With a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night (Nov. 15), the Anaheim Ducks concluded their six-game homestand on a positive note. Good news has been in short supply in Anaheim — four players have gone down with injuries in the last week, while their 2-4 homestand pushed their record to 6-8-2 and a seventh place standing in the Pacific Division.
Despite the recent feel-good victory, there are significant questions surrounding the Ducks and where they stand in their multi-year rebuild. With the lack of on-ice results, head coach Greg Cronin has become one of those questions. Cronin, in his second season as Anaheim’s bench boss, was hired by general manager Pat Verbeek as a first-time NHL head coach. His resume at the lower levels, particularly his work with the US National Team Development Program (USNTDP), was enticing for an upstart club like the Ducks, but he was unproven as a pro-level tactician.
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An inadequate roster could justify his 33-58-7 record, but the lifeless defeats that were a mainstay in the Dallas Eakins era have seeped into year two of the Cronin regime. As head coach, the constant tinkering with the forward lines and poor utilization of the talent at his disposal reflect poorly on him.
Ducks Go Through a Series of Line Changes
One big issue is the team’s lack of cohesive forward lines. Some “forward pairs” have moved around the lineup together — Trevor Zegras and Cutter Gauthier, Troy Terry and Frank Vatrano are two examples — but even that consistency has wavered in recent games. Robby Fabbri’s injury ushered in yet another permutation of the forward lines, with Jansen Harkins drawing in each of the last two contests.
A good way to look at Anaheim’s deployment is through their shared ice time networks, according to HockeyViz. The constant tinkering is apparent, especially compared to a team like the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets are an outlier as the league’s hottest team, but the juxtaposition between the two clubs shows the extra hurdle the Ducks are dealing with when lines are constantly altered.
Ducks Stars No Longer Playing Their Games
Another issue facing the Ducks is the way some of their franchise pillars have been playing. Zegras had three points in 15 games before scoring Anaheim’s second goal Friday night and has seldom looked dangerous. Cronin’s commitment to make Zegras a two-way player has been mentioned frequently, especially as the playmaker’s production has dropped to 19 points in 47 games over the last two seasons.
To his credit, Zegras has made improvements in his own zone, though that could be attributed to the 23-year-old continuing to adjust to the pace of NHL play. He’s now earned the trust of the coaching staff to be on the ice to close out wins, which is a positive development. However, he was drafted ninth overall in 2019 to drive offense and score points. While Anaheim remains a low-scoring team, Zegras’ absence from the scoresheet will ensure those close-out opportunities are few and far between.
Zegras isn’t the only big name in danger of plateauing. Mason McTavish has struggled with penalties in the Cronin era and had racked up 14 penalty minutes in 13 games before his injury. His 8 points are tied for third on the team, but he’s scoring at a slightly lower rate than last season. Additionally, Pavel Mintyukov spent parts of his rookie season looking like he’d develop into a Norris-caliber defenseman and has now lost the top power play job to Olen Zellweger. He and partner Brian Dumoulin appear to be the go-to option for defensive zone faceoffs, a flip from a season ago when nearly half of his draws came in the offensive end.
Ducks Rapidly Reaching the ‘Do Something’ Phase
The Ducks have been rebuilding for six years. Fans have been placated with moves promising a brighter future — high-end draft picks with star potential, a regime change at general manager, and even the logo rebrand have given supporters something to cling onto, but goodwill doesn’t last forever.
Verbeek can’t be satisfied with the on-ice product. During training camp, he envisioned his team playing meaningful games and in the hunt for the playoffs. Whether it’s a significant trade or a coaching change, something needs to be done to signal to Ducks fans the rebuild is heading in the right direction. For Verbeek, inaction is complacency.
The least logistically complex move would be to relieve Cronin of his duties. However, general managers can make only so many hirings and subsequent firings before finding their own job security at risk. Verbeek dragged his feet to make Cronin his first hire by allowing Eakins to see the end of his contract. As a result, I can’t imagine he’s eager to go back on a decision he made less than 18 months ago.
As a former player, he’s no stranger to the locker room atmosphere and is well aware of what a coach who lost their team looks like. In the meantime, Zegras’ emotionless goal celebration Friday night will have to serve as an ominous window into the dynamic between players and coach.
Statistics courtesy of Hockey-Reference. Faceoff data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
