Ducks Rumors

The Anaheim Ducks are one of the teams that still need to make a decision on who will be their next general manager, and initial interviews have been completed according to Pierre LeBrun on last night’s Insider Trading segment.

What we’re being told is that the Ducks have wrapped up the first round of interviews. They’ve interviewed ten candidates, three in house that we’ve discussed before. Two of the external candidates are Pat Verbeek, assistant GM from Detroit and Ryan Martin, assistant GM from the New York Rangers. The Ducks plan to start second interviews shortly here, they should have a GM in place over the next month. 

Jeff Solomon, who currently serves as the interim GM of the team is one of the internal candidates for the full-time job and certainly has his plate full at the moment. Not only is the team searching for a new leader, but preparation will need to begin for the March trade deadline. The Ducks are one of the most interesting teams in the league to watch as that deadline approaches, given their mix of high-end players on expiring contracts and surprising early-season success.

Once again last night Trevor Zegras wowed the world with an impressive show of skill, scoring a lacrosse-style goal with ease partway through the second period. It was the first of two goals he would tally last night, enough to lead the Ducks to victory over the Montreal Canadiens despite a third-period push.

It’s that success that will complicate things for Solomon and whoever takes over as the new GM. Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell, and Josh Manson all present opportunities to secure shiny new draft picks and prospects, but are also part of the backbone of a team that is currently in second place in the Pacific Division. With that in mind, getting a general manager in place sooner rather than later seems prudent.

The Anaheim Ducks are one of the teams in the NHL still without a full-time general manager. After Bob Murray’s resignation earlier this season, Jeff Solomon is working as an interim GM, though he’s also a candidate in their current search. That search has reached the interview stage, and whoever is eventually selected for the position will have some difficult decisions to make.

The Ducks woke up yesterday on a four-game losing streak and had won just twice since Christmas. That stretch had erased much of the early season success the team had experienced and meant they were unable to pull away from some other Pacific Division teams that had also been through recent struggles.

In his column yesterday, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote that no decision had been made on what direction the Ducks will take at the trade deadline. The team has some of the most impressive rental options in the league should they decide to sell them, including Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson.

If Anaheim is waiting to see what kind of performance they have over the next several weeks, they certainly got off to a good start. The Ducks picked apart the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, defeating them 5-1 on the back of a strong performance from John Gibson.

That’s the kind of game that makes the Ducks’ deadline strategy so interesting. At times, they’ve shown an ability to compete with the best teams in the league, relying on a strong defense, exceptional goalie, and forward group dotted with impressive young talents. Trevor Zegras, the club’s uber-skilled sophomore, will be at the All-Star Weekend to show off his hands and creativity in the Breakaway Challenge despite not being selected for the actual game.

But there is also real value in selling off some of those expiring contracts, especially if further negotiations aren’t going to happen in the next few months. Extensions for all three would seem unlikely at this point, though LeBrun does write that he guesses the team will circle back to Manson at some point.

When considering the future of the Ducks, Zegras, All-Star Troy Terry, top prospect Mason McTavish, and rookie blueliner Jamie Drysdale stand out as the main pieces to build around. In fact, only Cam Fowler and Gibson are signed past the 2023-24 season, meaning whichever candidate lands the GM job will have the flexibility to shape the entire roster. That shape starts with the decision of whether to buy or sell at this deadline, a decision that could have ripples for years to come.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported today that the Anaheim Ducks have started the process of interviewing internal options to fill the general manager position, currently filled by assistant GM Jeff Solomon. LeBrun named Solomon, Dave Nonis, and Martin Madden as the candidates they’ve interviewed.

The position opened up last November when Bob Murray, their GM of 12 years, resigned from the club to enter a treatment program for alcohol abuse.

The 64-year-old Solomon is actually in his first year with the Ducks organization. He was named assistant general manager and VP of hockey operations this past summer after a 14-year career with Los Angeles’ hockey operations department.

Nonis is the only one of the named candidates who have general manager experience in the NHL. He was the GM of the Vancouver Canucks from 2004 to 2008 and the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2012 to 2015. He’s worked in the NHL since 1998 and has been with Anaheim ever since departing Toronto in 2015.

Madden was also mentioned as a prospective candidate for Montreal’s GM vacancy, but those rumors have since cooled. The Québec City native was Anaheim’s director of amateur scouting from 2008 to 2020 before transitioning to his role as assistant general manager.

LeBrun mentions that Anaheim hasn’t yet begun the process of interviewing external candidates, but that should begin soon. He also notes that they haven’t yet reached out to the Tampa Bay Lightning for permission to interview their assistant general manager, Mathieu Darche, who’s one of the hotter candidates on the managerial market.