Ducks GM Verbeek Discusses Offseason Moves and Impending Plans for Team
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On the signings of Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano
I think Ryan's going to be a good addition from a couple different angles. From a leadership standpoint, it's gonna be very very important. Obviously, he's a really a really good playmaker and had had a good year scoring goals this year as well. So I think having someone that's very productive offensively and someone that is going to provide really good culture and really good leadership in the locker room was very important for our club. And we addressed that.
Frankie brings a high-energy game. Very hard worker who has the ability to get in the forecheck and create turnovers. He thinks like a shooter. I think one of the things that always used to annoy me last year when I was watching the club was that we didn't shoot the puck enough. We always were looking for the perfect play to put it in the net instead of shooting it. And Frankie will bring that shooter's mentality, which I think is very important moving forward for us. He's had some good years scoring 18 last year and 18 a couple years ago. So he's had some good scoring years, and he will be able to have the ability to go anywhere in the lineup in the top nine and be able to provide scoring. So we addressed that as well.
He's got a really good shot, really good release. I like his mentality and how he approaches the game when he gets into the shooter areas. And in this league, there's a lot of goaltenders, if they stop the first one, there's probably a good chance they're giving up a rebound and then the rebound gets put home. So I want guys thinking shoot more often. And he certainly brings that attitude and mindset to do that on a shift by shift basis.
On what other moves are planned
Well, I'd like to add another forward and we're exploring probably adding another defenseman. So there's two players that we're probably looking to get and making sure that they're a good fit for our team.
On replacing Ryan Getzlaf
Well, we're gonna do it by committee. I think from a leadership standpoint Ryan Strome is an outstanding individual, a highly dedicated athlete that demands nothing but the best from himself. And I think that will certainly translate well to the rest of the group. It's a guy that can teach the Zegrases, Troy Terry and Drysdale and a couple other younger guys that are kind of vying for jobs, what it means to be a pro, being highly conditioned. Your everyday approach when you come on the ice for practice is constant dedication to making sure that you prepare your body and your mind to give your best, not only in practice, but in the games. And that is vital.
On finding a veteran defenseman
I don't know if that's a priority. I want to find someone that's able to take up some minutes, so I'm not exactly sure there's anybody out there at this time that's a veteran and can provide something on the back end yet. We've been looking and there are certain things that maybe we can try. But I have to make sure it's a good fit not only from a contract standpoint, but that the type of player we're bringing in will fit into the culture and the rest of the group. There are free agent defensemen that are out there. Some of them are asking too much term, so I'm looking for more shorter-term defensemen. There are possible trade scenarios, but I'm willing to kind of look at the free agency market before I go to the trade market.
On hiring Craig Johnson as an assistant coach
For Anaheim and Craig Johnson, at some point here over the next couple years, we're gonna start inserting younger players into our lineup. And I don't subscribe to, once you've made the NHL, development time's over. Craig comes with an extensive background in development that was what I was looking for to add to the assistant coaching group. A lot of times coaching staffs get really bogged down with the daily minutia of video and preparing for the next game. And I want to make sure these players who are younger don't miss out on going through video, going through on-ice scenarios, working with Craig after practice on a lot of different elements of their game. So to me, that's going to be an important role for our team moving forward.
On hiring Roy Sommer to coach the San Diego Gulls
I've known Roy for a long time. We actually played together in New Jersey a long time ago. Roy was in the San Jose organization for a long time, he's put a lot of guys into the NHL from his teams. And what I was looking for was really someone that could set the tone, building culture, making these young players men, having them understand the game, the way they're gonna have to play to play at the next level and the commitment and work ethic that goes with that. And I think Roy's gonna be able to really help with all of that.
On the chances of signing collegians Henry Thrun and Jackson LaCombe
Well, there's always a concern. At the end of the day, once they get by a certain time, they're gonna have the ability to decide whether they want to sign with us or go free. So yeah, it's a concern, but we will proceed with trying to sign them, and they are our property until August 15th of next year. So we will continue to give them the reasons why they should stay with the Ducks organization.
On not tendering qualifying offers to Sonny Milano and Sam Steel
Well, in both cases they had strong arbitration cases. And I wasn't prepared to go there for the years they had. So it kind of boiled down to what role would they play and did it make sense with the dollars? And so essentially it boiled down to dollars and cents for role.
