The Ducks (17-30-9) were last in the eight-team Honda West Division and second-to-last in the NHL behind the Buffalo Sabres. Their .384 points percentage was the worst in Anaheim history.
Anaheim has missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, the third time since joining the NHL for the 1993-94 season that it has not qualified for the postseason in three consecutive seasons.
"A lot has been said about this being a lost season, and I don't agree with that totally," Murray said Friday. "Some of the young guys came along really well, and a few didn't. A couple of the middle-aged guys have had a couple of lost years. But whenever you're going through this -- call it rebuild, retool, remodel, reset -- whatever you want to call it, it's a plan. ... We want to make a team that's faster, younger, and that plays an exciting brand of hockey that our fans want to come and see play. That's what we're trying to build here."
It is unclear if captain Ryan Getzlaf will be back. The 36-year-old has played his entire 16-season NHL career with Anaheim but can become an unrestricted free agent July 28. The forward scored 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 48 games this season.
"He's obviously at the point in his career where he needs to take a little step back and see what's best for his family and what he thinks his role can be," Murray said. "We discussed roles on the hockey team. Ryan and I discussed a whole bunch of things, and we will continue to have discussions."
The Ducks averaged 2.21 goals per game, last in the NHL, and their 8.9 percent on the power play was the worst in the NHL since it became an official statistic in 1977-78.
"Our power play and goal scoring is a huge problem," Murray said. "So we have to address that in a few different ways. Top-six forwards, we have to add to that. And there's two ways to do that: trade and draft. ... And then we've got to put the puck in the net. We need some shooters.
"We've got a bunch of good young defensemen coming, so that's where it's possible maybe to make a trade to get a top-six forward. I'm saying it's possible. But we'll see what happens when it comes to that time frame."
Murray has been Anaheim general manager since Nov. 12, 2008, when he replaced Brian Burke. Eakins was hired June 17, 2019, replacing Murray, who coached the final 26 games of the 2018-19 season after firing Randy Carlyle. Eakins is 46-63-18 in his two seasons.
Max Comtois, 22, led the Ducks with 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games. Troy Terry, 23, scored 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 48 games. Rookie Trevor Zegras scored 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 24 games. The 20-year-old was Anaheim's first-round pick (No. 9) in the 2019 NHL Draft. Anaheim also is high on defenseman Jamie Drysdale, its first-round pick (No. 6) in the 2020 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old scored eight points (three goals, five assists) in 24 games.
"A couple of these young players in our organization are going to be top-six forwards," Murray said. "I think our young goaltenders in the organization played very well. ... You've got boxes you fill as you build a hockey team, and I know some of those young guys are going to fill those boxes."
