Pat Verbeek says woeful Ducks still have ‘some runway to find themselves’
The Anaheim Ducks are in a rebuild. Pat Verbeek is a first-time general manager. Verbecek believes the team has some runway to find themselves. The Ducks have the NHL's worst record at 6-15-1. It took Colorado Avalanche 10 years to win the Stanley Cup and Tampa Bay Lightning about the same amount of time to get there. It's not easy to turn around a team in the modern NHL. There are no easy answers. Ducks fans are upset with the way the franchise is run. They would rather tank this season for a chance at winning the draft lottery. However, Verbek doesn't want to tank.
The Ducks have given up the most goals (93) and have the worst differential (minus-36). Pat Verbeek is not worried about Terry and Zegras picking up bad habits and are regressing. Verbecek thinks the young players still have plenty to learn. “What I worry about and what I care about most is that these players are competing and willing to defend. If they're not willing, then there's issues”
The Anaheim Ducks are struggling. The team's performance has been inconsistent. Verbeek believes the team has some room to improve. The GM believes that the players should be more consistent. He also believes there's a lack of trust in the system. It's not so much from a work ethic standpoint but from mindset and system effort. Out of 32 teams, the power play is 31st and the penalty kill is 32nd. On a team-produced podcast, Verbecek said he thinks the Ducks would be at .500 or near that.
Pat Verbeek signed Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano and John Klingberg as free agents during the summer. He also took on some salary in adding Dmitry Kulikov through trade. None of the additions have made a difference. Klingbergh has been disappointing, scoring eight points in 20 games and having a minus-12 rating. VerBeek wants to see him play a more simplistic game.
The Ducks have had a captain in their history, but they could go without one in 2022-23. Verbeek wants to keep that open for one of the younger core players to earn at some point. McTavish has been mentioned as potential captain material. Terry is eager to be in the leadership group.
John Gibson is 29 and his stats are not very good, but Verbeek is happy with his performance. Ver bemused about Gibson's mental outlook. He is still held in some esteem in the league. He has given the team a chance to win every night. Pat Verbek says the Ducks still have some runway to find themselves.
