Say this for Ducks general manager Bob Murray when it comes to his search for a new head coach. He’s certainly a man of his word on this one.

It is now the second week of June and there isn’t one in place for a perennial playoff team that still holds a vision of playing for the Stanley Cup. Six weeks have passed since the Ducks were bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by Nashville and Murray fired Bruce Boudreau.

Murray said then he would take his time. He has fulfilled that pledge, a stark 180-degree turn from his last search nearly five years ago when he identified someone he knew and went after Boudreau – even when he hadn’t yet fired Randy Carlyle. So where is he at now with this one?

We know Murray isn’t talking about it. And he won’t until he is set to announce who the next coach will be. But there is a sense the longtime Ducks GM is nearing the end of his interviewing process and an announcement could come soon, perhaps next week.

Murray isn’t bound by the calendar but the Cup could be lifted soon and the NHL’s summer season unofficially is under way with the draft coming up on June 24. He’s on record saying he’d like to have his coach in place by then.

It is a big decision. The Ducks are an interesting blend of veteran leaders approaching or at the edge of their prime years and younger performers at key positions nearing theirs. This isn’t a growing team in a “plan-to-win-big-later” phase. They’re in “it’s-time-to-win-now” phase.

Being able to push this group fronted by the over-30 troika of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler is a central part of the job description. Holding grinders and headliners equally accountable is another. So is extracting higher levels of work out of the next wave of leaders and getting meaningful contributions from the most talented prospects.

And there is the tactical stuff. Going forward, who can match wits in the biggest of games with the Kings’ Darryl Sutter or San Jose’s Peter DeBoer, who got the Sharks to their first Cup Final? Or Nashville’s Peter Laviolette and Chicago’s Joel Quenneville, if it comes to that? Boudreau won a lot but putting the right people on the ice at the right times in those must-win contests he lost remains a criticism of his time in Anaheim.

Murray can’t hire Jon Cooper but the way he talked glowingly about Tampa Bay’s coach, he wouldn’t mind finding another like him. Travis Green, a leading candidate, fits closer to that profile and has 970 NHL games that give him added cachet among those he’ll guide.

Green wasn’t a star in his 14-year career – and that might be a benefit. The one-time Ducks player knows the experience of playing on the top line, the fourth line and the spots in between.

“He just knows where the athlete is,” said Portland Winterhawks assistant coach Kyle Gustafson, who worked with Green when they won the 2013 Western Hockey League title. “He knows how an athlete’s feeling game to game. He knows if a guy needs time off, he’s going to get time off. If a guy needs a cattle prod, he’s going to cattle prod him.

“The best thing that Travis has is he has a great feel for his players and a great feel for the team makeup.”

But is he the right fit for these Ducks at this time? Or is it Carlyle, the Cup winner who’s under strong consideration for another turn to pull off what he did in 2007. He fits the mold of the old hand who’ll ruffle the feathers of his players if it means getting the most out of them.

As assistants, Paul MacLean and Trent Yawney know this team but the longer Murray goes, the more you wonder if they’re really in the mix. And with the assistant coaching shuffle going on around the league, Murray will likely whittle down his list so those who’ve interviewed can go after openings elsewhere. Mike Yeo, formerly of Minnesota, fits that scenario if he’s not the one.

There are others like Luke Richardson and two or three not among the names that surfaced. One who isn’t is Dale Hunter, who came up as a candidate but reportedly doesn’t want to leave his Ontario Hockey League junior team. As broadcaster Pierre McGuire told the Register last month, Murray has a few models to choose from on the type of coach he wants.

“You cannot do what the old guys did in the old days,” Murray said in April. “I don’t think you can and I even think some of those that are older that are still coaching in this league that are good have changed their ways somewhat to deal with the new modern athlete.

“There’s a bunch of guys out there. This is a huge, huge choice for us and we’re going to take our time. Do our homework.”

After six weeks of studying, the homework is almost done.

Contact the writer: estephens@ocregister.com