The Anaheim Ducks were the last hope for the old guard in the Western Conference. With the Los Angeles Kings falling short of the playoffs, while the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks got knocked out early, the baton was passed to the Ducks to be the last of the old standbys to make a run.

But they just couldn’t quite get there, losing in the Western Conference finals to the Nashville Predators, setting up what should be one of the most fascinating offseasons in the NHL, headed by GM Bob Murray. Here’s where he should focus:

1. Trade Corey Perry

Yup, we’re going nuclear right off the top here, but there’s a method to the madness.

Winger Corey Perry had a down season; he had four goals in the playoffs, and he’s 31 years old. He also has four more years on a contract that averages $8.625 million per season. The Ducks can’t have three aging forwards occupying so much of their cap space, and if they wait any longer it could be impossible to move them.

This isn’t an easy deal because he has a no-movement clause and a healthy salary, but he’s also Corey Perry. He plays with an edge. He has a Stanley Cup and gold medals, and it’s still reasonable to expect that he'll score 30 goals next season considering he shot just 8.8 percent this season, well below his career average of 13.2 percent.

2. Trade a young defenseman for a young forward

The Ducks have long been an ideal trading partner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have good young forwards who need to be moved while the Ducks are loaded on defense. If there’s a way to pry Jonathan Drouin away from the Lightning, and there is, that should be the priority.

Anaheim is one of the few teams in the league that could lose a talented young defenseman such as Josh Manson, Brandon Montour or Shea Theodore, and it wouldn’t be a major issue.

3. Extend Cam Fowler

Defenseman Cam Fowler has one more year left on his contract ($4 million per season), and the expectation is that he’ll get a deal done fairly quickly as soon he's eligible to do so on July 1. The bet here is it’s an eight-year deal in the $6.5 million per season range. He went from being a trade candidate to blossoming into one of the better defensemen in the league this season.

Meanwhile, the Ducks will have to buy out Kevin Bieksa because of his no-movement clause, which would otherwise require the Ducks to protect him in the expansion draft, unless he’s willing to waive it.