Dallas Eakins out as Ducks coach after four seasons

IRVINE, Calif. — Head coach Dallas Eakins will not return to the Anaheim Ducks after four consecutive losing seasons, the team announced Friday.

One day after Anaheim finished in last place in the overall NHL standings at 23-47-12, general manager Pat Verbeek said Eakins won't be back to continue the team's rebuilding process. Eakins' contract expired at the end of this season, and the Ducks will not renew it.

Eakins went 100-147-44 with the Ducks, who promoted him from his job as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in San Diego in 2019. The former Edmonton bench boss arrived near the start of Anaheim's decline from a perennial NHL power in the 2010s to a rebuilding club that earned a franchise-worst 58 points this season.

«This was a very difficult decision, one that comes after careful and considerable deliberation,» Verbeek said in a statement. «At the end of the day, I simply feel that a fresh perspective and new voice will be beneficial for the team. Dallas has handled himself with class and character through a difficult season, and we wish him the best in the future.»

The Ducks never finished higher than sixth in the Pacific Division during Eakins' four years in charge. They've missed the playoffs in a franchise-record five straight seasons, and the Ducks were the NHL's worst defensive team of the 21st century by several measures during the just-completed season.

«We thank Dallas for his eight years with the organization as head coach of both the Ducks and Gulls,» Ducks owner Henry Samueli said in a statement. «Susan (Samueli) and I are especially proud of his commitment to the community in both Anaheim and San Diego, which included countless charitable initiatives. We know Dallas will succeed in his future