Pucks of a Feather
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Gulls Head Coach Dallas Eakins extended by Anaheim Ducks

By Ed Stein

VANCOUVER, BC - OCTOBER 11: Head coach Dallas Eakins of the Edmonton Oilers looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena October 11, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver won 5-4 in a shootout. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - OCTOBER 11: Head coach Dallas Eakins of the Edmonton Oilers looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena October 11, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver won 5-4 in a shootout. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Yesterday, the Anaheim Ducks announced that they have extended the contract of Dallas Eakins. He is the Head Coach of their AHL affiliate in San Diego.

Last season the San Diego Gulls had a challenging season. Key members of the team were called up to the Anaheim Ducks. Even with a shortage of quality talent, coach Dallas Eakins kept his team in contention up to the final weekend. Yesterday, Eakins was rewarded with an extension.

In a statement to the media, Anaheim Ducks General Manager, Bob Murray said:

“Dallas has provided valuable leadership in San Diego since the Gulls arrived over three seasons ago. He has helped create a winning tradition and a successful development program with our AHL affiliate. His contract extension is a testament to that.”

Eakins played parts of 10 NHL seasons with seven different organizations for a total of 120 games. When he finally retired, the Maple Leafs offered him a position as an assistant coach with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. In 2009, Eakins was promoted to head coach of the Marlies.

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As head coach of the Toronto Marlies, Eakins had a record of 157-114-41 (.536). In his last two season behind the Marlies bench, he won two division titles, coached in two all-star games, and won four of six playoff series. Those two series losses were in the Calder Cup finals. His performance earned him an NHL head coaching job with Edmonton in 2013.

Eakins couldn’t find success leading the train wreck that is the Edmonton Oilers. He lasted just under a season and a half as the Oilers bench boss. In 113 games, his record was 36-63-14 (.381) before he was replaced.

Eakins has been a member of the Anaheim Ducks organization since 2015. That’s when Murray appointed him as head coach of the Gulls. Since then, he has a record of 118-71-10-5 (.615).

Pre-Cursor

When news of Eakins extension was announced, our staff at Pucks of a Feather thought it was Murray’s backup plan in case current Anaheim Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle, doesn’t succeed.

Chris Bushell – “Insurance in case they pull the plug on Carlyle mid-season.”

Greg Johnson – “Dallas Eakins is the perfect coach for a young uptempo team. He’s patient while they learn. And he makes the players ready for the next level. This extension is great news for Ducks fans, especially if Randy Carlyle is on as short a leash as it appears. Eakins is ready to step into the Ducks’ head coach role on a moment’s notice.”

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Whether or not this move by Murray is to create a line of succession for the Anaheim coaching job is up in the air. The one thing that is for sure is that Eakins will be there to guide the next group of up and coming Ducks players.

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