ANAHEIM — Dallas Eakins said Tuesday that returning next season for a fourth season as the Ducks’ coach wasn’t so much about unfinished business as it was about finally getting down to business. After all, each of his first three seasons with the team has been turbulent and filled with distractions.
“It’s been a wild ride,” he said.
Eakins’ first season, after four successful years with the Ducks’ AHL team in San Diego, was halted by the COVID-19 outbreak after 71 games of the usual 82-game schedule. His second was shortened to 56 games by the pandemic. His third was impacted by a change in general managers.
“When I talk about the seasons being broken up and the turbulence around the changeover in management, I’m not sure we fully got to the full business,” Eakins said in his first public comments about general manager Pat Verbeek’s decision to pick up the team’s option on Eakins’ contract for 2022-23.
“You’re always trying to, but there was always some other distraction going on,” Eakins said. “That’s the one thing I am very excited about: I know who the staff is, I know who the manager is, I know what the plan is here. So, rather than looking for something else, I look forward to the challenge. And at least it’s all kind of set now and I feel like we can really get down to business and be on the same page and, hopefully, there are no more interruptions in the seasons.”
Bob Murray, who resigned as general manager on Nov. 10, was slow to embrace the rebuilding process after the Ducks’ run of consecutive Stanley Cup playoff appearances came to a crashing halt in 2018-19. Murray and the Ducks’ scouting staff drafted well, but the actual teardown came in fits and starts.
Verbeek, hired Feb. 3 to replace Murray, made his intentions clear when he dealt veterans Nicolas Deslauriers, Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Rickard Rakell before the March 21 trade deadline rather than risk losing them as unrestricted free agents in the summer.
The moves torpedoed what remained of the Ducks’ playoff chances and they dropped from contention swiftly and certainly. Their victory Sunday over the Columbus Blue Jackets was only their third in 13 games since the deadline, with their record a lackluster 30-33-14 before facing the Kings on Tuesday.
Further changes to the roster would seem to be almost a certainty during the offseason. Verbeek must bolster a roster that will be without retiring captain Ryan Getzlaf and add skilled players who can keep up with All-Star right wing Troy Terry and Rookie of the Year candidate Trevor Zegras.
The 2021-22 Ducks will not be the 2022-23 Ducks.
“I’m sure there’s going to be changes,” Eakins said. “I think it’s hard to speculate because there could be a whole bunch of changes, but in the same breath, you have to find dance partners, you’ve got to get people signed, there’s all these different things. The one thing that is very apparent to me is Pat has a plan. He’s on it. He’s excited about it. It’s great because he’s extremely hungry. He’s very competitive. So, I do expect change, but how much is a better question for the boss.”
The man behind the bench won’t change, though.
Eakins will return for the 2022-23 season.
“I love this organization,” he said. “It truly feels like home to me. A lot of my family values match up with the Samuelis’ family values. We’ve got a lot of investment, whether it’s been in San Diego or here, with the players, the fans and the community. So, I’m excited to be back to continue on this journey.”
Eakins referred to Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli.
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