Report: Ducks targeting Marlies’ Rich Clune for assistant coach role

Toronto Marlies assistant coach Rich Clune is being targeted by the Anaheim Ducks for a prospective assistant coach role within their organization, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Clune has ascended through Toronto’s ranks as an assistant, starting as a member of the player development staff before joining the Marlies as an assistant for the 2023-24 season. The 37-year-old is well-regarded within the Maple Leafs’ organization and is considered by some to be one of the promising coaches in the hockey ecosystem. It seems like a natural logical extension for Clune to join a Ducks team that is young and talented, while still in the early stages of a prolonged rebuild.

The former NHL forward isn’t far removed from his own playing career. Clune suited up for 139 NHL and 539 AHL games over the course of his career, before retiring after the end of the 2021-22 season. He was named the Marlies’ captain on March 2021, a role he held for his final two pro seasons.

Clune played his minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, before starring for the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League. He debuted in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2009-10 season, while primarily playing for the organization’s AHL affiliate, Manchester Monarchs over the course of several seasons. Clune also played for the Nashville Predators before joining the Marlies in 2015-16. Clune also played 19 games for the Maple Leafs during the same season — a season famously known in Maple Leafs lore as the year before Auston Matthews arrived.

It’s a promising opportunity for Clune, if he chooses to join the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Clune would get a chance to prove himself as one of hockey’s young, ascending coaches while given an opportunity to work with numerous players on the cusp of regular NHL playing time, while being young and relatable enough to deliver a fresh and resonant message.