sending that message that we're going for it this year. It's good to see ownership supporting that. We have to go from here now and prove it."

Hagelin brings a ton of speed, which is exactly the area where the Ducks wanted to improve.

"We're a little quicker this year," Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "If there was anything negative from last year, we were like 2-15 by my count against what I feel were real speed teams. Then we lost like only five other games the rest of the year."

Stewart, brought in on a one-year deal worth $1.7 million, is a wild card. He worked hard this summer and showed up in good shape, and he's hungry to get his career back on track. If he gets playing time with Getzlaf and Corey Perry, he would be an interesting player for the Ducks.

Chris Stewart has a chance to get his career back on track with a one-year deal in Anaheim. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports

BIGGEST UNKNOWNS

Who will be in goal next spring when the Ducks begin their hopeful Cup march? Incumbent Frederik Andersen was very good last season, although like some of his teammates, he wasn't very good in the final two games of the Western Conference finals. Does newcomer Khudobin have a chance to wrestle away a number of starts, if not the starting job? And what of future franchise netminder John Gibson, whose season begins in the AHL with San Diego, as the organization wants him to play a lot of games after injuries limited him the past two seasons.

"I'm just looking forward to playing. Obviously, I want to be here sooner rather than later," 22-year-old Gibson said during training camp. "But I can't really control that. I'm just going to play and play my best."

If Gibson were to have a great opening few months in the AHL, it wouldn't be a shock to see himback with the big club -- and perhaps even as the starter -- come playoff time. And that could happen either via an injury to one of the other goalies or perhaps a trade.

Another unknown is just how this club will react the next time it has a chance to put away one of the big boys. The losses to the Kings in 2014 and Blackhawks last season exposed an uneasiness about the Ducks' ability to step up when it really mattered.

Have the painful lessons from those two losses prepared them to take that next step?

"I think you learn from the Chicago series and the L.A. series the year before, and that comes down to that Game 6 when it's time to really put someone away," said Getzlaf. "Early in the playoffs last year, we were able to put teams behind us when we had the chance. It's not always that easy. But we have to be able to do that when the opportunity is there against the good teams."

As Fowler pointed out, the worst part is that Game 7 losses to the Kings and Blackhawks were at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

"It's very difficult. You work so hard all season to give yourself that opportunity to play in your home building if it comes down to that," Fowler said. "It's one of those things I try to look at it positively that sometimes those are experiences you have to go through as a group to get to where you want to be. There's a lot of things you can learn from that. That's how I'm looking at it: Just use it as motivation this year. We ended up losing to a great team that ended up winning. We're right there. But we have to be able to close in those games."

SURE THINGS

Getzlaf and Perry, the dynamic duo, just keep doing their thing year after year. Kesler's first year in Anaheim was a resounding success. He was a two-way, hard-edged stud as advertised. Between those three star forwards, the Ducks stack up against anybody in the league. But Getzlaf, who led the team in scoring with 70 points (25-45) last season, wants to see his game improve in another area.

"This year I got to be a little better defensively in our own zone," said Getzlaf, who led the Ducks with 55 takeaways last season. "I think at times last year I got a little too focused on different things and wasn't able to really shut it down like I really wanted to."

Meanwhile, the blue line, which has been revamped nicely by Murray over the past two seasons, stands up with any in the league: Hampus Lindholm, Fowler, Simon Despres, Sami Vatanen and Bieksa as a top 5 is pretty darn good. Clayton Stoner, Korbinian Holzer and O'Brien fill out the corps, although youngster Josh Manson, 23, and 2013 first-rounder Shea Theodore, 20, will figure in one day. For Manson, that could be this season.

PENDING FREE AGENTS

Players entering the final years of their contract are Lindholm, Despres, Vatanen, Andersen and Rickard Rakell, all restricted free agents next July 1. Murray would like to get them signed to extensions as soon as possible, as he did during camp with Gibson, who signed a three-year extension. Murray's message was that the Ducks aren't a cap team, they're a budget team, and players need to play ball and take a bit less to keep this team as talented as possible in the long term.

"A lot of our players in the past that have been here for a long time have taken -- call it what you want -- a hometown discount, or a haircut, but they want to play here," Murray said. "I want young players who want to stay and be part of the organization. It's not a bad place to play."

Lindholm is the most important of those pending RFAs. He's the cornerstone of that blue line.

Frederik Andersen has a good chance to be the starting goalie for Team Europe in the World Cup. Harry How/Getty Images

WORLD CUP CANDIDATES

As with most elite teams in the NHL, the Ducks should be well represented next September in the big event. Getzlaf and Perry are Team Canada staples, both two-time Olympic gold medalists. Book their place now. Ditto for Kesler and Fowler on Team USA.

Denmark's Andersen has a very good chance to be the starting goalie for Team Europe. Gibson, with a strong year, should be a shoo-in as Team North America's goaltender. Hagelin has a good shot at getting back on Team Sweden, as well.

"I'm extremely excited about that," Hagelin said. "Given the opportunity to play for Sweden in the Olympics, that was a great experience for me and gave me confidence going forward. It was an unbelievable feeling representing your country. I think I have a good chance [to play in the World Cup]. My focus is on playing well for the Anaheim Ducks and if I do that, I should have a good chance of making that team."

Lindholm will be in the mix for Sweden too, although the Swedish blue line is deep, deep, deep in NHL star talent. But I think another strong season will get him on the team. Winger Jakob Silfverberg had his breakthrough season last year and surely is on Sweden's radar now.

Jiri Sekac should also get a look by a Czech Republic squad not exactly miles deep in NHL talent. You can book Vatanen's spot in Finland's squad, no question.

PREDICTION

I like the Ducks to win their division, win the Western Conference and win the Stanley Cup. That's all. First in the Pacific Division.