Ducks GM Pat Verbeek Speaks at Training Camp
· Yahoo Sports
Pat Verbeek, general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, met with the media on Thursday, the first day of 2026 training camp, to answer questions on how the summer for his organization went, including the recent contract extension for star forward Cutter Gauthier.
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Questions and answers have been edited for clarity
Getting Cutter in on time. How important was it to get that done at the time you did?
It's great. I mean, we're super excited. I think Cutter's super excited about.
You know, with this year going into having a lot shorter camp, it was very important, you, for both the player and for the organization to get him in. So we're super excited that we were able to get something done.
Are you happy with how everything kind of went down, whether it's the timing, the years, the structure, everything?
Yeah, very, very, very excited, yeah. We got them on long-term. Got him on a good number. We expected that number. The cap’s going to grow, and we just expect Cutter to keep taking strides, to be an elite player. Talking elite when it comes to goal scoring.
Do you anticipate this being your group on opening night?
Yeah, yeah, pretty much. I mean there's certain spots that are being, you know, (fought for). We’ve got a lot of young guys vying for spots. As I said to the players, I said, “This is the most excited I've ever been to come into a camp. We're in a phase that there's so much opportunity for all our young players, the ones that we drafted to make an impression on the coaches and management, to vie for spots. And so we can look at the Ducks having a lot of depth and San Diego being very good as well.
You certainly had an unexpectedly eventful summer. I know you had mentioned after you guys matched Leo's offer that it might change the way you approached certain things, RFAs, things of that going forward. What did you learn from the experience, and what adjustments are you guys looking to make now?
Well, I think that we're going to attack, you know, some of our players coming off of their ELCs, be more aggressive in that, start communicating and having more talks sooner. It's no different than the approach that I took last year. Unfortunately, things didn't kind of work out the way we had planned. But we got some players signed, and I think, overall, I think we've made good adjustments, and we're in a good spot right now with our hockey team.
You lost a lot of veteran guys this past summer. Who are you expecting to take on those roles of leadership now on the team?
Well, I think that losing the Troubas and the Kreiders and Carlson, I think we still have a strong leadership group. You can look at Granlund, you can look at Killorn, bringing AJ Greer in, Jensen, certainly a player with lots of experience. So there's a lot there's a lot of veteran leadership, but that's part of it. Now this allows our younger players to really grow. And for them to have the space to take on the leadership roles themselves and grow into that spot.
Do you expect to go into the season with the captain?
You know what? We're talking about that. We have ongoing discussions. We haven't made any decisions as far as one way or the other, how we're going to handle that yet. So it's something we're looking at real seriously.
When you talk about the young guys kind of taking that hold, is that something that you're weighing in that, are some of these young guys ready to take on the “C” if you were to give it to them?
Well, those are all part of the discussions, you know. Getting to know, the past three years, our young guys, and understanding the sorts of pressures that they can handle, some that they can't yet. And so, those are all part of the discussions we have as a group to make those final determinations.
Speaking of pressure on young guys, I mean, now, Leo and Cutter will make more than Connor and Leon, MacKinnon and Makar; all the duos. How do you manage the weight of that expectation to make it maybe a motivating factor for those guys instead of, you know, heavy pressure?
It's not going to come from the inside. When our young guys sign contracts, you know, big contracts, the one thing that a young player always thinks is, they got to do more. They don't have to do more. They just have to continue to grow, and they'll be just fine. Don't put that pressure on yourself just because you got a large contract. For them, just go play hockey and come to the rink and work hard every day, and things will take care of themselves.
You brought Jensen and Mallot in. What was attractive about them that made it worth targeting those two?
Well, I think with Jensen, you know, I've known him in Detroit, so certainly he brings a lot of experience. He'll be a nice stabilizing partner for some of our younger left defense. And I think Mallot, I was looking for more speed in the bottom six. Obviously, he brings that physical presence that we like, and for that reason, that's why we brought him in.
I know it kind of worked out this way, but in your mind, was Leo always kind of the first domino to fall before you were going to get to Pavel and Cutter?
We were concerned about an offer sheet, obviously. So, Cutter was in a different spot that way. Leo, he ended up being domino first, but that's what our plan was, to try and get.. I would have liked to get them all done at the same time, but it didn't work out that way.
And obviously it makes you end up having to make tough decisions like getting rid of Kreider. When it comes down to that part of it, making a tough decision on that end, how did you kind of make the determination?
Obviously, it was cap reasons; we need to create some cap space. So, Kreids just happened to be the guy, and I think it worked out great for both the player and the team.
Did you discuss those decisions with Coach Q, and how much trust do you having he can build this team?
Yeah, we always discuss things. It’s no different. And then, I have my inner circle with the management group that we make those personnel decisions, but they're always discussed with the coach. Absolutely.
Did the summer go as you wanted it to?
Yeah. I think that other than having some unplanned things, I think it went great. We weren't going to be aggressive, real aggressive in the free agency market. We got the players that we targeted and wanted, and we're excited about that.
Do you feel the team is in a better spot right now than they were to start this summer?
Well, we're in a good spot. I'm very excited for this team. So, I can't wait to see how it all comes together.
With the way that the numbers broke down, you get the opportunities for guys like Roger McQueen or Nikita Klepov to come in the lineup. What do you see as the expectations for them going to this camp as far as making the roster?
We're going to take a cautious approach, and we're just going to watch. I mean, that's why we got training camp. We're going to see what they can handle, what they can’t handle. Certainly, they're very talented players, and it's going to be a very competitive camp, and we're going to see how this all plays out throughout the course of these exhibition games.
Could you give us a little insight with Klepov? I mean, obviously his plan was to go to Michigan State. He commits. So, is the expectation that he'll make a strong push for the roster?
He's going to get a really great opportunity to make the team. So ultimately, the players decide. They make the decision for us if they're able to handle it or not. We're going to assess his play and see how much he can handle and what he can’t handle, and then make a decision from there.
How different was the planning that went into a short camp like this?
Well, it's ramped up a lot faster, I can tell you that. Like, you got one week less. Just from my playing experience, I hated long camps, but you want to get to a place where you feel good physically, and you feel that your game is in a good spot. The veterans will only play two exhibition games, and with some of them, that's kind of how the trend's gone anyway. Some of the younger guys, the guys that we're hoping are looking at hard to make the team, probably get three. So, we’re going to have to juggle some spots to really get some serious looks at the players that we need to, because you don't have that benefit now of getting a little longer look, like the six exhibition games or the seven exhibition games. So, it’s forced us to really dial in on who we think has chances and who doesn't, which is probably a little bit unfair because some players, they need a little longer runway than others.
Last season, it was pretty easy to say the expected goal was playoffs. What is the stated goal this year and the expectations put on this group?
Well, as I said to the players, it's very simple: improve on what we did last year. Don't expect it to be easy, because it's not. We're not going to be sneaking up on anybody, so we're going to have to be mentally and physically prepared to play each and every game well. Trust the process, push each other, and hold each other accountable to our standards. And I think that's the message to the players for this year.
With Kreider, can you give us a little insight into how it maybe pivoted from like a trade situation to a contract termination, and how much of a relief wasn't that he was open to a mutual agreement like that?
Well, it was a big relief. Obviously, it created enough space to where we were able to get Cutter, and now we've got two million in extra space. So, it was a big relief and one that's worked out for both the player and the team.
What did you learn about yourself or how you operate in his job over the course of this summer? Obviously, a tough one from start to finish.
Yeah, I think when you look at things, just being a little more agile, getting more adaptive, and probably just react a little quicker to situations or just see them. When you look, could we have foreseen what we were seeing? I think we had inclinations, but now you can kind of see the impact of what's happened this summer. I wasn't in Philly’s strategic meetings, but you can see the impact of that full offer sheet, how it's impacted every team in the league.
When that happens, do you have to do sort of an internal debrief of how that situation arose or how you guys let that happen?
To look back on it. I thought we were very aggressive in trying to get Leo signed. And so, it was just something that we couldn't get done at that particular time. You just work to get things done in a proper time, but this just went that way, but I thought we've been real adaptive, and now the team's in a really good spot.
How do you see that in a big picture sense? I mean, you've got higher salaries, more empowerment for players. I know when you were a player, you were very much in favor of that; you were involved with the union, you helped some younger guys, and that kind of thing. Now you're on the exec. side. Just how do you see the shift in dynamic playing out?
There's going to be a lot of different scenarios to manage, and you're going to have to be proactive in all of this stuff. So certainly the variables have changed, and you're going to have to really start taking into account all the different variables that can happen and plan for it.
Leo's agent went on Friedman’s podcast and talked to him about how that whole process happened, basically saying that they were stonewalling you guys, that they weren't engaging in negotiation up until the time. Is that how that went? Is that accurate?
That's 100% accurate, yeah.
So, when it comes to your side of things, were you attempting to get in touch with them?
Well, you saw when we signed Jackson, okay? So, I engaged with Leo, I engaged with Minty, I engaged with Cutter’s agent as well. Four guys that we're talking about here all, at this last training camp, I had been talking to the agents. So, it was a process that I was able to get one done and not the others. So, that's the way it goes. It takes two to dance.
Tyson Hinds is out to start training camp. He was one of the players expected to be competing for a spot on the blue line. Do you anticipate him being out for a while?
No, he'll be back probably within the next day or two, practicing.
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