(Irvine) Head coach Dallas Eakins won’t be back with the Anaheim Ducks after four straight seasons where the National Hockey League team has posted losing records.
The Ducks announced the news in a press release on Friday.
Less than 24 hours after the Ducks (23-47-12) finished the campaign in last place in the league’s overall standings, general manager Pat Verbeek announced that Eakins will not be continuing the process of rebuilding the team.
Eakins’ contract expired at the end of the season and the Ducks will not renew it.
During his four seasons in charge of the team, Eakins posted an overall record of 100-147-44. He was appointed to the position in 2019 after leading the Ducks’ farm club in San Diego in the American League.
Eakins, who also coached the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL, came into the role shortly before the Ducks declined. The California squad went from a perennial NHL powerhouse in the 2010s to a rebuilding club that scored 58 points, the worst total in franchise history in an 82-game season, in 2022-23 .
“This was a very difficult decision to make, which follows extensive and considerable thought,” Verbeek said in a statement.
“At the end of the day, I just think a new perspective and a new voice will benefit the team. »
In the four seasons that Eakins has been at the helm of the team, the Ducks have never been able to do better than a sixth-place finish in the Pacific Division. They missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, a record in team history.
