Ben Shelley: Ducks limping to the finish line after disappointing homestand

Why this would matter, since it was a foregone conclusion, but the Ducks have folded their tents ever since they were eliminated from the playoffs. There are a few guys out there still trying but most of those are forwards. I can't see them winning another game this season. The only "winnable" one would be against the Coyotes but they've been playing well at the Mullet. This is going to get especially ugly if Zegras and Terry don't return. It's been hilarious seeing Derek Grant and Jacob Silfverberg get significant PP time.
No, the only real positive is this should be the end of Dallas Eakins' Ducks coaching tenure. While I will be glad he is no longer the coach of the Ducks, I really hope GMPV fires Sommer in San Diego and gets Eakins back in San Diego where I believe he belongs. Despite Eakins' ineptitude at coaching any kind of a defensive system, he is really good at motivating kids and getting them ready for the NHL. The Gulls have been even worse than the Ducks this year, so wholesale coaching changes should be the first order of business for GMPV once the season is mercifully over.

Why this would matter, since it was a foregone conclusion, but the Ducks have folded their tents ever since they were eliminated from the playoffs. There are a few guys out there still trying but most of those are forwards. I can't see them winning another game this season. The only "winnable" one would be against the Coyotes but they've been playing well at the Mullet. This is going to get especially ugly if Zegras and Terry don't return. It's been hilarious seeing Derek Grant and Jacob Silfverberg get significant PP time.
No, the only real positive is this should be the end of Dallas Eakins' Ducks coaching tenure. While I will be glad he is no longer the coach of the Ducks, I really hope GMPV fires Sommer in San Diego and gets Eakins back in San Diego where I believe he belongs. Despite Eakins' ineptitude at coaching any kind of a defensive system, he is really good at motivating kids and getting them ready for the NHL. The Gulls have been even worse than the Ducks this year, so wholesale coaching changes should be the first order of business for GMPV once the season is mercifully over.
- duxcup07

I think many of us were wrong in the offensive output category. However when it became apparent that Verbeek was okay with “that” defensive core, it was obvious we would bleed goals. He also zapped the team from a physicality aspect, which is a much, MUCH bigger deal than people realize. That’s how you wear down teams. That’s a big part in not chasing the game all season. I give credit to Verbeek for picking a direction and going with it. However he deserves major criticism for the team he put on the ice this year. He did not put his young pieces in a spot to succeed. That defense was basically an “F you” to his goalies. His deadline just iced the cake for his god awful performance this year. He’s still new so I’ll give him time, but it’s not just the team who had a disastrous year, he and Eakins did as well.

Honestly I think Eakins needs to go outright. Clean house top to bottom. Instill new people and get a whole new strategy/game plan out there. PV needs to follow in the footsteps of Ron Francis and go to town on his roster in the offseason and re-invent the team around key players and figure out how to do something to shore up things on that backend.

That game live was just frustrating to watch in December vs Nashville. So many chances the Preds had in around the front of the net and Gibson getting utterly shelled all the time. That and just turnovers for no reason other than just being sloppy and trying to force things.

It's going to be an important offseason to reshape this team that is for sure.

Honestly I think Eakins needs to go outright. Clean house top to bottom. Instill new people and get a whole new strategy/game plan out there. PV needs to follow in the footsteps of Ron Francis and go to town on his roster in the offseason and re-invent the team around key players and figure out how to do something to shore up things on that backend.

That game live was just frustrating to watch in December vs Nashville. So many chances the Preds had in around the front of the net and Gibson getting utterly shelled all the time. That and just turnovers for no reason other than just being sloppy and trying to force things.

It's going to be an important offseason to reshape this team that is for sure.
- Roadrunner75

Baby Z / Lineau / Mintyukov / Warren should all be on the backend next yr. Really have worse. Could they be then the crap that we rolled out this year?
They all have nothing left to prove in Jr.

Helleson also / some FA signings up front and let’s go.

Coaching changes are needed top to bottom. Friedman has Matt McIlvane who is currently coaching Red Bull Salzburg in Austria on PV’s short list for San Diego. His team made it to playoffs last year and they’re 33-12-3 this year.

Ducks are totally stocked with D prospects. Baby Z, Mintyukov, Hinds, Helleson, LaCombe, Luneau, Warren, Ian Moore (Thrun’s D partner at Harvard). It’s almost scary how stacked they are.

Fowler, Drysdale, and Benoit will be on the roster in September. In a perfect world Benoit would be the 6/7 guy, but he’ll probably get top 4 minutes. The Ducks won’t start the season with 4 rookies on D, so watch for PV to sign at least one veteran FA which leaves 3 roster spots for those 8 guys to fight for. And Colton White will still be around on a 2-way deal.

All of the D prospects are AHL eligible except for Warren and Luneau (misses the 20th birthday cutoff by 12 days). I think a couple guys on that list above might start the season in Anaheim if they’re physically ready, but the bulk of that list will play down to AHL and CHL to start the season. No one will get a roster spot because they’re a ‘hot prospect’. They’ll have to earn it. And I won’t be surprised if PV ships out one or two of those guys for a potential goal scorer at some point.

Coaching changes are needed top to bottom. Friedman has Matt McIlvane who is currently coaching Red Bull Salzburg in Austria on PV’s short list for San Diego. His team made it to playoffs last year and they’re 33-12-3 this year.

Ducks are totally stocked with D prospects. Baby Z, Mintyukov, Hinds, Helleson, LaCombe, Luneau, Warren, Ian Moore (Thrun’s D partner at Harvard). It’s almost scary how stacked they are.

Fowler, Drysdale, and Benoit will be on the roster in September. In a perfect world Benoit would be the 6/7 guy, but he’ll probably get top 4 minutes. The Ducks won’t start the season with 4 rookies on D, so watch for PV to sign at least one veteran FA which leaves 3 roster spots for those 8 guys to fight for. And Colton White will still be around on a 2-way deal.

All of the D prospects are AHL eligible except for Warren and Luneau (misses the 20th birthday cutoff by 12 days). I think a couple guys on that list above might start the season in Anaheim if they’re physically ready, but the bulk of that list will play down to AHL and CHL to start the season. No one will get a roster spot because they’re a ‘hot prospect’. They’ll have to earn it. And I won’t be surprised if PV ships out one or two of those guys for a potential goal scorer at some point.
- hardenx

Call the pens on Jake Guentzel - 2 D prospects not named Baby Z / Pavel / Warren or Luneau and a 2nd & Comtois and let’s rock -

Jake / Mason / TT
Nesterenko / Z / Fantilli
Jones / Isac / Rico
Regenda / RS / Frankie V

Cam / Jamie
Baby Z / Warren
Benoit / Luneau -
Pavel

This season was going to be bad no matter what. There so many little things that need to be fixed. But I am really looking forward to next year. Really trying to win . All the Data right now is bad. Some games the Ducks try harder than others. So I really can't take this season seriously. Its like I'm watching preseason games. These games just don't count. And I'm smart enough not to make opinions on bad information.

As far as Eakins goes I'm not mad at him. I'm not sure what he could have done. If he started with teaching defense the results would have been faster. But you can't neglect offense either. But the circumstances say we need a new coach. Just wipe the slate clean. Hopefully the new coach is someone experienced and has a balanced approach to hockey. After the draft if we get a top 3 pick, then the team should be more of a attractive job. I'm just hoping it's not that Russian forward Michkov the Ducks draft. He seems like Daniel Sprong 2.0 . Although he's more talented than Sprong. I think Michkov gonna take a long time to adjust to the NHL style of play.

This season was going to be bad no matter what. There so many little things that need to be fixed. But I am really looking forward to next year. Really trying to win . All the Data right now is bad. Some games the Ducks try harder than others. So I really can't take this season seriously. Its like I'm watching preseason games. These games just don't count. And I'm smart enough not to make opinions on bad information.

As far as Eakins goes I'm not mad at him. I'm not sure what he could have done. If he started with teaching defense the results would have been faster. But you can't neglect offense either. But the circumstances say we need a new coach. Just wipe the slate clean. Hopefully the new coach is someone experienced and has a balanced approach to hockey. After the draft if we get a top 3 pick, then the team should be more of a attractive job. I'm just hoping it's not that Russian forward Michkov the Ducks draft. He seems like Daniel Sprong 2.0 . Although he's more talented than Sprong. I think Michkov gonna take a long time to adjust to the NHL style of play.
- Eman87654

Bedard : Fantilli or Carlsson