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Two weeks ago, we asked Ducks fans if they were confident in the direction of the team for the first time this season. As expected, the results weren’t great, with 35% of fans expressing their frustration with the future of the club.
Despite a recent run of relative success (compared to the rest of the dismal season) at 5-3-2 over their last 10 games, fans are losing faith in the team as the reality that the Ducks will be missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season begins setting in. Combined with the recent frustrations of fans with General Manager Bob Murray not appearing to be making any significant moves before the trade deadline to accelerate the rebuild (granted there are still a few days left until Monday’s deadline), the natives are growing restless.
This stands in stark contrast to the moves Murray’s compatriot Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings is making to get his team back to cup contention by dealing Tyler Toffoli to the Vancouver Canucks for Tim Schaller, prospect Tyler Madden, and a 2nd round pick in addition to the pending deal to send Alec Martinez to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for two 2nd round picks.
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Fan confidence this time around has dropped from 35% two weeks ago to 24% now. This isn’t especially surprising, as this is a majority of Ducks fans first time experiencing a rebuild with Anaheim having been in consistent contention since 2006. Throw in Murray’s lack of significant moves and relative inexperience handling a rebuild, it stands to reason that the environment would be ripe for frustration.
The trade deadline is Monday, February 24th. While the Ducks don’t have any truly significant pieces on expiring deals they can trade, they do have several depth pieces as well as a couple of core players with term who could be had for the right price. Whether or now Murray is willing to pull the trigger on those deals is an entirely different question.