Yahoo Sports Pat Verbeek speaks from Ducks training camp
On Friday morning, general manager Pat Verbeek addressed the media ahead of the 2024-25 season. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
You said before free agency that what you wanted to happen and what was going to happen would be two different things. Is that kind of what it was?
“Yeah, pretty much. We took some swings and unfortunately, we don’t get the final say in it all. But, I’m happy, overall. We were in there until the end and it didn’t work out, so we pivoted and made some other moves to bring (Brian) Dumoulin and (Robby) Fabbri in.”
When you don’t connect on one of those swings, is it one of those things where you think, “Let’s only use the cap space on a big name and not use this (cap) space on guys that would be lower in the lineup” or something of that nature?
“When I go through this process, term is obviously a thing. Cap space, as you’ve mentioned, we have lots. That is something we’re constantly monitoring because, at some point in the next two to three years, that could change. So, we’re obviously very protective of it until we need to be aggressive. I wanted to be aggressive, but sometimes things don’t work out for good reasons. I know this group is really excited. There’s good energy and I think moving forward, they know what they expect from (head coach Greg Cronin) now. I think the whole group is prepared to make a jump.”
Related: Anaheim Ducks Name Radko Gudas the Ninth Captain in Franchise History
What is the process when naming a captain?
“It goes through different things. You go through and canvas the locker room. You want to see how his teammates felt about him. You do that with all the leaders. It wasn’t an easy decision to pick Radko (Gudas to be the next captain). We had a lot of good candidates, which is a good thing. In the end, a difficult decision became Radko. I think the team is very happy with the decision as well. At some point, there has to be a single voice that can take charge in the locker room and I felt that Radko could be that guy.”
How much of that has been a reflection of how he’s evolved as a player and a person?
“I’ve known Radko for a long time. When Steve (Yzerman) and I were in Tampa, we drafted him. So we’d known him for a long time. Radko plays with emotion, he’s an emotional leader. We’re a young team. I thought that was important for our team. One of the great things about Radko is it doesn’t matter what team he plays for, his teammates love him. And I think that was an incredible asset to have as a leader.”
You look at what he and (Lukáš) Dostál accomplished at the World Championships, winning gold and the way they did it with a defense and goaltender-focused approach. How do you think that carries over for both the player and the team when they come back?
“I think it gives some great confidence. It also gives you that pedigree—even though it’s only like a three-week tournament—that you’re a winner at the end of the day. You go through certain aspects or certain situations when you’re going through that process to understand things that you need to do to win. I think it was a really good thing for (Dostál). Gudas lost in the (Stanley Cup Final) a year before, so he’s been around winning programs. (Winning gold) is putting the cherry on the sundae for Gudas and it was a great thing for Dostál.”
Related: Ducks' Dostal and Gudas Win Gold at World Championship, Lundestrom Wins Bronze
As far as free agency, you laid out pretty clear goals heading into that period. Are you satisfied with what happened with the bottom-6 and is a top-4 or top-6 acquisition for the defense still in the works?
“I think we’ve become a deeper team. Adding Fabbri, Fabbri is another player I know from when I was in Detroit. I think of Dumoulin as well, we’ve gotten deeper. We don’t have to give certain players all the hard roles, we can allow them to transition into roles a lot easier and they don’t have to face the hard and tough competition every single shift when they go out there.”
What are your realistic expectations for this team? Make the playoffs? Be in the hunt?
"Well, for me, I laid out before the end of the year: I want us to be playing meaningful games and be in the hunt to make the playoffs. That's the goal. I believe we have the team that can do it. We lost a lot of games by one goal (last season). For me, having a relentless attitude going into this season is what I hope can turn these one-goal losses into one-goal victories."
You mentioned that this is a full offseason with Greg (Cronin) and they will know more of what to expect from now on. What are those things specifically that you want to see more of in the second year under him?
"Overall, probably a consistency. When you have young players in the lineup, we made mistakes––probably at the wrong time of the game. There were probably four or five instances where we lost the game in the last two minutes of the game, where we were tied. (Those are) opportunities for us to win. Those are maturity things and consistency things. Based on that, more consistency throughout our game with our game plan and how we play defensively and offensively."
No one wants to use injuries as an excuse, but there weren't many times when you had all your best players on the ice together.
"There are other teams that go through that, but, for us, it was probably a little more visual in the sense that (Trevor) Zegras wasn't there for a long time. (Mason McTavish) was out for a long time, (Pavel) Mintyukov was out for a while. Some of the guys that were younger players and played missed a lot of time. They're good players out of our lineup. You can overcome when one's out. But when three of them are out of the lineup, it starts making a difference.
I think the other thing is I think our players in San Diego (in the AHL) are more prepared to really challenge for a spot too. I think there's going to be guys who don't make the team that are going to be knocking on the door to make the team. I don't think it's going to be as detrimental if we do run into a few injuries here and there. We're going to be able to call players up that are ready to play in the NHL."
What has Cutter (Gauthier's) offseason been like and what do you expect from him going forward?
"He's a really good player. The NHL is a hard league. My thinking is conservative things. I think one of the things college players go through––you can talk to Jackson LaCombe about it––is 82 games is completely different than playing 35 to 37. So, that's a completely different thing. But, I know Cutter trained hard in the offseason, he's put on probably 10 to 12 pounds which is going to help him go through physical rigors a lot better than what he had to face in college.
Now, it's just a matter of getting through (the entire season). By January, how are you feeling? How's the mind feeling? How's the body feeling? I went through it as a 19-year-old, so I know what it's like and I can speak to the players about it because I went through it myself. I'm expecting good things from him, but if they don't occur, I know it's just a matter of time before they will. I'm not worried about him."
Any plan to manage his games like what you did with Leo (Carlsson last season)?
"No, because it was a completely different situation. Cutter's two years older, he's just at a different spot in his career. No, I don't see that at all."
Speaking of Leo (Carlsson), the game management plan that you guys did in the first half of last season––he ended up getting hurt, but were you satisfied with the way it went?
"Yeah, absolutely. I'm more than pleased and so I wouldn't be shy to do it again if the situation or scenario presents itself that way. I'm more than happy with how it turned out and wouldn't be afraid to try it again. I think it's important if you think that the player's more than capable of playing in the NHL but just lacks that strength from a maturity standpoint, I wouldn't be afraid to do it again. Leo's made unbelievable strides this year in his strength, so I'm really excited about that and I expect him to be a really good player for us.
I was very pleased with our entire group overall with our fitness and conditioning. I think it's going to allow us to be more diligent in how we play physically and (we'll able to) win (more) puck battles."
Are there any updates on the injuries to Beckett Sennecke, Nathan Gaucher and Pavel Mintyukov?
"They're working their way back. Nathan's probably a little closer than Beckett and Pavel. Within two weeks, I see him participating in the team group."
Is there any chance that Sennecke will get a look at the beginning of the regular season?
"We're just going to take it one day at a time in that scenario."
It looks like Mason McTavish got bigger and stronger during the offseason. When do you think he can take the next step?
"(Last season) was a very good learning year for (McTavish). There are things he's got now defensively. He was hurt quite a bit. I think he would have had a really good season had he not been hurt, had he been able to play 80 games. He ended up having a decent season with the amount of time that he played. He just has to continue to become a really solid player and a complete player at both ends and he'll be a great contributor to our hockey team."
(Brian) Dumoulin was one of your additions (this offseason). He's on an expiring deal, but how much can he give a boost to this defensive corps?
"I'm looking at him as being a really good mentor to our young guys. We can kind of plop him with some of our offensive defensemen and he'll be kind of the steady stay-at-home guy. That's kind of how I see it right now. (Cronin) may have different ideas and that we're going to be more aggressive with our pinching and try to have a lot better puck possession in the offensive zone. That may materialize as training camp goes along. Dumoulin, I hear nothing but great things about his character and the person that he is and I think he's going to be awesome for our young guys."
Are you going to be using Dumoulin on both sides or will he be on his strong side (left side)?
"He'll be left (side). I haven't seen him play on the right side ever. We've got other guys, left-handed shots that might have to slide over there that are used to playing over there. At some point, we'll see how it goes, but I don't anticipate him playing on his off-side."
McTavish and Dostál will be RFAs at the end of this upcoming season. Are there any plans to have discussions throughout the season with them?
"We'll take our time on that. We haven't really started thinking about that yet, but we'll lay a plan out for when we'll start talking about all that stuff. To me, that's far down the road and we've got to get training camp and a few games under our belt before you even start thinking about that."
Some new additions to the coaching staff this season: Tim Army, Peter Budaj and Rich Clune. Talk about the decision-making that went into those additions.
"Tim Army has been around a long time, has a lot of experience. I think Rich Clune is a really bright hockey mind, lots of energy. I want a lot more energy coming from the coaching group and I think he'll be able to provide that very well. What I liked in talking with Peter Budaj is he's played (in the NHL). He's played and he understands the entire perspective of being a pro goaltender. He'll be able to relate really well to both of our goalies. He's a very positive guy, good energy, very smart and he's got a unique background that I think he's going to be able to share with our goaltenders some of the adversity that he's gone through. I think that's going to help from a mental perspective for our goaltenders when things get hard."
Related: Ducks finalize 2024-25 coaching staff
You mentioned San Diego a couple of times, in what ways have you seen (Gulls head coach) Matt McIlvane prepare this young group for this next step and into camp this year?
"I think Matt and (Cronin) are on the same page. Pretty much all of the same principles (in Anaheim) are being implemented in San Diego. Some of the players that come from junior have habits that aren't going to fly in the NHL and I think Matt's done a wonderful, excellent job in communicating that to some of those players. I think they've really taken to it well and some of those guys are going to be knocking on the door for jobs, so that's a really good thing for us."
Rodwin Dionicio was expected to play in Switzerland this upcoming season and then you guys made the decision that he'll play in North America this season instead. What went into that decision?
"We were happy with how he came. He made big strides. That deal in Switzerland was just kind of to protect himself in case we didn't sign him, but we got down to it. He ended up winning the Memorial Cup and was a driving force for that team. We loved his offensive hockey sense and mind. There are other things that he obviously needs to work on in the (defensive) zone, but, overall, I think we're very happy with how he progressed and how he took his job seriously. So, that led to us signing him."
Related: Ducks' Dionicio is ready for next step in path to the NHL
