Eakins seeks patience during rebuild
The Ducks’ rebuilding process, or transition as they like to call it, has been long and painful, and it’s not likely to end soon enough for anyone involved. The Ducks were last in the West Division and secondto-last in the NHL’s overall standings going into Friday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
What’s more, improvement has been incremental, at best, frequently clouded by a steady stream of defeats. Flashes of success have been just that, flashes, through the first 34 games of the pandemic-shortened 56-game season.
“When you’re a team in transition, when you’re rebuilding, it’s not for the faint of heart,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “Everyone, to a man, wants this to go fast. I want it to go fast. “GM Bob Murray” wants it to go fast. Our fan base wants it to go fast. The reality is it takes a high level of patience and it’s hard to do.”
“That’s part of the deal,” Eakins said. “It’s not just a young player learning about the league and learning about his teammates, it’s Adam Henrique learning where Trevor (Zegras) is going to be or what his habits are. It’s Troy Terry learning the same thing.
“I think that’s why it’s so important for everyone just to be patient. We’ve got other guys like (Max) Comtois, and now you see Terry really getting his feet underneath him. (Isac) Lundestrom is making great strides. They all have a long way to go and you see how much time that is taking.”
Forging an identity has been difficult, and not for only this season. When they were winning consistently and considered to be an elite team, the Ducks were a difficult team to play against. They controlled the puck, physically punished opponents and forced them into mistakes with a strong forecheck.
Catching up with a fasterpaced and more skillful league has been an ongoing battle since the Ducks’ last playoff appearance in 201718. They began this season relying heavily on goaltending and tight defensive play, then opened up offensively and paid the price in the form of several one-sided defeats.
Recently, they’ve returned to a more defensiveoriented game plan.
“We might have gotten ahead of ourselves,” Eakins said. “You want to turn this around so fast for everyone, for the players, for the fans. We really buckled down. Our whole mindset was we’re going to win 1-0. At some point, you can’t just keep doing that. You’ve got to really chip away and try to instill an offensive mindset, too.
“We might have gotten a little ahead of ourselves there.”