Pucks of a Feather
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Anaheim Ducks: Buy, Try, Sigh, or Cry — Trade Deadline Edition

By Jonathan Maxfield

ANAHEIM, CA - FEBRUARY 15: Jakob Silfverberg #33 of the Anaheim Ducks chats with Corey Perry #10 before a face-off during the game against the Boston Bruins on February 15, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - FEBRUARY 15: Jakob Silfverberg #33 of the Anaheim Ducks chats with Corey Perry #10 before a face-off during the game against the Boston Bruins on February 15, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 09: Head Coach Dallas Eakins of the Edmonton Oilers follows the action from the bench during the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 9, 2014 in New York City. The Edmonton Oilers won 3-1. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Rumor 2: Eakins the Heir Apparent Behind the Bench

The second rumor will more than likely come to fruition following the season of “Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, General Manager, and Interim Head Coach” Bob Murray’s tenure behind the bench. The result of him firing Randy Carlyle will probably be the promotion of Dallas Eakins during the off-season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Ducks find their next head coach to be someone who’s currently in the system.

Eakins has been the head coach of the San Diego Gulls for the past 4 seasons, and he’s been fairly impressive in his stint as an AHL head coach. In his 7 seasons as a head coach in the AHL, 4 years in Toronto, and the past 3 seasons in San Diego, Eakins has been to the playoffs 4 times, making it to at least the second round each time.

The other 3 years he did not make the playoffs but hovered around a .500 record. His tenure as an NHL head coach is less noteworthy, posting a “yikes” inducing 36-63-14 record in a season and a half behind the bench in Edmonton (But to be fair… It is Edmonton, so does it really fall on him?)

Rumor Rating: Buy

This one gets a low “Buy” from me; I think it’s going to happen, but the best reaction I can muster for the possibility of it happening is “meh?” I think Eakins deserves another shot in the NHL. He’s done a good job in San Diego, but I’m not certain he’s exactly a game-changing coach. My reasoning for this is relatively simple.

The teams he coaches don’t seem to reach another level with him behind the bench. What I mean by this is if you look at the records of the teams he coaches, the win percentage is relatively unchanged from the first season he takes over in comparison to the coach who preceded him, and it’s relatively unchanged by the coach who succeeds him.

For instance, Eakins was hired by the Marlies to coach for the 2009-10 season. The previous season (2008-09) the Marlies were 39-29-5-7 for a .563 point percentage. The first season Eakins was coaching the Marlies managed a 33-35-6-6 record for a .488 Point Percentage, the second worse season by the Marlies from 2005 until the present.

He stepped it up the following season and got them to a .531, which is still not any better than the previous coach in his last season. The next two years he was a .632, which is definitely solid. So, what about after he left?

Well, the first season after he left the Marlies had an identical point percentage to his last season at the helm (.632) but the kicker, the 2013-14 Marlies actually won more games than they did during Eakins last season at the helm. The year after that they dipped slightly to .586, still respectable and better than half of Eakins records. After that, they posted an incredible .750.

So what about in the NHL? Well, that paints an even uglier picture. In his season and a half at the helm in Edmonton, the Oilers dipped from .451 and .469 seasons the two years before Eakins got there to .409 in his first season. His second season where he was only there for half a season, they posted a .306 point percentage. Which would have been the worst point percentage in the history of the franchise if he was not fired and replaced by Craig MacTavish and Todd Nelson who improved it slightly to a .378.

Simply put, Eakins deserves a second chance, I’m just not sold that it’s going to pan out the way Ducks fans want. Nothing about Eakins coaching resume says he has a history of making his teams better, more-so he just keeps the status quo or, worst case, makes them worse. Nevertheless, it seems almost an inevitability at this point that Eakins is next in line, even if I’d rather see others in that role. Sheldon Keefe, Rickard Grönberg, and Kevin Dineen are my top 3.

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