ANAHEIM, Calif. — On the morning of his team’s 63rd game of this season, Dallas Eakins said something that raised an eyebrow during what is usually a standard question-and-answer session.
“The challenge will be how fast can we become a team,” Eakins said. “And we’ll start on that journey tonight.”
Typically, that is the thing an NHL coach doesn’t want to be saying near the end of February. Constructing a working, successfully operating unit out of its parts was supposed to be taken care of months ago. However, this is where the Ducks are, and Bob Murray’s extensive shaving around the edges of a roster that has them near the bottom of the Western Conference put the first-year Eakins in a setting that was familiar to him when he was in the American Hockey League.
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Players leaving. Players coming in. Trying to put the right pieces together that can produce a winning lineup.
“And that’s a great luxury of and privilege of coaching in that league,” said Eakins, who led the AHL’s San Diego Gulls for four seasons before being promoted to Anaheim. “On one hand, you get to try different things with your teams and on the ice. But the other thing is it certainly trained you to not be all out of whack when things like this happen. This is just a normal day in the American League.”
Murray used the recent trade deadline to shuffle the deck. Seven deals were executed, six of them on Monday. Five newcomers were in the lineup for Tuesday’s home game against Edmonton. The turnover was enough for Eakins to joke about having everyone stand up and introduce themselves.
Long out of playoff position, the Ducks made these deals for the future. Some were about assets that they hope will have an impact in years beyond this disappointing one. Others were about seeing what this new blend will produce over the final 19 games and how much more construction work will be needed over the summer to have a product that will play meaningful games next February.
The final six weeks could be titled, “Show Me Why We Should Keep You.”
“It’s different for every person, but for guys like me, I’ve been here,” said defenseman Josh Manson, who’s among the core group that Murray expressed his frustration with. “Obviously, the season has been ups and downs for myself. I want to make an impression the last 20 games. The guys that have just come in, they want to make a new impression. A fresh face. They want to show the management they made a good choice.
“And, so, they’re going to be chomping at the bit to make a good impression. It’s important to win games and also know where you’re at.”
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Said Eakins: “This isn’t just auditions for the new guys. This is guys that are going to be a big part of our success in the future. And not the young guys that we talk all the time about, but our guys that are established here. We want them to be better as well.”
Manson is one of those that took note of Murray’s words. And his actions. It’s too late to do anything about this season, but the Ducks recognized that they still lagged behind much of the league when it came to having players that could move quickly about the ice and make plays at high speed.
“I know the direction that he wants to go,” Manson said of Murray. “And I know what he’s looking for. I think he’s been pretty clear with that in the media of what he’s looking for. I know he said it (Monday). I think they had a goal in mind going into the deadline of what kind of turnover they wanted to go towards. From what I had heard, I think he thought he got it.”
It worked in the first post-trade deadline game Tuesday night as the Ducks got a 4-3 overtime triumph. The five newcomers had varying roles in the victory. Let’s look at the debuts for each.
Sonny Milano
It didn’t take long for Milano to announce his arrival. And it was the kind of play that has been in short supply in Anaheim.
As the sixth minute of the opening period approached, Milano stuck around the net and then hustled into the corner to pressure Oilers defenseman William Lagesson into giving up the puck. Lagesson moved it along to Riley Sheahan, but Milano charged after him instead of skating away from the play. He poked the puck away from Sheahan and kept going after it with his extended stick. It was nudged away from Edmonton’s Jujhar Khaira. And then he not only pushed it away from a recovering Lagesson but also surprised Oilers goalie Mike Smith, who missed with his poke check attempt.
The individual effort kicked off the scoring. And it immediately endeared him to the Ducks’ faithful in the stands.
“Just kept poking at it,” Milano said. “Eventually it went in the net.”
But that wasn’t the extent of his impact. The 23-year-old former Columbus first-round pick got a step on Caleb Jones and drew a holding penalty. And then in overtime, Milano managed to get the eternally dangerous McDavid off the ice by drawing a tripping call.
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Perhaps it was fitting that he would reap the benefits of that play. On the ensuing power play, Milano and Adam Henrique traded places near the Edmonton net as both worked the puck with Ryan Getzlaf. Milano went to the front and Henrique moved the puck to his waiting stick on the ice. Perfectly angled, Milano redirected the puck past Smith to end the Ducks’ four-game losing streak.
“We had a set play,” Milano said. “It didn’t work out. But then kind of just went with our gut there. Henrique told me to switch out. He made a good pass and just tap it in.”
The two-goal game snapped a drought where he went 11 games without scoring. His big debut made for a couple interesting notes. Milano became the fourth player in Ducks history to score twice in his first game with the team, and he joined Jarrod Skalde to score an overtime goal in his debut.
Milano’s final days with the Blue Jackets were spent being a healthy scratch for the team’s final two games. It was Monday afternoon when the winger learned his fate.
“I was napping for my game,” he said.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen popped up on his cell phone and Milano knew exactly what the call was about. Never fully trusted by Columbus coach John Tortorella, the talented skater will get his latest opportunity under Eakins.
“I’m here to just try to prove myself and get to know the guys,” Milano said. “Gain some chemistry quick and just try to run from there.”
Some of the Ducks’ veterans sent him welcoming texts after the trade. Once he arrived, Getzlaf gave him a quick lay of the land around Honda Center.
By night’s end, the crowd applauded Milano’s effort as he was announced as the game’s first star.
“It’s definitely not how I planned it,” he said, smiling broadly.
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Danton Heinen
Put on a line with Henrique and Kiefer Sherwood to start the game, the 24-year-old Heinen had a chance to make an impact right away, but he put a punch-in attempt just wide after Henrique gave him a nice pass in the first period.
The former Boston winger had a quiet night in the offensive end, attempting just one shot despite 18 minutes of action. And his high-sticking penalty was punitive as Draisaitl hammered in his 37th goal of the season for a 2-2 tie early in the third period.
Minutes later, Heinen balanced his ledger. After Sherwood won a puck battle and Manson got the puck to him. Heinen spotted an open Henrique and fed him a pass that the Ducks’ top goal scorer would beat Oilers goalie Mike Smith to add to his total.
“Woody was in on the wall and then Mans goes down and makes a play down,” Henrique said. “And he makes that play in. I just tried to get to the net on that one. Find the back of the net. Simple hockey play but more often than that, those are the ones that pay off.”
Over his two-plus full seasons with the Bruins, Heinen moved up and down Bruce Cassidy’s lineup while also moving up and down in the eye of the coach and the fanbase at different times. But the Langley, B.C., native was a fixture in Boston’s run to the Stanley Cup final last year and part of a young forward mix that provided secondary scoring behind its starry top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
As Nick Ritchie was moved out for him, Heinen is getting top-six minutes with Rickard Rakell now on the right side of Getzlaf on the top line. One thing he wants to do with the Ducks is have a more shoot-first mindset.
“Naturally, I think I’m a passer,” Heinen said. “But I tell myself to shoot more. I want to be a shooter.”
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“I do see myself as you know a top-six guy,” he added. “That’s what I want to be, and I put pressure on myself to produce offensively and help the team that way.”
Though he had just seven goals and 15 assists in 58 games with Boston, Heinen said he didn’t expect to be traded. He has nothing but fond memories of coming up with the Bruins and finding his way among a professional group headed by captain Zdeno Chara.
“Those guys there were unbelievable for me,” he said. “They’re guys that just take you in. You never get treated like a rookie. Anything you needed, they were there to help. That was huge for me. Along with the other young guys that were there at the time. I can’t thank them enough for doing that. I think it improved me as a player for sure.”
Matt Irwin
The win was enough to give Irwin a big smile. But for the 32-year-old defenseman, the level of participation he had left him excited about what might be in his future.
Irwin logged 21 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time against the Oilers. Part of that was soaking up some extra playing time with Hampus Lindholm absent for the second half of the game. But his heavy usage was necessary. And the eight-year veteran ate it up.
“It’s been a long time,” Irwin said, thinking back to the last time he had played so much. “Maybe my first year in Nashville when we had some injuries. You try to just keep it simple and play to your strengths. When you’re going over the boards every other shift or whatever it might be, you’re really in the game.
“It feels good. I had a lot of fun out there. Guys were great. All the new guys were buzzing around and were picked up by the guys that have been here for a while.”
Actually, Irwin wasn’t off on his timeline. His ice time was the most since March 9, 2017, when he played 22:32 in an overtime game at Los Angeles. It was his first season with the Predators after playing three seasons with San Jose and one with Boston (which was mostly spent with the Bruins’ AHL team).
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Irwin’s debut didn’t go without some hairy moments. Edmonton’s Andreas Athanasiou put a pass through his legs right to Tyler Ennis, which was converted into a nice goal as the two Oilers newcomers combined with Connor McDavid to finish off a 3-on-2 rush. Ennis also got around him in the third period for a close-in shot that would result in Athanasiou’s goal to forge a 3-3 tie.
But there were several positives. Irwin was physical all night. If it wasn’t putting an Oiler up against the glass, it was simply halting his progress up the ice without taking a penalty. He was credited with a game-high seven hits and tied for the team lead with three blocked shots. Eakins said he “gave us some really good, hard minutes.”
“My game’s pretty simple,” Irwin said. “I just look to get in the way of guys. It’s not always going to be a big hit. Just kind of impede their progress. Have good sticks and disrupt things. Whether it’s with my body or my stick. That’s kind of how I see my game. It’s developed over the years to be more of that. I’m happy with that role.
“I had a lot of fun tonight just getting out there with the guys and the group. It’s nice to be on this side of things, that’s for sure.”
Christian Djoos
The 25-year-old Djoos had a solid rookie season on Washington’s third defense pairing in 2017-18, but he steadily fell down the organizational depth chart. He spent most of this season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Not surprisingly, the trade to the Ducks was heartily welcomed.
“They have a really good team in Washington,” Djoos said. “There wasn’t a spot for me there. I’m happy that Anaheim is giving me a shot to see what I can do.”
On Tuesday, Djoos — who was paired with Irwin until the defense got thrown into disarray — found himself defending a 2-on-1 with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl bearing down on him. But he survived that chance against and logged three of his 16 minutes on the power play. He also played alongside Manson and Michael Del Zotto at times and confidently moved the puck along whenever he got it.
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“That’s where the meat of his game comes,” Eakins said.
An additional benefit to the trade for Djoos: The Ducks’ dressing room includes plenty of his countrymen. A native of Gothenburg, Djoos is now part of a Swedish-flavored team that has Lindholm, Rakell, Jacob Larsson and Jakob Silfverberg.
“That’s great,” Djoos said. “It helps out a lot. From everything outside the rink to on the ice. I know some of the guys. It’s easy to get in a new team with some Swedish guys on it.”
Andrew Agozzino
Plucked off waivers, the 29-year-old Agozzino was plugged into the fourth-line center role that became vacant when Derek Grant was traded to Philadelphia. And his initial impression was a positive one.
Agozzino won three of five faceoffs and even got a look on the Ducks’ second power play unit. He should have had an assist as he carried the puck in on a 2-on-0 and gave Carter Rowney a pass that should have been buried into the net, but Rowney shanked his shot wide.
One puck along the boards did get by Agozzino, allowing a 2-on-1 rush for Edmonton, but Jujhar Khaira could not finish Nugent-Hopkins’s pass. But Agozzino, whom Eakins and Anaheim’s brass watched often when he led the AHL’s Colorado Eagles in scoring last season, skated well and could really complement a potentially loaded San Diego Gulls team if he’s a placeholder until David Backes is ready.
(Top photo of Adam Henrique and Sonny Milano: Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images)
