Who is on the Ducks’ radar for their coaching search? ...Middle East

While the NHL’s top teams pursue the Stanley Cup, the Ducks, who have the third-longest playoff drought in pro hockey, are on a different quest, one for a new head coach.

Last month, they fired Greg Cronin with one year remaining on his deal, despite his presiding over the largest year-over-year improvement in the West and the second-most significant spike in the NHL last season.

With general manager Pat Verbeek rolling over his unfulfilled promise of a major offseason from the summer of 2024 to 2025 and the OC Vibe entertainment complex taking shape, the Ducks will likely seek a coach of renown among other aggressive investments.

Here is a look at some potential candidates for the Ducks, who have one of seven current head-coaching vacancies in the NHL after one high-profile hire was made this week when two-time Stanley Cup champion Mike Sullivan went to the New York Rangers.

Joel Quenneville

Quenneville, 66, could be considered the frontrunner, with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reporting that Quenneville had been interviewed once and was set for a second meeting. At one point, The Sick Podcast’s Jimmy Murphy shared that the job was offered to Quenneville, though the search persists amid some backlash from fans regarding Quenneville.

His credentials behind the bench are essentially impeccable, having won three Stanley Cups guiding Chicago and a fourth with Colorado as an assistant in addition to amassing the second-most wins of any bench boss in NHL history. Yet his actions, or lack thereof, in response to a sexual assault scandal in 2010 ultimately barred him and two Blackhawks executives – Stan Bowman and Al MacIssac – from seeking employment in the NHL for nearly three years. Since being reinstated, Bowman became the GM of the Edmonton Oilers, and now teams have expressed interest in Quenneville, to the chagrin of some Ducks fans, with their displeasure being voiced loudly enough to be featured on the influential 32 Thoughts podcast.

David Carle

Carle, 35, is regarded as the hottest coaching commodity outside the NHL, having enjoyed immense success at the University of Denver. He has connections to UD alumnus Troy Terry as well as another Ducks forward, Cutter Gauthier, through the U.S. National Team. He’s guided the U.S. to gold at two World Junior Championships, but what he’s built at Denver has been even more remarkable.

In seven seasons as head coach, Carle has been to four Frozen Fours and twice won the national championship, all that coming in six opportunities since in 2020 the tournament was canceled altogether due to the pandemic. He has said it would take an absolutely ideal situation for him to leave Denver, though he’s at least been listening to pitches from potential suitors. Despite being at the opposite end of the age and experience spectrums from Quenneville, Carle could be argued as an even more coveted candidate.

Another college coach who could emerge as a dark horse for the Ducks gig might be Pat Ferschweiler, who just won a national title with Western Michigan – where Ducks forward Sam Colangelo and prospect Tim Washe matriculated – and has some tangential ties to Verbeek.

Jay Woodcroft

LeBrun reported that Woodcroft joined Carle and Quenneville among the candidates the Ducks interviewed. Woodcroft had been tethered closely to former Kings coach Todd McLellan, having worked with him in Detroit, San Jose and Edmonton, eventually becoming head coach of the Oilers.

Woodcroft seemed to be entrenched with Edmonton after guiding the Oilers to the conference finals in 2022 and the second round in 2023, but his tenure reversed course quickly and saw him fired early in the 2023-24 campaign. He has not coached since, but that could change soon.

Another competitive candidate who’s been out of work for weeks rather than years would be Peter Laviolette, who reached the Stanley Cup Final with Philadelphia and Nashville after winning a championship with Carolina. Similarly the recently liberated Rick Tocchet, who had been with Vancouver, could be on the Ducks’ radar.

Gerard Gallant

Gallant excelled with a young group in Florida and with a bunch of upstarts during the nascent stages of the Vegas Golden Knights franchise, including their inaugural campaign that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. He was later succeeded by Laviolette in New York after the 2022-23 season. In addition to his track record with fledgling teams, Gallant is from Verbeek’s era and has a similar old-school acumen.

Less prominent candidates with connections to Verbeek could also be a possibility, including former Detroit Red Wings steward Jeff Blashill, Tampa Bay assistant Jeff Halpern and Washington Capitals assistant Kirk Muller, who played with Verbeek in New Jersey and Dallas.

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