Verbeek: 'There Are a Lot of Jobs to Fight For'
On free agency
We added some speed. We're looking to get faster and a little more skill. With Ryan [Getzlaf] leaving, we targeted guys with reputations as leaders in the locker room. I feel that we accomplished a lot of our goals in free agency.
On team leadership
Getzlaf was the former captain for the last, I think, 11 years. Right now, we are not going to name a captain. We're going to let the room sort itself out. We'll let leaders emerge. We have a nice combination of older players, veterans and some younger guys. The room will sort itself out and the leaders will emerge as the year goes on.
On naming a captain
We're going to take our time. There is no rush. When we name a captain, it's going to be the right guy and a guy we plan on being here for a long time.
On where the team is at
When I came here, I was in an evaluating process and now I'm going to do the same thing as the season goes along. We'll see how things go and how the team performs. We have guys on one-year contracts, so maybe we'll look to extend them. There are a lot of different options that I have before me. I'll meet with the staff and coaches and keep evaluating. Then we'll make a decision when we need to make a decision.
On evaluating the roster
Flexibility is important, especially until we can find the right mix of veterans and young players. As you saw at rookie camp, we've got a lot of young players coming. Development is going to be very important to having a sustaining team that can vie for the playoffs and a championship.
On the rookie tournament
I was pleased with the group and how they played. I was very happy with our draft picks. I'm looking for some of the other younger guys who have been drafted a couple years ago to take some big steps and improve. I want them to start bringing forth their game more in San Diego and hopefully push for a spot here. For some of the players, it's a big year for them.
On competition at camp for roster spots
You can look at the bottom six spots, the third and fourth lines are all up for grabs. You can even say the same thing for defense. There are lots of spots to fight for. We're not going to hand out any jobs, you have to earn them. It should be a really competitive camp and it'll push us to become better as a hockey team. We have extra guys here, so they'll have to work to earn their spots.
On John Klingberg
When you watch him in the past, he can really handle the puck. He distributes it well. He's very good on the power-play. He's mobile and he's going to help the offense from the backend joining the rush. We have some options coming up the ice that we didn't have before. I look at John being a great example for Jamie Drysdale, for Jamie to learn a lot of things from. There are a lot of positive things John Klingberg is going to bring to the hockey team.
On Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras
We hope they take their game to another level. We're going to need them to take it to another level. The hardest thing coming into your second year is teams start to know who you are. It's not easier, it's harder and I think they understand that. We'll see. That's the hardest thing. Second year is always a tough year for NHL players. I'm hoping they take a big step and keep elevating their game.
