Speculation: 2024-25 Coaching/Management/Ownership

[Ducks]

Z should be centering a scoring line. We've seen him make magic happen there plenty of times. Playing wing limits his playmaking ability.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Z should be centering a scoring line. We've seen him make magic happen there plenty of times. Playing wing limits his playmaking ability.

At this point it’s Mctavish who should be a wing cause he sucks defensively anyways and has not been effective at all at center this year. Not sure Cronin has the balls to bench or change Mctavish though.

 

[Boo Boo]

At this point it’s Mactavish who should be a wing cause he sucks defensively anyways and has not been effective at all at center this year. Not sure Cronin has the balls to bench or change Mactavish though.

Defensive deficiencies aside he also just has a skill set that in theory should rock along the boards/ shooting / and in front of the net

 

[dracom]

Z should be centering a scoring line. We've seen him make magic happen there plenty of times. Playing wing limits his playmaking ability.

Z will never be center here because he doesn't fit the right stereotype of what a center should be according to cronin. mctavish is bigger and mean so he's obviously the better option despite doing nothing but committing penalties. Cronin won't do what's best for his players instead he's forcing them to play in a way that doesn't best suit them.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

They're not going to make a coaching change mid-season, but as it stands right now, I will have serious questions about Verbeek if Cronin is behind the bench in 25-26.

 

[KelVarnsen]

I love the TV show The West Wing. In the season where Bartlett meets his election foe from Florida, there’s a scene at a theater where Bartlett tells his opponent a secret service agent was just killed in a robbery. The response is, “Crime. Boy, I don’t know” in a thick Florida accent.

I always imagine this scene at Cronin’s interviews.

“How do you get the team to play better?”

“Hockey. Boy, I don’t know” in a think Boston accent.

Nincompoop.

 

[DavidBL]

At this point I have 0 faith in the organizations ability to turn this team around. From coaches to GM.

 

[70sSanO]

The problem I see is Verbeek and Cronin both want a team built for the playoffs. Right now we are so removed from any chance of a playoff spot and our players first need to be successful in the NHL.

In this league putting up points is rewarded. Granted, there are great 2-way players out there, but without the offensive numbers, they have little value.

These kids need to find their offensive game first. Without an offensive threat we will always be pressured as there are no consequences.

We either have the wrong Mgmt or the wrong players. Either way it is not working and there is little to suggest it will.

John

 

[AngelDuck]

we’re hopeless. I’ve kinda given up on this year which sucks to say in October but it’s the reality of how lousy we look offensively. I’m willing to give Verbeek another year or 2 to figure it out but his next head coach pick will be critical for his Ducks career.

Also if we’re going to be real bad again, we better find another elite talent(someone close to as good as Carlsson)

So far we’ve drafted some pretty good players in the top 10 but only one elite guy. Sennecke could maybe be a 2nd but that’s a big maybe

 

[snowave]

The problem I see is Verbeek and Cronin both want a team built for the playoffs. Right now we are so removed from any chance of a playoff spot and our players first need to be successful in the NHL.

In this league putting up points is rewarded. Granted, there are great 2-way players out there, but without the offensive numbers, they have little value.

These kids need to find their offensive game first. Without an offensive threat we will always be pressured as there are no consequences.

We either have the wrong Mgmt or the wrong players. Either way it is not working and there is little to suggest it will.

John

More likely, both.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Z is the most frustrating case for me. No reason for him to have 2 points so far this year. Just hard to not look at Cronin because he's focused on Zegs a lot in his not even 1.5 years with the team. A good offensive coach would find solutions to help make him productive.

I think i've said this a few times but Cronin very likely isn't remotely capable of getting elite offensive production out of even the most talented. I worry he's getting like 50% of what they could bring and that goes for the dmen too.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

I think its time fans either dont go to the games or go with paper bags.. Its f***ing shamfull.. Weve been rebuilding for how long now? Its f***ing ridiculous

 

[AngelDuck]

I don’t think Verbeek has done a terrible job so far but it sure would be nice if he could make a Devon Toews or Casey Mittlestadt type trade. Not holding my breath though

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Z should be centering a scoring line. We've seen him make magic happen there plenty of times. Playing wing limits his playmaking ability.

Z should first simplify his game..

 

[70sSanO]

The only hope we have is Verbeek making a change because of how bad it makes him look.

It is funny how Yzerman was considered a top GM because of his time in Tampa Bay. And Verbeek basically followed him from Tampa to Detroit.

Now Yzerman’s aura has lost a lot of its shine. Whether he was lucky in Tampa Bay, or the game has moved on, he is not doing a good job in Detroit.

Hopefully PV will do some real soul searching about what is going on, and not think it is a normal part of a maturation process. Detroit should be a perfect example of a failed rebuild.

I read an article that Patrick Kane thinks they are too defensive oriented. If that doesn’t sound like the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, I don’t know what does.

John

 

[Reveille1984]

Even though most would consider Detroit's rebuild to be stalled, at least they were able to finish 18th last year with 90+ points. That would be a dream result for the Ducks. We don't even look like we're playing the same sport as the rest of the league most of the time.

Verbeek's biggest problem has been not insulating the extremely young core with any actual good veterans IMHO. We have a bunch of 19-22 year olds getting worked every night, interspersed with a bunch of 30+ dudes mostly on the downswing of their careers.

This is likely why GMPV's big plan was to grab a couple impact guys in the offseason to take a little pressure off the kids, but he completely whiffed and also failed to make any impactful roster improvements by trade. Now we're expecting a top line of Carlsson/Gauthier and a defensive group of children (Luneau/Zellweger/Minty/LaCombe) to not be a bottom five NHL team?

Sure Cronin doesn't seem to be doing much to help the situation, and likely isn't the long term guy for this club. But the Ducks have maybe one player in their NHL prime on the entire roster (Terry), along with the supposed "due for a breakout" duo of Zegras/McTavish combining for one goal in eight games (and an empty netter at that) which has crushed any potential offensive momentum.

It's seeming more and more like our best option is going to be using some of our prospects/draft capital to swing a trade a or two for some solid NHL players at some point. I'm sure Verbeek is aware of this. Higher tier FAs aren't going to sign here, and continuing to be 30th or lower every year with zero upward trajectory is going to destroy any confidence and morale this group has.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Z should first simplify his game..

A good benching or fourth-line duties should do the trick: the Cronin special

 

[robbieboy3686]

I don’t think Verbeek has done a terrible job so far but it sure would be nice if he could make a Devon Toews or Casey Mittlestadt type trade. Not holding my breath though

He made the drysdale trade. I am fully convinced he’s ready to make more deals to help us now( as long as the player coming back isn’t older than a player like Terry and fits the mold of a verbeek player) let’s have a little more faith guys. I agree with you all that Cronin isn’t the long term fix. But maybe by seasons end, a vet coach might actually want to come because they see the potential. A Cronin unknown type was needed and probably the only type of coach to come into a full rebuild when he did.

 

[AngelDuck]

He made the drysdale trade. I am fully convinced he’s ready to make more deals to help us now( as long as the player coming back isn’t older than a player like Terry and fits the mold of a verbeek player) let’s have a little more faith guys. I agree with you all that Cronin isn’t the long term fix. But maybe by seasons end, a vet coach might actually want to come because they see the potential. A Cronin unknown type was needed and probably the only type of coach to come into a full rebuild when he did.

The Drysdale trade looks solid but it’s not a win now trade. I’m hoping he can find a mid-20s guy who is undervalued in their current situation (Mitrlestadt a great example) and buy low.

He hasn’t done that yet

It’s not an easy thing to do but there are opportunities for it from time to time. Elite GMs find a way to get those guys for relatively cheap

 

[robbieboy3686]

The Drysdale trade looks solid but it’s not a win now trade. I’m hoping he can find a mid-20s guy who is undervalued in their current situation (Mitrlestadt a great example) and buy low.

He hasn’t done that yet

Since that middlstadt trade, have there been many others like it around the league? Let’s wait and see if we’re the ones that snag the next guy or 2 that fits that bill

 

[JAHV]

Verbeek's biggest problem has been not insulating the extremely young core with any actual good veterans IMHO. We have a bunch of 19-22 year olds getting worked every night, interspersed with a bunch of 30+ dudes mostly on the downswing of their careers.

How do you do this properly, though? I think you've hit on the issue that's plagued every rebuilding team since rebuilding became a thing.

The first issue comes in the inherent problem with rebuilding. You rebuild because your great players are no longer great, so you need to develop more great players. And most formerly great teams don't have up-and-coming great players because they've picked later in the draft. The best way to get those is by picking as high as possible. You can only pick as high as possible if you're really bad, and getting (or keeping) actually decent veterans will keep your floor from being too low. I know people were upset at the Lindholm trade, but if the Ducks had kept Lindholm, I don't think they get to pick Leo Carlsson.

So you have to wait until you've got those potentially great youngsters in the organization. Now how do you add quality veterans? Three ways:

1. You can do it through free agency, which the Ducks have tried to do. But apparently they've gotten the wrong ones, even though Strome, Vatrano, Gudas, Killorn seems like it should be a solid group. They've missed on some others whom they tried to get (which, incidentally, might be a blessing in disguise). But the problems with free agency are myriad; the really good UFAs probably don't want to come to a bad team, and the mediocre ones need to be overpaid. And they're mediocre.

2. Pick up other teams' unwanted role players and prospects and develop them into something valuable. This is ideal, but if your team was good at this, they probably wouldn't need to rebuild in the first place. The only way to do this with a rebuilding team is to get a veteran GM who is given autonomy and finances to build a great pro scouting and development staff.

3. You can make trades for good players. But if you're a bad team, the only assets you have are futures - young players (whom you want to keep as your core), prospects (whom you probably want to keep in case they can become part of your core), and draft picks (which are very risky to trade while coming out of a rebuild - no GM wants to be the one who traded a #1OA because they thought their team was ready to compete before it was).

The last option requires threading the needle super finely, but it seems to be the only way for a team like Anaheim to make it work, unless they find the personnel who can help them accomplish #2. I don't think they've got the GM or the staff right now for that. So Verbeek has to pull a high-wire act - identifying the right veteran targets on teams who want to trade them and then trading the right youngsters/prospects/picks that won't come back to bite him in the ass.

This is why the Buffalo and Ottawa and Detroit stories are fairly commonplace. This is really, really hard to do.

 

[AngelDuck]

I can’t believe we have Killorn and Gibson both under contract for the next 2.9 seasons. Ugly ugly ugly

 

[HanSolo]

I can’t believe we have Killorn and Gibson both under contract for the next 2.9 seasons. Ugly ugly ugly

Gibson is easier to insulate if Dostal becomes the primary starter which, so far, there's no reason he shouldn't be. Fewer games for Gibson might do him good.

Killorn is the bigger drag because with the kind of money he makes you really can't not play him unless he gets LTIRetired. And with the way he is a complete net negative on possession and offensive flow (and it's only going to get worse with age), you really can't do much but bury him on the fourth line or buy him out. Playing on the fourth line might actually help him with easier match ups but that's a ton of f***ing money for a fourth liner.

 

[Leonardo87]

I can’t believe we have Killorn and Gibson both under contract for the next 2.9 seasons. Ugly ugly ugly

Could you imagine if Stamkos took that deal Verbeek offered ?

 

[Sniperberg]

Get Zegras back to center and let him loose offensively. Trade McTavish for someone like Kakko (other wingers can also be traded for) or some help on the back end.

I like Mason but i think that losing Zegras is going to hurt more in the long run. He just has that x-factor you really cant teach.