Pat Verbeek’s long association with Steve Yzerman played a key role in Verbeek being named general manager of the Anaheim Ducks.
That organization’s gain is a loss for the Detroit Red Wings, one Yzerman could look to fill from within. But Verbeek leaving to run his own team ultimately reflects well on Yzerman, because the two have worked closely together for nearly two decades spanning two Stanley Cup champion franchises.
“Absolutely that was a critical factor,” Ducks owner Henry Samueli said Thursday. “Steve’s record speaks for itself. He’s a tremendous individual and he’s been a tremendous mentor to Pat. He’s brought him along and exposed him to all sorts of jobs within the organization, so the breadth of his experience, coupled with being with winning organizations, really was a win-win for everybody.”
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The Ducks formally introduced Verbeek as GM via a video conference call Thursday, with Verbeek at his home in the metro Detroit area and Samueli in his office in Orange County. Verbeek noted he had 10 inches of snow on the ground, adding “I don’t think that’s going to be in Anaheim when I get there on Saturday.”
It’s a tremendous opportunity for Verbeek, who takes control of a team with a talented young roster that includes recent first-round picks Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.
“It’s the beginning of a longtime goal to become general manager and to build a Stanley Cup winner,” Verbeek said. “I wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for Jimmy Devellano and Kenny Holland giving me a chance as a pro scout back in 2006. I want to thank them both for their invaluable guidance and mentorship and for giving me a blueprint to get here today.”
Verbeek played for the Wings from 1999-2001, retiring the following season. He joined the Wings’ front office at the same time as Yzerman, who retired in 2006 and was named an assistant to Holland, then the GM. When Yzerman was named GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010, he took Verbeek with him. Verbeek served in a variety of roles including pro scouting, amateur scouting and as assistant GM. When Yzerman returned to the Wings in 2019, he tapped Verbeek to be his top assistant.
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“The one thing with Steve and I working together, one of the things is we really think the game similarly,” Verbeek said. “Steve allowed me to kind of go out and really branch out on certain things, and he allowed some of the ideas that I brought to the table, he allowed to implement them into Tampa Bay and with Detroit. I think that allowed me to gain a lot more experience and figure out what worked and what didn’t work.”
Verbeek is the second assistant GM to leave the Wings in the past year. Ryan Martin left after last season to join the New York Rangers. Yzerman could look internally to fill the position. Kris Draper has served as director of amateur scouting. Yzerman recently hired Nicklas Lidstrom to be vice president of hockey operations.
Verbeek described Yzerman’s reaction when the decision was made.
“He was very excited for me, and that made me very happy,” Verbeek said. “We’ve been working together for so long it’s always tough to step away and start to do things on your own, but at the same time, it’s very exciting for me to become the general manager. We’ve gone through a lot together and now I’m hoping I can do the job he did in Detroit and Tampa and build the Anaheim Ducks into a contender.
“Steve is an incredibly hard worker. He’s very thorough in how he goes about making decisions and if I were to really try to follow him in any way, that would be one of the intangibles I would look at.”
Bob Murray resigned as Anaheim’s GM in November after an investigation into his professional conduct. Former Ducks greats Scott Niedermayer, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne were part of the search committee. Samueli described Verbeek, 57, as checking all the boxes, including a pedigree that boasts two Stanley Cups, 20 years experience as a player and 16 as an executive.
“Pat’s outstanding work ethic and vast knowledge of the game as a successful executive and player throughout his 35-plus years in the NHL make him an outstanding fit to lead us forward,” Samueli said. “We are immensely grateful to Steve and the Detroit organization, and also when he was with Tampa, for their mentorship of Pat. Because it clearly showed in the interview process, the breadth and depth of his experience and his winning culture, his philosophies, his values — it all showed through in the interviews, and also in the reference-checking that we did. So we have immense gratitude to Steve.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.