Anaheim Ducks Expert Panel: Who Should Replace Randy Carlyle?

Jonathan Maxfield — Contributor, Pucks of a Feather

Who do I think the Anaheim Ducks next coach should be? I’ll be honest, I don’t think many are going to agree with my answer. I don’t think Dallas Eakins is the answer. I think he might be a decent coach, but his style still bleeds shots and I’m not convinced that will fly at the NHL level. His game would be much more entertaining than the games we have now, but winning should take precedence over how flashy they look while winning.

I also don’t think Joel Quenneville is a likely option. He’s a great coach, but he’s very expensive and in addition to that, if we do take on a coach like Quenneville, it’s very possible the team will end up in the doldrums that teams like Detroit and Chicago are in, where they forewent a rebuild in favor of milking every last bit of contention out of their teams.

It’s admirable, but a team like the Anaheim Ducks can’t forego a long period of terrible play. They’re not in a big enough market to be sustainable in that type of situation. I am also not a big fan of Rikard Grönborg being hired at this point in time as head coach.

Do I think he’ll make a marvelous head coach at some point in time? Yes. Do I think a couple of seasons as an assistant coach, in order to acclimate to the NHL style of game, would do him wonders? Also, yes. So, I wouldn’t be in favor of rushing him into a position on a team he’s not comfortable with, even if it will very likely come back to haunt us in the long run.

So, who? Who might be the answer? I have two answers. One is currently unemployed and the other is an AHL coach. The unemployed’s name is familiar with Quenneville. That would be Kevin Dinnen. A hard-nosed coach who is a very straight shooter is something that I think would be beneficial to a team like the Ducks. He’s not afraid to hold players accountable and, while that’s a slippery slope, it’s one that I think could be beneficial.

Dineen was hired as the head coach of the Florida Panthers back in 2011. He led the Panthers to their first, and only, a division title. He brought the New Jersey Devils to Game 7, all with a team who was led in scoring by Tomas Fleischmann. Outside of that, they didn’t really have any talent.

The Panthers didn’t fare well the following season, but that was a lockout season, which is synonymous with weird results. He was fired about a month into his second full season while at the helm for the Panthers. He’s been behind the Blackhawks bench as an assistant coach until his firing a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and a little tidbit of information. He also coached Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry during their stint in the AHL and lit up the league.

The AHL coach is one that I think would be difficult to pry away, but that is Sheldon Keefe. Quite possibly the best blue-chip prospect as far as head coaches go. Coach of the defending Calder Cup champions, he has a staggering .657% win percentage as head coach of the Marlies, entering the 2018-19 season. He did this all without a ridiculously stacked team.

They had talent, but not talent that would have you say, “wow, what a team!” No team has pried him from his job with the Marlies yet, but if Murray could be the one to do it, I think he would be the absolute best possible pickup as a coach. He’s an analytics style coach which I think Murray might not go for. That is the biggest downside, but if I had to pick anyone in the league to hire as a coach, Keefe would be the one.