As high-profile stars demand trades and coaching vacancies shift across the league, the Ducks remain uncharacteristically linked to major roster shakeups and significant bench staff reshuffling.
The Stanley Cup is days from being awarded, the NHL combine has concluded, and in the weeks prior to the NHL Draft at the end of June, the rumor mill has been churning under the surface, as we may be on the precipice of an explosive summer or a disappointing one in terms of player movement. Two high-profile players (Dylan Larkin and Darnell Nurse) have already requested trades from the teams that drafted them, and indications suggest there may be more to come.
The Anaheim Ducks are notoriously quiet, especially at this time of the year, keeping their cards close to their chest. As a result, their name has only been mentioned in speculation, but, in a refreshing change of pace, that speculation has focused on significant potential moves.
Coaches
It appeared as though Ducks’ current assistant coach, Jay Woodcroft, was a finalist for the head coaching vacancy with the rival Los Angeles Kings. NHL insider, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, reported on Sunday that the list of finalists included Peter Laviolette, and Laviolette was ultimately hired on Monday.
The only head coaching vacancies remaining in the NHL are with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. The Leafs are reported to have made contact with former Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins and are uninterested in Woodcroft. Both are former head coaches of the Edmonton Oilers, and thus their names haven’t appeared in rumors regarding that vacancy.
However, another former Ducks head coach, Mike Babcock, is reported to be the frontrunner for the Edmonton job, pending an NHLPA investigation into reported wrongdoing during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023.
Lastly, San Diego Gulls head coach Matt McIlvane has been announced as assistant coach for the Boston Bruins and head coach Marco Sturm. Sturm was the head coach of Germany’s national team during the 2018 Winter Olympics, with McIlvane serving as his assistant.
McIlvane will fill the vacancy left behind by Jay Leach, who was announced as head coach of the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack. The Gulls will now need to fill their head coaching vacancy, and Friedman suggested Gulls assistant coach Dave Manson may be in line for a promotion to the position.
Dylan Larkin
Following Larkin’s trade request from the Detroit Red Wings, he submitted an initial list of destinations he’d be willing to accept a trade to. The teams on the list have been in contention, with Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reporting them to be the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights. Various other reports have suggested the Tampa Bay Lightning and/or Dallas Stars are on the list.
Since reports of his three-team list arose, Larkin has been requested by Wings general manager Steve Yzerman to expand his list. If his list were to expand, St. James and others have suggested the Ducks may be on that second list.
Elliotte Friedman reported that he, “had not heard Anaheim, but I’ve had people say to me, ‘Anaheim is a team that could do it.’” He went on to speculate during “NHL Tonight” that, “If it’s the Ducks, maybe you get Mason McTavish and something.”
Mason McTavish
McTavish continues to be the name that the national media discusses from the Ducks roster in terms of potential availability for a trade. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun relayed on TSN Radio’s “Melnick in the Afternoon” on Wednesday that teams continue to call Ducks GM Pat Verbeek on his status.
“I really think there’s a chance he gets moved,” LeBrun said. “I think teams are obviously intrigued, given where he was drafted and his pedigree, but also concerned because they’re wondering what’s happening there. They want to know why the Ducks are taking so many calls on him.”
Auston Matthews
For the first time in Matthews’ career, the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2025-26. They are heading in a new direction, with a new front office, eventually a new coach, and the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
It had been reported that one of the Leafs’ goals, from ownership and the new front office, was to sell Matthews on a direction for the organization, and it would appear they have no intention of moving on from their captain in 2026.
However, that hasn’t stopped insiders like LeBrun from speculating on the matter. He reported the Ducks, along with the Kings and Utah Mammoth, had been keeping tabs on Toronto’s situation.
“So, unless something dramatic happens in the coming weeks, the Leafs captain will be back next season in Toronto,” LeBrun wrote in his “Rumblings” column on Wednesday. “That’ll be disappointing for a long list of teams that were keeping an eye on how things developed on the Matthews front, including the likes of the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and Utah Mammoth.”