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The Anaheim Ducks are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. Their rebuild has yielded them talented players, but not the cohesive unit they need to make the postseason. After their 80-point campaign, they fired head coach Greg Cronin. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek spoke about the coaching vacancy and playoff expectations for next season.
“I think I see this team at a point to where my expectation of this team is to make the playoffs next season,” Verbeek said. “I expect our group to take a step, and so I'm going to be active and aggressive in making our team better.”
The Ducks ranked 30th in scoring this year, with all of their key forwards playing almost every game. No one scored more than 22 goals, set by Mason McTavish, and Troy Terry led the way with 55 points. Those numbers are not enough to make the playoffs, especially in a stacked Western Conference.
Verbeek and the Ducks' front office know they need scoring, which is why they went after Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault last summer. Could Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers be in play this year? Those additions would be considered aggressive, which is what Verbeek has promised.
What are the Ducks looking for in a new coach?
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Greg Cronin led the Ducks to a 21-point improvement from his first season to his second. But Anaheim believes in their core too much to accept mediocrity at this point in their rebuild. They hope that bringing in a new coach can unlock some of their young players, especially Trevor Zegras and Cutter Gauthier.
Verbeek spoke to the media about what he is looking for in the Ducks' new coach. “Am I looking for some sort of specific coach? No, I think that I'm going to go through the interview process and I will probe and poke and ask questions to where certain things that I think our group needs and see how it all shakes down. I'm open to any type of coach at this point and not shutting down anything.”
The Ducks need a coach who is focused on the offensive end and creating space for the talented players to create. Whether that is a re-tread NHL coach like Peter Laviolette or Gerard Gallant, or a college coach like Denver's David Carle or Western Michigan's Pat Ferschweiler, they have options. The Ducks need to break out of this rebuild as soon as possible to take advantage of their young talent.
