Eakins hired as Ducks coach

Dallas Eakins was hired as coach of the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.

The 52-year-old was coach of the Ducks' American Hockey League affiliate in San Diego the past four seasons, going 154-95-23 and qualifying for the Calder Cup Playoffs three times.
"This is a tremendous honor for my family," Eakins said. "I am truly humbled. It was a privilege to serve as head coach of the San Diego Gulls during our first four seasons, and I look forward to build off that success here in Anaheim."
Eakins was coach of the Edmonton Oilers for two seasons from 2013-15, going 36-63-14 in 113 games. Prior to that, he spent seven seasons in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, including four seasons as coach of their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

The Ducks went 35-37-10 this season, finishing 10 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. It was the first time in seven seasons the Ducks failed to make the playoffs.
"I am familiar with a lot of the players," Eakins said. " The great thing about this is I'm not starting from scratch. That is encouraging to me.
"I'm hoping we can continue the tremendous success of this organization both on and off the ice."
Anaheim lost 12 straight games (0-8-4) from Dec. 18-Jan. 15, the longest losing streak in its history. It was part of a stretch when it lost 19 of 21 games (2-15-4) before firing coach Randy Carlyle on Feb. 10. The Ducks finished the season 14-11-1 after general manager Bob Murray took over as interim coach.

"Dallas is an outstanding head coach who has worked well with our players since joining the organization four years ago," Murray said. "He is a tremendous leader and strategist, and deserves this opportunity.
"Where this organization is heading, this is a natural progression for us."