MMC
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Lebrun wrote an article today about expiring coaches, like myself he still can see it going either way re Eakins
Speculation: 2022-23 Management/Coaching/Ownership
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I still think there is a ~85% chance he is gone and Verbeek just doesn't want to pre-fire him, which is fine.
It is time for a change, even if a change doesn't make a difference, like when we fired Bruce. If Pat can't see that, then I seriously question his ability as a GM.
MMC
Global Moderator
I won't be surprised either way, but I'm more confident than Eakins will be here beyond this season than I was in the offseason when his option was picked up. The team is so far from the playoffs, does PV really want to set his first head coach to fail? If Eakins isn't brought back, I expect an eventful offseason for sure.
I think a lot of it will depend on where we land in the draft, but I think the best path forward is similar to Bednar in Colorado or Granato in Buffalo.
This is our rock bottom season, so bring a coach in at the very beginning of the rebound and let them guide us on the way up, even if the first season is ugly.
Put another way:
Eakins' recent history is full of failure. His past coaching history was also a failure. Considering his contract is up and it would be simple just to part ways, what kind of message does it send for Pat to go out of his way to extend a coach that has been at the helm of a historically bad season, capping off a bad coaching record?
Even if hiring a different coach is just window dressing, window dressing is part of a GM's job.
Eakins' recent history is full of failure. His past coaching history was also a failure. Considering his contract is up and it would be simple just to part ways, what kind of message does it send for Pat to go out of his way to extend a coach that has been at the helm of a historically bad season, capping off a bad coaching record?
Even if hiring a different coach is just window dressing, window dressing is part of a GM's job.
The Midnight Burrito
True Fan
I think you're confusing a message to the fans with the impact on the team. The players'/management's view of Eakins isn't window dressing. Maybe it won't matter to the fans if another shit season is in the offing but the players' relationship to their coach obviously makes a difference to the team, and I imagine that'll probably be the primary reason he's retained or released.
I mean you're advocating for doing something just to do something.
I'm advocating for doing something just do to something at the very least. Obviously I would prefer if the new coach hired is a good one.
Re: the players' relationship with the coach - wouldn't it be better for them to start developing a relationship with a coach who will be here when we are back in our winning ways? At this point it feels like dating somebody when you know you guys are planning to break up soon.
Eakins seems like he'd be a great assistant coach, players love him and I cant imagine he'd be butting heads with the head coach. If not an assistant I think he'd make for a great front office guy.
Dr Johnny Fever
RIP Grizzly 399
It isn't a failure just because the team might not be a playoff contender. It's time a new coach starts getting his feet wet with these players. You can't just be crap for years and then one day bring in a new coach and expect a major turnaround the next season.
There's no reason this team can't start looking more respectable next year. Either Eakins is the guy to lead the turnaround (in which case you give him a 3 year extension) or he isn't. If he isn't, now is the time for him to go. Extending him for just one year shows no confidence in next season. That won't go over well with fans.
Would love for him to get into the Player Development side of things
Not sure how I feel about Eakins as a coach. I think he has gotten the short end of the stick here as far as the lineup goes. I think we were a really good team for a good chunk of last year, but he obviously had a great supporting cast.
Will see how it goes, I definitely like him as a person around our players, especially young ones. He's a good guy and I think our management is loving him as well.
Will see how it goes, I definitely like him as a person around our players, especially young ones. He's a good guy and I think our management is loving him as well.
c4rcy
Power lvls over 9000
Did you guys see the video interview with Kilngberg after ye was traded. They ask specifically about systems. He cited guys being better at know where they're supposed to be kn the ice, among some other stuff. Brief little tidbit that I thought was interesting.
Hamilton Bulldogs
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Verbeek won't fire Eakins because as soon as he does, the attention turns to him as a GM.
The longer Verbeek can stretch out the 300 year rebuild narrative, the longer he has a job with the ducks.
The longer Verbeek can stretch out the 300 year rebuild narrative, the longer he has a job with the ducks.
AngelDuck
Rak 'em up
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If the new coach came in and put together a season where our goal differential is merely -60 I think a lot of us could live with that and even get behind it as a big success Getting out scored by well over a goal per game has been a tough pill to swallow and I’m just not sure how you bring Eakins back after that
The attention is on him no matter what and he knows that. He has executive control over hockey operations, and a large part of that responsibility is overseeing the coaching staff.
For that reason I was pretty surprised Eakins even came back for this season. Elite talent being available at the top of the draft might have had something to do with it though
I’ve said how I felt about the roster and coaching over and over again. With that said , would not be shocked if Eakins is extended.
Dr Johnny Fever
RIP Grizzly 399
Agree. A new coach needs time with learning about all the players and everything else about the organization. It will still be a process, not an overnight turnaround. The sooner it starts, the sooner we get where we're going.
Being bad when a talent like Bedard is within reach makes this season somewhat understandable if still annoying as hell. It's an opportunity for the ages that we may not get again for a very long time. I get it. But this season is the last pass I give the team. I want to see progress next year. I don't care what next year's draft looks like. I want to see improvement everywhere, including a coach who can implement a system that works well at getting the best out of the talent we have. No more spinning our wheels waiting for more saviors to arrive.
- Apr 9, 2012
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Yeah I don't agree with this stuff about not being able to hire a new coach because the team might still be bad. That's not "setting him up to fail." That's getting a coach in here who can grow with the team and the new core. I doubt this is the type of team that is going to just coast along, and then we hire a Gallant or a Trotz type to get us over the top. Whoever Pat thinks is the guy should be here to develop with the team as it improves.
Hockey Duckie
Registered User
It took him until Christmas break/December to finally get acclimated with his new team, Anaheim. Klingberg admits to doing too much, puck chasing than letting the game come to him. Here are the other players new to Anaheim this season: D Kulikov, D White, D Beaulieu, C Strome, RW Vatrano, RW Leason, and C Megna. Then there was also C McTavish and F Regenda at the start of the season. That represents 50% of our top-6 to start the season, 50% of our d-corp, including Klingberg, and 33% of our bottom-6 when Leason and Megna are both on the ice in the same game - but they rotate.
The best player out of all the new guys is McTavish, who started the season as a 19-year old. That's the lack of talent the Ducks acquired during the off-season/early season.
Klingberg joined a Minny team that was full of talent and has been together most of the season. Remember, Klingberg said it took him until Christmas break to finally click. He finally began to trust. Even Verbeek said some players take around Christmas time to adapt, but I think he was talking about rookies.
With better talent, you get better execution. That's what happened to start the 2021-22 season. It's obvious we don't possess a lot of talent, especially on the blue line.
The youth of Terry and Zegras continued to produce at a high rate despite the lack of support provided by Verbeek. McTavish looks like a top-6 center for the Ducks from now on. Fowler hit a career high in points. Rico is steady Eddie good. With a high turnover rate and not enough better talent, Eakins had to learn how to survive in the Fire Swamp. I'm not saying Eakins is great, but talent and talent cultivation matters for high level execution.
| 2021-22 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game Set | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | . | GF | GA | GD | GF/GP | GA/GP | GD/GP | Point Share | ||
| Total | 82 | 31 | 37 | 14 | 76 | 232 | 271 | -39 | 2.83 | 3.30 | -0.48 | 0.463 | |||
| Gm 1 - 33 | 33 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 41 | 104 | 91 | 13 | 3.15 | 2.76 | 0.39 | 0.621 | |||
| Gm 34 - 62 | 29 | 10 | 16 | 3 | 23 | 76 | 106 | -30 | 2.62 | 3.66 | -1.03 | 0.397 | |||
| Gm 63 - 82 | 20 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 52 | 74 | -22 | 2.60 | 3.70 | -1.10 | 0.300 |
- Splits
- Gm 1-33: Everyone's mostly healthy. Trifecta Defense is healthy: Lindholm, Manson, and Fowler. A positive GD.
- Gm 34-62: Injuries and COVID hit. Trifecta Defense not healthy: Lindholm missed 2 games, Fowler missed 4 games, and Manson missed 17 games.
- Gm 63-82: Trade Deadline moves and beyond.
| 2022-23 | Ducks | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | Date | Games | W | L | OTL | Pts | Point Share | GF | GA | GD | GD/GP | |
| Total | Total | 73 | 23 | 40 | 10 | 56 | 38.4% | 189 | 297 | -108 | -1.48 | |
| 1 to 25 | 10/12 to 12/3 | 25 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 15 | 30.0% | 63 | 105 | -42 | -1.68 | |
| 26 to 49 | 12/4 to 1/26 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 20 | 41.7% | 60 | 99 | -39 | -1.63 | |
| 50 to 62 | 1/28 to 3/1 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 50.0% | 35 | 51 | -16 | -1.23 | |
| 63 to 73 | 3/3 to 3/25 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 36.4% | 31 | 42 | -11 | -1.00 |
- Splits
- Gm 1-25: To start the season, half the defense is new, half the top-6 is new, and 33% of our bottom-6 is new. McTavish started at center for game 10, Nov 1st.
- Gm 26-49: Things slowly started to turn things around at the start of December. McTavish became 1C for game 39, Jan 4th, and stayed there until game 50, Jan 28th.
- Gm 50-62: Then the team took it to another level around All-star break, Feb 4th. On Feb 23rd, Rico gets injured in-game and has not played since.
- Gm 63-73: Finally, the team gets re-worked at the TDL as it loses two of it top-3 defensemen in Kulikov and Klingberg.
Talent and talent execution matters on the ice. One thing is for certain, Anaheim is lacking talent, at the NHL level and quality depth, during Eakins' tenure with Anaheim.
There is something to be said for finding the right guy to move your team forward with. Im not saying that guy isnt out there, but for whatever Beeker has in mind, there is a possibility he is waiting for a specific person to be available before he makes any move at the HC position.
In the meantime, he and the rest of the front office might be getting what they need out of Eakins and staff. And for all we know, thats behind the scenes stuff that we as fans cant quantify. Eakins might be the right inbetween guy, a placeholder for Beeker, until the right guy is available.
In the meantime, he and the rest of the front office might be getting what they need out of Eakins and staff. And for all we know, thats behind the scenes stuff that we as fans cant quantify. Eakins might be the right inbetween guy, a placeholder for Beeker, until the right guy is available.
mightyquack
eggplant and jade or bust
- Apr 28, 2010
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I've said it before, but if Eakins is extended, I have serious questions to ask about PV's ability as a GM and it would be by far his worst move to date. I don't care that a few of our players have developed, Eakins is not even close to an NHL standard coach.
I can't handle another Anaheim season where there is zero defensive structure and we get outshot by 20 shots a night. I know we don't have much talent, but the lack of structure is horrifying. And it's not like the lack of structure is a this season thing, it's been a hallmark of every Eakins NHL season in Edmonton and Anaheim.
This off-season is the one to bring in a coach who you want to have in charge for the next few years. One that is NHL standard preferably too. Bringing Eakins back would be a complete and utter failure on PV.
I can't handle another Anaheim season where there is zero defensive structure and we get outshot by 20 shots a night. I know we don't have much talent, but the lack of structure is horrifying. And it's not like the lack of structure is a this season thing, it's been a hallmark of every Eakins NHL season in Edmonton and Anaheim.
This off-season is the one to bring in a coach who you want to have in charge for the next few years. One that is NHL standard preferably too. Bringing Eakins back would be a complete and utter failure on PV.
Great you just jinxed us for next two seasons when PV extends Eakins and the AHL scrubs another few seasons and we are going to embrace the coordinated NHL - AHL suck.
It’s pretty apparent that he’s hasn’t been good at selecting coaches. I’m hoping that the active consultants like Scottie, Getzlaf, and Teemu along with water boy Madden help give the guy some guidance. He really needs it without his mentor Yzerman making the decisions for him.
We better hope that Madden doesn’t resign before our draft…
How is that apparent? He’s only made one decision, and as painful as it’s been it’s been for the best…
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