Equipment bags were packed and sticks were in bundles. Player stalls were empty and the locker room was cleaned out.
It was a somber sight and a reminder of a season cut short by a four-game exit in the first round of the playoffs. Head coach Randy Carlyle called it a "numbing" feeling. The Ducks did, after all, reel off five straight wins to capture second place in the Pacific Division before their series with the Sharks.
Ducks Look Back on Season on Exit Interview Day at Honda Center
Carlyle told reporters it's still too early for some questions to be answered. "In these situations, you take a deep look and analyze where things could have been better."
With the NHL evolving into more of an up-tempo style, Carlyle says his club made the necessary adjustments, but consistency continued to be an issue. "There are some changes that have taken place," he said to reporters. "There are more mobile expectations from a lot of people on the ice now. We just went through a series and we're watching the other series, and we know the tempo is going in that direction. It's almost pong at times, where the puck is just thrown out and people are trying to get underneath the puck. It's a run-and-gun type of offense versus puck possession.
"We've stressed that some of the things that happened against us are the things we had to try to do," Carlyle added. "We know that. The template the teams are doing are things we're trying to get our group to do, and we didn't do it enough on a consistent basis."
Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray told reporters he knows adjustments need to be made in order for this team to continue finding success.
"We have to play faster, and that's a team thing," he said. "Some teams have started to play faster, and they look faster. We have a couple guys that, let's face it, were never great skaters. How do we improve that? We have to watch how some of these other teams play. New Jersey did a great job of it. We're well aware of that. We know we have to make some changes."
Before the players went their separate ways, a handful of them, including Cam Fowler and Ryan Kesler, shared their thoughts on the season, the series against the Sharks and more.
Fowler was understandably disappointed he never got a chance to make an appearance in the postseason after suffering a Grade 3 sprain of his AC joint on April 1 vs. Colorado. Had the team advanced further into the playoffs, there was a chance he'd be able to play.
"I know it happened last year too [an injury late in the regular season], but we were able to get past the first round, and I was able to play again," said Fowler. "It's kind of a unique feeling this year that the team is done, and there is no more hockey. I feel like I haven't played in a while. But the recovery is going great, and I should be back to normal in the next couple weeks. It's not going to affect my summer at all."
True to form, Fowler says he is already ahead of schedule in terms of rehabilitation from the injury. "I was excited about the opportunity to get back on the ice and skating again," he said. "Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be."
Fowler will remain in town for a few weeks to continue his rehab but does not expect to have any limitations or delays in his offseason training.
After coming off major hip surgery last summer, it was apparent Kesler wasn't able to operate at 100 percent this season. He had to relearn how to skate at one point during his rehab process and revealed he needed shots to help him get through the playoffs.
Kesler says this longer-than-usual offseason will help him get back to where he needs to be. When asked what went wrong in the club's first-round series with San Jose, Kesler offered a direct response.
"There are a lot of things that happen from game to game, but at the end of the day, top to bottom we weren't good enough," he said. "I don't think anybody in that room would say we were good enough. For whatever reason, we were taking penalties and they capitalized. Our power play wasn't good enough early on, and to be honest, we looked shorthanded when we were on the power play. But it got better as the series went on. Game 4, we should have won that game 1-0."
As far as other injuries are concerned, defenseman Kevin Bieksa said his hand injury from earlier in the season was a ruptured tendon in his finger. Murray said Patrick Eaves underwent shoulder surgery sometime in March for an injury sustained during his rehab. Both are confident he could be ready by October.
Murray also said three Ducks would take part in the upcoming IIHF World Championship in Denmark from May 4-20. Those players are Hampus Lindholm (Sweden), Rickard Rakell (Sweden) and Korbinian Holzer (Germany).
