"I felt it was necessary," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek told the Orange County Register. "Dallas has had to do a job under difficult circumstances. It's been just two months under me, and I thought he deserved to get another year and go from there. We can build our relationship and figure out where the organization goes from here."
Anaheim (29-33-13) was eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention April 8 after it lost 5-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Dallas Stars defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4, the first time the Ducks have missed the playoffs in four straight seasons since entering the NHL in 1993-94.
"I think what I've liked best about it is they've continued to work and not thrown in the towel and not quit," Verbeek said. "To me that's important. That's telling me a lot about how the coach still has them and is still working to do a job each and every night. That says a lot about his character."
They are sixth in the Pacific Division but have a promising group of young players led by forwards Troy Terry (33 goals, 59 points), 24; and Trevor Zegras (20 goals, 55 points), 21; and 20-year-old defenseman Jamie Drysdale (31 points; four goals, 27 assists).
Eakins is 111-159-45 in five seasons coaching the Edmonton Oilers and Ducks, 75-96-31 in three seasons with Anaheim since he was hired June 17, 2019.
"I think he generally cares about his players," Ducks defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk told the Athletic. "He knows his personalities of who he's coaching. He knows how to handle certain guys. He knows when they're down and when they're up. Again, I think especially nowadays with certain players, younger players being a little bit more … they needed to be handled a little bit differently than maybe in years past. He knows exactly how to do that.
"It's an important quality for a coach."
