ANAHEIM – Bruce Boudreau sounded like a coach who was expecting to be back with the Ducks for training camp in September and begin another lengthy process toward taking that final step toward playing for a Stanley Cup.

His general manager on Tuesday stopped short of making a guarantee that Boudreau was his man to do it.

Following another crushing Game 7 loss in the playoffs Saturday, GM Bob Murray had the opportunity to end any uncertainty about Boudreau’s status as the Ducks’ bench boss. Instead, Murray chose to hold off on making such a proclamation.

“I haven’t talked to the coaching staff one bit,” Murray said Tuesday after the Ducks had their exit interviews at Honda Center. “I thought the coaching staff made strides this year. But I’ve still got to talk to them. I’m not ready to talk to them. We’ve got to meet later.

“I’ve got to sort things out in my mind. I’m not one to do things quickly. I’m evaluating the whole hockey team. That’s not a yes or a no. I’ve got to evaluate everything.”

Before the season, Boudreau signed a two-year extension that runs through 2017. The Ducks won their third straight Pacific Division title and their 51-24-7 record and 109 points were the top marks in the Western Conference.

Boudreau reached the conference finals for the first time in eight seasons as an NHL head coach. But his record in Game 7s fell to 1-6 overall and 0-3 with the Ducks – all home defeats – after a 5-3 loss to Chicago, which plays Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final that begins Wednesday night.

Murray and Boudreau are expected to talk about the season and how it ended in the coming days, possibly by the end of this week.

“You need some time to just cool off as far as we’re both not happy about not winning,” Boudreau said. “We had our team dinner last night, which was very casual. In the next two days or three days, I’m sure we’ll chat about the year and everything else.”

Asked if his status as coach is intact, Boudreau said, “As far as I know. No one’s told me anything different.”

Boudreau has a 162-79-29 record in three-plus seasons with the Ducks, while his postseason record with them is 21-15. Murray said he feels the Ducks are “a lot closer” to winning a Cup than a year ago and that “we made big strides this year.”

However, the Ducks’ subpar efforts in Game 6 and Game 7 losses to the Blackhawks left him greatly concerned about their ability to prosper in the most stressful of situations.

“That’s why I wanted to get it done in 6 because Game 7 worried me,” Murray said. “I’m not gonna lie. Especially with the team we were playing and the types of players we played against. We didn’t react properly whatsoever. All structure went right out the window. I wasn’t impressed by it at all.

“This is a team. Everything we do is as a team. The unanswered question is still the structure when we get under stressful periods. When you’re not playing well, you have to fall back on your structure. It failed us at critical moments.”

Said center Ryan Kesler: “Obviously we lost to a good team. Should we have ended it in Game 6? Absolutely. You have to put away a team, especially that team.”

In the aftermath of Game 7, Kesler said there are times where “you try to get away from it so you don’t fall into a depression.”

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said he’s been able to put his focus on his family but understands their fan base is weary of the big-game missteps.

“When you’re talking about a failure, a letdown or whatever you want to call it when you don’t win the Stanley Cup, everybody’s disappointed,” Getzlaf said. “There’s only one team at the end of the year that is excited about the way it finished.

“I don’t ever want our fans to show up at the building just to be there. I want them to expect us to win, expect us to compete. I’d be more let down if they weren’t sad about what happened. Mad. Whatever you want to call it.

“We’re all feeling the same emotions and we’ll be geared up for September again.”

Of the playoff defeats he’s had with the Ducks, Boudreau said letting a 3-2 series lead get away against Chicago is among the most difficult to digest.

“This one will take a little longer to get over than it does most years because I think we all believed we were very close,” Boudreau said. “Talking to the guys in there, they believed we were going to win. Things didn’t work out our way.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow when you’re that close. But at the same time, we know we’re getting better every year and we’ve gotten better every year. And we anticipate to get better again next year.”

Murray did offer some praise of Boudreau’s work – even if he didn’t offer unwavering support of him Tuesday.

“I do think the coaching staff took some strides this year,” the Ducks’ executive said. “I will say I was fairly happy with the overall performance of my coaching staff this year.”

Contact the writer: estephens@ocregister.com