Analyzing the good and bad of the Pat Verbeek era

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek was recently given a multi-year extension, which the team announced on April 10th after a dominate 6-1 over the San Jose Sharks. The mandate from Verbeek all season, has been for the Ducks to make the playoffs. While the team has struggled mightily lately and stumbled backwards into a playoff spot, thanks in large part to a weak Pacific Division, the Ducks are finally in the playoffs after an eight-year absence. Every NHL GM has swings and misses in their tenure and Verbeek is no different. Here's a look at the good and the bad from Anaheim's tough manager.

The good

Finally making the playoffs

In the early to mid 2010s. the Ducks were perennial cup contenders and won five consecutive Pacific Division titles in the process. Powered by the duo of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, with Teemu Selanne always signing for one more year to chase down that elusive second Stanley Cup, the Ducks came close but never got a ticket to the final dance. By the time the Ducks got swept by the San Jose Sharks in the opening round of the 2018 playoffs, it seemed like the contention window had closed and changes were afoot.

After taking over for the maligned and embarrassing Bob Murray in 2022, Verbeek had started the tough process of tearing down the Ducks to the studs. Years of suffering from the fan base has finally paid off, as Verbeek made good on his preseason mandate; the Ducks are in the postseason with a new young core.

Hiring Joel Quenneville

If there was one maddeningly annoying point of contention with previous seasons of Ducks coaching, the lack of ice time for the young core was at the top of the list. Enter Quenneville during this past offseason and his multiple Stanley Cup rings. While Verbeek may have hired his old friend, Quenneville was one of the best candidates on the market and had a proven resume of taking a young core to the next level., as he did with the Chicago Blackhawks. The simplest and easiest approach was to let the young stars play more. While there have been some bumps and warts along the way, Quenneville has at least let young players such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke play in more high-leverage roles, allowing them to take the necessary steps in their development.

The Gauthier trade

Sending Jamie Drysdale to the Philadelphia Flyers, in exchange for Gauthier seemed like a win-win at the time. Flash forward to today and even Verbeek might be doubtful of how well the trade has worked in the Ducks' favor. Gauthier has quickly become the team's best sniper and became the first Duck skater to cross the 40-goal threshold, since Perry was on the team. Gauthier is sixth in the entire NHL in shots on net with 279 and is scoring at almost a goal per game rate with 0.91.

Capable veteran talent

Verbeek has attempted to insulate the young core of the Ducks with some capable veteran talent. Mikael Granlund has been a Swiss army knife in deployment, as he can be played throughout the lineup as either a center or a winger and captained Team Finland in the Winter Olympics. Jacob Trouba has played alongside Jackson LaCombe for the top defensive pair, which has allowed the younger LaCombe to thrive with a more responsible defensive partner. Chris Kreider may have cooled off recently, but he is always a net front menace with his ability to tip pucks, especially on the powerplay. John Carlson was the latest addition and has brought over his offensive creativity and given the Ducks defense an extra playmaking wrinkle. Even the often-hated captain, Radko Gudas, can at least play on the third pair and answer the bell when the time comes.

The bad

Hiring Joel Quenneville

For all of the accolades that Quenneville brings to the on-ice performance of the Ducks, the stench of his past transgressions is something that some fans cannot reconcile with and understandably so. And the dichotomy of rooting for the success of your favorite team. who also employs someone who goes against your moral values, can be frustrating. How do you separate the success of the current team with what happened in the past? It's something every Ducks fan has to work through on their own, but fans should never have been put in that position to begin with.

The Greg Cronin experience

What an absolute waste of time. The Cronin tenure as Ducks head coach was two years of dump and chase and watching the young core sit on the bench, while veterans took up all the ice time. Spare us the soliloquy about how the Ducks made a 21 point jump in the standings in year two. The team was still a tire fire, especially on the defensive side. Lukas Dostal covered up a lot of those mistakes with Vezina quality goaltending. The Ducks would be much closer to their contention window, if not for the waste of those two seasons.

Trading Trevor Zegras

Between injuries, friction with the previous coaching staff, and a drawn-out contract dispute, Verbeek traded Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers for what amounted to Ryan Poehling. While Poehling has been good for the Ducks, Zegras has thrived with the Flyers scoring a career high 67 points (26 goals, 41 assists) in 81 games. In hindsight, this might be a trade Verbeek would want to take back, as Mason McTavish has struggled to fill the role of second line center this season and the Ducks could definitely use a skater with more offensive upside.

Failing to hit a home run

With all due respect to the veterans Verbeek has brought onto the team, none of them have been that true game-breaking talent the Ducks so desperately need. The old regime of the Stanely Cup days understood this and brought in Chris Pronger to put the team over the top. While this current iteration of the Ducks may not be a Pronger-like talent away from winning a Stanley Cup, the team has the assets to make a similar move. We aren't talking about old talent like Steven Stamkos, but younger and more in their prime, which could align with the Ducks young core. Before this season's trade deadline, we looked at some possible candidates and even some very unlikely, but fun options. While the value of trade assets like McTavish or an Olen Zellweger have cratered, the Ducks still have a massive pipeline of prospects to pull from.

Final thoughts

As the Ducks have limped into the postseason, the immediate future for the team may look rather short lived with playoff success. However, with the right trade, Verbeek could set up the Ducks for deeper playoff runs in seasons to come. Now, he has a couple years to prove that he is the right choice to guide the Ducks to the promised land.

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