Is there any pressure on Pat Verbeek heading into Next Season?
Anaheim Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek has come under scrutiny after allowing Leo Carlsson to be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Although the Ducks ended up matching a five-year, $90 million contract with an AAV of $18 million, the feeling was that it didn’t have to come to this point.
However, in a statement issued by Henry and Susan Samueli following the request, they praised Pat Verbeek for putting the Ducks in a good position to keep Carlsson, even though Pavel Mintyukov had just signed a five-year, $7.2 million per season deal.
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But did Verbeek really do that, since Cutter Gauthier was there? Not to mention, Verbeek had traded Mason McTavish to St. Louis Blues, giving Leo Carlsson all the power. In addition, Olen Zellweger was in Buffalo with John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and Radko Gudas, all of whom would work for free.
Not a good way to follow up a second round appearance. The pressure is on for Verbeek to win and get back to the playoffs with this lineup. Anaheim cannot take steps backwards.
Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com, Full Press Hockey, and RG Media was on TSN Radio in Montreal and asked about Pat Verbeek’s job security as General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
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Manager: “Listen, I think I’m one of the few who thought there was a chance they didn’t do it here, and they took their four first-round picks, built on a new foundation, and moved on. But look, they got themselves a great player. We’ll see how the stats work out with them going forward. And, I’m going to ask you the same question, and I’m going to ask Innis the senior to Innis.
I’m surprised this was done, and I’m surprised Pat Verbeek is still employed. Dennis Bernstein just believes he’s going to be under tremendous scrutiny, and if there’s a change to be made with the Ducks, it’s going to happen, say, 10 months from now, rather than before this season. So you think Pat Verbeek gets a whole season to figure this out. “
Jim Biringer: “Yeah, I think he’s getting a whole season to figure this out. And I think ownership is going to go to him, and I’ve been consistent on this, writing about it. I think ownership is going to go to him now and say, ‘Hey, we had issues with Mason McTavish, we had issues with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Cars who just came to the Philadelphia Drys. Guys, didn’t the contracts expire sooner?’
Especially Carlsson, when he had a whole season off, last season, he did. When you hear him in a Q and A fan interview saying, “I’ll be fine as eight years times $9.5 million.
Look, you put yourself in a huge salary cap space with $36 million under the cap because you knew you had to sign Pavel Mintyukov, Cutter Gauthier, and Leo Carlsson. But he also opened the offer sheet for himself, and when it came to July 1, the offer sheet came. It was signed on July 3, and even Pat Verbeek, said he was shocked at the $18 million sticker price per person. I think a lot of people were, but that was the only way Philadelphia was going to sign Carlsson.
Now, I think the ownership will go to him and say, you have to fix this mess. Yes, they have until next year. He will pay the most, $39 million in the first 12 months. But now you have to find Cutter Gauthier. What will you get? Is it $12 million? Is it $13 million? There are reports of $15 million.
They have to fix this, but they have to find a better way to negotiate and do things early, so that players who don’t qualify for offer sheets or these contract negotiations don’t drag into the season, into training camp.
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Because, as I said before, Zegras, McTavish, and Drysdale all missed training camp. You can’t move forward, so I think that’s something they’re going to look at in Anaheim.”
Recently, Matt and Ryan Keator, Leo Carlsson’s agents, said on a special 32 Thoughts Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas that they were dragging their feet on extension talks, given the market environment. The Ducks offered an eight-year, $10.5 million per season contract, but Carlsson’s agent balked.
That was the case all season for the Ducks with Pat Verbeek, dealing with his agency. So they agreed to shut down negotiations until after the season and possibly when Connor Bedard sets the market. However, when seven to eight groups asked, there were four documents, two of which were important, and one of which he could not refuse; he had no choice but to sign it.
However, there are two sides to the whole story, and you have to wonder why there wasn’t a bigger offer presented before the offer sheet went in. Again, the truth lies somewhere in between. But ownership had to ratify the contract, they did. But failing to contribute to the team and taking steps backwards could cost Pat Verbeek his job.
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Pat Verbeek is in trouble, salary-wise, as the Anaheim Ducks need to move a player like Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider, or Frank Vatrano, as the team has about $9 million in cap space to sign Cutter Gauthier. That dollar amount won’t cut it. Making the team look bad should never have been on the agenda.
There will be guilt about him. It won’t be this summer; it could be next season, especially if the Anaheim Ducks fail to make the playoffs.
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