Speculation: 2022-23 Management/Coaching/Ownership

[The Mighty Duck Man]

If become more hopeful regarding this. IF those two want a chance to challenge for a roster spot, with some former teammates, what better place than Anaheim? It will all depend on their priorities I guess.

I know anything can happen but IMO most of the pessimism there is just PTSD from the Justin Schultz saga. Very easy to remember that but not as easy to remember this same angst in 2015-2016 with Welinski and Roy where they just signed after their senior years.

It’s also very easy to put yourself in someone’s shoes and think it’s the same thing. They very well could want to leave but there’s a reason most players sign with the team that drafted them.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

I have a weird feeling When eakins is not renewed.. They are going to ask Scotty Neids to coach the team.. Would you guys be ok with this?

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I know anything can happen but IMO most of the pessimism there is just PTSD from the Justin Schultz saga. Very easy to remember that but not as easy to remember this same angst in 2015-2016 with Welinski and Roy where they just signed after their senior years.

It’s also very easy to put yourself in someone’s shoes and think it’s the same thing. They very well could want to leave but there’s a reason most players sign with the team that drafted them.

Terry, too.

I have a weird feeling When eakins is not renewed.. They are going to ask Scotty Neids to coach the team.. Would you guys be ok with this?

Given the feelings you have about every loss being Eakins' last game, you might want to approach your gut with a little more skepticism.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Terry, too.


Given the feelings you have about every loss being Eakins' last game, you might want to approach your gut with a little more skepticism.

Nah im way passed that.. Verbeeks Words got me thinking otherwise..

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Terry, too.

Oh yeah, and that wasn’t even in his senior year, it started after his sophomore year. We probably need to relax a little around here with these things.

 

[la patineuse]

Wrong thread.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I have a weird feeling When eakins is not renewed.. They are going to ask Scotty Neids to coach the team.. Would you guys be ok with this?

1 - No
2 - absolutely no
3 - why would you want a rookie head coach who has never coached at any level?
4 - again, no. If the team needs an upgrade at coach, it needs an upgrade at coach, not a wing and a prayer on a franchise favorite.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

1 - No
2 - absolutely no
3 - why would you want a rookie head coach who has never coached at any level?
4 - again, no. If the team needs an upgrade at coach, it needs an upgrade at coach, not a wing and a prayer on a franchise favorite.

Fair enough

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

I have a weird feeling When eakins is not renewed.. They are going to ask Scotty Neids to coach the team.. Would you guys be ok with this?

I'd take one of Neids kids to coach the team over Eakins at this point.

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

Ducks midseason grades: A handful of highlights among many disappointments

With a 12-26-4 record, the Ducks haven’t had many standout individual performances.

theathletic.com

How does a head coach manage the rest of a season that’s hopelessly lost? Especially when it’s more advantageous to keep losing and increase the odds at some lottery luck for the chance to draft Connor Bedard or another potential franchise-altering player? Dallas Eakins thinks of the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche, who had Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog as part of a team that won only 22 games and whose 48 points were among the fewest for a non-expansion team since 1967.

“They were all young players,” Eakins said. “They had a very tough year. I think they ended up 30 games under .500 that year. But they were able to draft high — I think that was the year they drafted (Cale) Makar — and then they’ve slowly built that after, I think five years, into obviously a championship team. We don’t want to finish 30 games under .500. We want to win as many games as we can.

“We’ve already started to clean up our penalty kill. That was a real tough one to start the season with. Our power play has been better. The next part is just our overall team defense. We’re a team that has to be absolutely layered all the time. … And then the last thing is to keep teaching offense. We’ve got a couple of guys that are obviously very, very gifted with the puck, but the majority of our group needs structure on the offense, and it doesn’t come naturally to them. That’s kind of my laundry list right now.”

 

[Duck Off]

still hoping that they'll push to bring him back to San Diego. He's a much better fit in the AHL.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

If become more hopeful regarding this. IF those two want a chance to challenge for a roster spot, with some former teammates, what better place than Anaheim? It will all depend on their priorities I guess.

I'm still hanging on hope that CapFriendly is correct about Thrun's signing end date is next off-season due to Harvard cancelling its season. That means we have a whole year's worth of leverage on Thrun. Thrun has two options then, stay at Harvard for another season or sign with Anaheim.

With LaCombe, I think he'll sign b/c when questioned about signing with the Ducks he said not to be concerned about it. We could really use LaCombe's speed and he knows how to block shots.

Verbeek probably has visited both Thrun and LaCombe as well as watched them in person. I remember Verbeek saying he was going to see LaCombe play while scouting a Wild game.

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

still hoping that they'll push to bring him back to San Diego. He's a much better fit in the AHL.

I assume that would be pretty unprecedented. I don't know that I've heard of any NHL head coach that's been demoted to AHL duty with the same team after multiple years in the show.

 

[GreatBear]

I assume that would be pretty unprecedented. I don't know that I've heard of any NHL head coach that's been demoted to AHL duty with the same team after multiple years in the show.

1. I don't think that it is going to happen. Once Eakins is gone, he almost certainly out of the organization.

2. The mere fact that something hasn't happened before doesn't mean that it can't happen at some time in the future. If I were Eakins I would jump at that opportunity, since it is likely that after his results in both Edmonton and Anaheim that he is not going to get another NHL head coaching job.

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

1. I don't think that it is going to happen. Once Eakins is gone, he almost certainly out of the organization.

2. The mere fact that something hasn't happened before doesn't mean that it can't happen at some time in the future. If I were Eakins I would jump at that opportunity, since it is likely that after his results in both Edmonton and Anaheim that he is not going to get another NHL head coaching job.

Eh Carlyle is still part of the organization I believe

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

1. I don't think that it is going to happen. Once Eakins is gone, he almost certainly out of the organization.

2. The mere fact that something hasn't happened before doesn't mean that it can't happen at some time in the future. If I were Eakins I would jump at that opportunity, since it is likely that after his results in both Edmonton and Anaheim that he is not going to get another NHL head coaching job.

Assuming he's presented with that opportunity, I agree with you. I just doubt that opportunity will be presented, let alone accepted.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Eh Carlyle is still part of the organization I believe

I think they gave him a consulting title just so they weren't paying him for nothing but last he mentioned it they never actually consulted him on anything.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

edit - wrong thread.

 

[Deuce22]

I think the entire culture of the organization needs to be changed. It's a losing culture right now. Verbeek needs to reset by bringing in his own people. Eakins in San Diego wouldn't accomplish this.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Eakins is an overall poor NHL coach and I assume has very little in the way of tactical skills in part because of how the Ducks have lacked a coherent system and because it's been reported that he has delegated a lot of stuff to the assistants.

the degree to which he's been good for our top prospects is an interesting topic. I mean, look at Terry and I'd argue McTavish as well, they both really have performed well under him. With Z and Drysdale, i'd say it has just gone OK for them so far - could've been worse but also probably could've been better. With players like Lundy and Comtois, they've each had years where they've looked good only to follow them up with pretty bad years.

I think overall Eakins has not been disappointing from a development standpoint, but it hardly outweighs his deficiencies in other respects.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Eakins is an overall poor NHL coach and I assume has very little in the way of tactical skills in part because of how the Ducks have lacked a coherent system and because it's been reported that he has delegated a lot of stuff to the assistants.

the degree to which he's been good for our top prospects is an interesting topic. I mean, look at Terry and I'd argue McTavish as well, they both really have performed well under him. With Z and Drysdale, i'd say it has just gone OK for them so far - could've been worse but also probably could've been better. With players like Lundy and Comtois, they've each had years where they've looked good only to follow them up with pretty bad years.

I think overall Eakins has not been disappointing from a development standpoint, but it hardly outweighs his deficiencies in other respects.

The PP and PK units are run by the assistant coaches. This is common for most or all NHL clubs. The head coach runs the ES unit.

2017-19

Head Coach: Carlyle​

Asst Coach: Morrison (PP)​

Asst Coach: Wilford (PK)​

2019-21

Head Coach: Eakins​

Asst Coach: Morrison (PP)​

Asst Coach: Wilford (PK)​

2021-22

Head Coach: Eakins​

Asst Coach: Ward and Brown (PP)​

Asst Coach: Stothers (PK)​

2022-23

Head Coach: Eakins​

Asst Coach: Brown (PP)​

Asst Coach: Stothers (PK)​

Asst Coach: Johnson (player dev)​

Losing Ward during the 2022 off-season hurt our PP unit. It's sad that our less talented PP2 unit looks better on the ice than our urber talented PP1 unit.

I've continuously shared the 2021 breakdown table. With talent available to start the season, Eakins got the team to the top of the Pacific Div. When injuries and Covid hit the team, it was meandering due to lack of depth, but our PP and PK still were top-10. When PV "blew up the team" at the TDL, our PP and PK fell to the bottom of the league.

PV didn't replace the talents equally. In fact, the talent is worse this year than last year. Terry, Z, Lundy, and Drysdale took positive steps in development last year because they have more talent and better talent surrounding them. This year, not so much. The same could be said about the roster talent assembled for the AHL team as well.

D Lindholm, D Mahura, RW Rakell, C Steel, F Milano, and F Des are having good seasons. D Manson was having a good season until he got injured. C Getz decided to retire. That's a lot of talent lost.

I'm indifferent if Eakins stays or goes, but I don't think many realize how the roster was gutted and wasn't replaced with equal talent. When Benoit and Shatty are your best shutdown D, then, Anaheim, we have a devastating problem.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

There is no justification for Eakins to keep his job, even while acknowledging the roster is trash. We have seen year after year of this team getting pummeled defensively, if we saw improvement over the last couple years you could make an argument, it's not all his fault but the bottom line is year after year this team has gotten worse under him

As for Verbeek, what has he done to make things better so far? The fact he has so many young players and surrounded them with zero toughness is unconscionable for a GM to do. He knew the team would be bad, instead he filled out your roster with guys who are afraid of the goal line, corners, and any sort of body contact he should have been finding those types of players

 

[Hockey Duckie]

There is no justification for Eakins to keep his job, even while acknowledging the roster is trash. We have seen year after year of this team getting pummeled defensively, if we saw improvement over the last couple years you could make an argument, it's not all his fault but the bottom line is year after year this team has gotten worse under him

As for Verbeek, what has he done to make things better so far? The fact he has so many young players and surrounded them with zero toughness is unconscionable for a GM to do. He knew the team would be bad, instead he filled out your roster with guys who are afraid of the goal line, corners, and any sort of body contact he should have been finding those types of players

The only justification for keeping Eakins is that we're still in a rebuild stage and no top-end outside the org talents (excluding draft) is coming to the team next season by design.

What's plagued Eakins Ducks tenure as head coach is lack of talent and mass injuries. 2018-19 TDL is when Murray started the rebuild. Murray didn't add talent during the 2019 off-season, but was forced to trade for Gudbranson early in the season when Manson was put on crutches after a game. We were hit with mass injuries everywhere, especially on the blue line. At the 2019-20 TDL, we lost even more forward talent when trading away F Kase and F Ritchie. In 2020-21, with less talent, the Ducks again were hit with mass injuries to the blue line. Lindholm only played in the first 18 games of the season and Manson played 23 games. Both played together in only 2 games, iirc. For 2021-22, we didn't add talent, but the team did rise to the top of the Pacific with very good defense and amazing offense.

When the roster finally was healthy and the youths having proper veteran support, Eakins displayed he can compete with top teams. Unfortunately, Murray resigned, the team's lack of talent depth was exposed again, and no GM available helped the team out. At the TDL, Verbeek literally "blew up the team".

There is no salvaging this team due to terrible roster construction by Verbeek.

1. The Devils had a worse record than us last year and that was because of mass injuries. Rather than panic and make a lot of TDL to get more picks, they stayed put and then added 5 players outside of the org via FA and trade. Now, they have depth to absorb injuries.

2. The Kraken were worse than us last year, but they added talents outside of the org via FA and trade. Seattle is in a playoff spot like the Devils.

3. Last year, the Kings made the playoffs, But the year before seeing the playoffs, they were out of the playoffs and only 6 points ahead of us. The ensuing off-season, they added talents outside the org through FA and trade.

Those are three teams that sucked just like us, but unlike us, they didn't blow their team up. Instead, they added talents outside of their org, also giving the team better talent depth.

Roster talent, balance, and depth matter.

Verbeek acquisitions, Plus/Minus rating

D Klingberg -23​

C Strome -22​

RW Vatrano -20​

D Kulikov -17​

RW Leason -15​

D Vaaks -13​

D Beaulieu -12​

C Megna -9​

D White -5​

Five defensemen in the negatives, with of them regular starters. 2C Strome is a disappointment. 2RW is also a disappointment.

For comparison, last year Hampus was +0 in 61 games with the Ducks and Manson was +0 in 45 games with the Ducks.

If Eakins doesn't return next year, then I'm okay with it. The pummelling the team is taking isn't because of Eakins, though. Look at Hampus and Manson's plus/minus rating under Eakins in 2021-22. Hell, Des was a -9 in 61 games with the Ducks. Des is better defensively (with Lindholm and Manson) than Strome, Vatrano, and Leason.

 

[Deuce22]

The only justification for keeping Eakins is that we're still in a rebuild stage and no top-end outside the org talents (excluding draft) is coming to the team next season by design.

What's plagued Eakins Ducks tenure as head coach is lack of talent and mass injuries. 2018-19 TDL is when Murray started the rebuild. Murray didn't add talent during the 2019 off-season, but was forced to trade for Gudbranson early in the season when Manson was put on crutches after a game. We were hit with mass injuries everywhere, especially on the blue line. At the 2019-20 TDL, we lost even more forward talent when trading away F Kase and F Ritchie. In 2020-21, with less talent, the Ducks again were hit with mass injuries to the blue line. Lindholm only played in the first 18 games of the season and Manson played 23 games. Both played together in only 2 games, iirc. For 2021-22, we didn't add talent, but the team did rise to the top of the Pacific with very good defense and amazing offense.

When the roster finally was healthy and the youths having proper veteran support, Eakins displayed he can compete with top teams. Unfortunately, Murray resigned, the team's lack of talent depth was exposed again, and no GM available helped the team out. At the TDL, Verbeek literally "blew up the team".

There is no salvaging this team due to terrible roster construction by Verbeek.

1. The Devils had a worse record than us last year and that was because of mass injuries. Rather than panic and make a lot of TDL to get more picks, they stayed put and then added 5 players outside of the org via FA and trade. Now, they have depth to absorb injuries.

2. The Kraken were worse than us last year, but they added talents outside of the org via FA and trade. Seattle is in a playoff spot like the Devils.

3. Last year, the Kings made the playoffs, But the year before seeing the playoffs, they were out of the playoffs and only 6 points ahead of us. The ensuing off-season, they added talents outside the org through FA and trade.

Those are three teams that sucked just like us, but unlike us, they didn't blow their team up. Instead, they added talents outside of their org, also giving the team better talent depth.

Roster talent, balance, and depth matter.

Verbeek acquisitions, Plus/Minus rating

D Klingberg -23​

C Strome -22​

RW Vatrano -20​

D Kulikov -17​

RW Leason -15​

D Vaaks -13​

D Beaulieu -12​

C Megna -9​

D White -5​

Five defensemen in the negatives, with of them regular starters. 2C Strome is a disappointment. 2RW is also a disappointment.

For comparison, last year Hampus was +0 in 61 games with the Ducks and Manson was +0 in 45 games with the Ducks.

If Eakins doesn't return next year, then I'm okay with it. The pummelling the team is taking isn't because of Eakins, though. Look at Hampus and Manson's plus/minus rating under Eakins in 2021-22. Hell, Des was a -9 in 61 games with the Ducks. Des is better defensively (with Lindholm and Manson) than Strome, Vatrano, and Leason.

Team lacking talent can still be poorly coached. This one is.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Team lacking talent can still be poorly coached. This one is.

Im with you and Kase. This team is getting worse defensively and I think some of it is to blame on whatever "system" Eakins is trying to have them play. IMO he's stagnating development or even worse hurting development at this point. The Ducks constantly look completely lost in their own zone and that's because the entire team has 0 hockey sense or it is because the "system" the coach employs is terrible.