"This organization. This whole city. The whole time here for me was very special. The way they treated me. It was something close to my heart."
Radko Gudas spoke on his Anaheim tenure ahead of tomorrow's Honda Center return in the Ducks' home opener.
Full media session with former captain ⬇️
"I saw like three sticks in between, and I was like, there's no chance I'm getting this, then it ended up right on my tape."
McQueen: "Haven't really played with a speed like that... As the game went on, it went a lot smoother."
Klepov: "It was really nice to play with (Carlsson and Gauthier). They're always open, and it's easy to find them."
Leo Carlsson shook the hockey world and Anaheim Ducks by accepting a record offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, but if not for Pat Verbeek's negotiating tactics, it might not have come to this. Now, Verbeek must match the offer or risk reseting the franchise's trajectory.
New Ducks in Deep available on:
📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/eugnG4XPCV4?si=xEvqh9ep1aKV6-j4
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Yl6N60lw1diAvOLdZNjJV?si=z5Xfz_iERF6g0ANV2AA5gQ
This was the nightmare scenario playing in the background all season long for the Anaheim Ducks, and it was entirely avoidable. How Pat Verbeek came to staring down choice of $18M or losing franchise center Leo Carlsson. ⬇️
"I feel a lot more connected (with the country). Whenever you spend long periods of time anywhere, you start to adjust, you start to adapt. I really, really fell in love with the energy and just the ambition, just seeing how united the country's been. That's something I've taken a lot of pleasure in. I'm very excited to go out there on Wednesday and giving that extra boost, another reason for the crowd and for the nation to cheer."
"We're very confident because we finished first in the group. That's the difference already. I think everybody's confident. We're more experienced. We have a better chemistry. We're just in a good head space. Everybody's concentrated. As well, the whole country believes at the moment. I think that's in our advantage."
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek made a good bit of business collecting two first-round picks from having none, but a busy Friday opened up plenty of questions. Full transcript of the clarity and murkiness from Verbeek's media call ⬇️
About Last Night: Anaheim Ducks moved back into the first round for double-dip of scoring skill to select Nikita Klepov No. 15 overall & Marcus Nordmark No. 28 overall. Learn more on the spoils of the Mason McTavish trade ⬇️
Just shy of 10 months from a 6-year, $42 million contract that signaled "his importance to our future," Mason McTavish was traded to St. Louis for two first-round picks. Why Ducks cut ties with 2021 No. 3 overall pick ⬇️
Sebastian Berhalter on mindset Mauricio Pochettino has instilled:
"That we're American. We don't take shit. I think that's something he really put in. Even though he's Argentinian, he has that mindset of, look, this is what we do. This is who we are, and this is what America's about. Even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we're about. He really drills that into us, and I think that's something that's helped us this last cycle."
“When I committed and throughout the whole cycle, and the whole journey to me, being at this point, I've always said, the fans gave me so much motivation, show me so much support,” Balogun said after two goals in Friday’s World Cup opener, “and for me, the most important thing has always been to be able to repay that. I feel like today's a great opportunity, and I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision, and I'm completely proud, and I want to continue to make the fans proud as well.”
Adams: "I live with yellow cards"
Adams: "I don't think any commentary helps anybody, and no, (Australia) is not going to be a lay-up. If anything, it's going to be one of the most difficult teams we play."