The Ducks appeared to be on a fast track to Stanley Cup contention, so much so that opposing coaches like the Blackhawks’ Jeff Blashill and since-sacked Oilers’ steward Kris Knoblauch mentioned it unprompted in their postgame remarks.
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But life comes at you fast in the NHL.
As they enter free agency, the Ducks will likely be down three more defenseman from last year’s roster, all veterans who man the right side, and they’ll be missing their leading scorer during his team-long tenure, Troy Terry, until around the turn of the calendar year following his hip procedure.
In addition to those voids created in large part by circumstance –– John Carlson wanted to return East, Jacob Trouba can do the same or at least take advantage of a rail-thin free-agent class and Radko Gudas is looking at his last significant pro contract as he approaches 37 –– the Ducks created a couple more holes on their own.
The trades of Olen Zellweger, a defenseman capable of playing either side, and Mason McTavish, a forward who can play center as well as both wings, brought back some attractive futures but little in the way of immediate help.
Now, as free agency opens on July 1, General Manager Pat Verbeek will need to get creative if he wants to restore fully the momentum gained by the team’s first playoff appearance since 2018 and first series win since 2017.
“The free agency market is probably not as strong as it’s been in the past years, but there are certain players that we have our eye on to try and target,” Verbeek said. “Through trades, it’s funny, after you get through the draft, you get through a little bit of free agency, teams start looking at their rosters again. And there’ll be lots more discussions as the offseason unfolds. So there’ll be some opportunities that we’ll keep looking at, and we’ll keep discussing over the next couple weeks.”
Already lacking right-handed shots in their forward group outside of Terry and Beckett Sennecke, the Ducks could stand to pursue one this summer as Terry recovers.
While there are few if any options for a long-term piece to satisfy that desire, veterans Claude Giroux and Corey Perry would be attractive options if they opted not to re-up with Ottawa and Tampa Bay, respectively. Giroux can play both center and right wing, while Perry, who won a Stanley Cup and Hart Trophy on Katella Ave., would be an ideal mentor to Sennecke if a homecoming were to happen. Former Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson, who had a bounceback 2025-26, and perpetual reclamation project Patrik Laine could also hit the open the market.
The departure of McTavish leaves the Ducks in a position where Mikael Granlund likely has to play center full-time and where they may need to experiment with Cutter Gauthier in the middle. The flanker played center for most of his amateur career.
The Ducks got center Anton Wahlberg back in the Zellweger deal, but for now he’ll likely compete with Tim Washe and others for a spot lower in the lineup. Anders Lee, Mason Marchment and Marcus Johansson are among the unsigned pivots at the moment. But Verbeek’s comments indicated he was not pressed to replace McTavish just a year after extending him to the tune of $42 million and prioritizing him over Trevor Zegras, who then had a comeback campaign in Philadelphia.
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“Cutter played center before,” Verbeek said. “Roger McQueen, we’re going to see what he looks like when he gets to camp. So we have options. We’re just trying to see where these players are going to shake out when training camp arrives.”
Defense is where the real intrigue lies for the Ducks.
Of the 10 defensemen they used last year, nine of whom saw time in the postseason, two have been traded already, with Carlson’s negotiating rights dealt to Carolina, and two more are unlikely to return. Among those 10 rearguards were Tristan Luneau, whom Verbeek said he anticipated making the team next season, and Tyson Hinds, who supplanted Zellweger for a stretch late in the campaign. On the right side, Luneau’s ascent to being a regular plus more consistent time for Ian Moore and Drew Helleson would at least give Verbeek default options.
But a defense corps with Hinds, Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe, and possibly prospect Stian Solberg on its left half opposite Luneau, Moore and Helleson on its right would give the Ducks even less experience than they had in 2023-24’s disastrous 59-point effort, when they at least featured vets like Gudas and Cam Fowler.
Furthermore, the Ducks are flush with salary-cap space. Per PuckPedia, not only are they more than $44.5 million under the cap ceiling, they are more than $17.5 million below its floor.
Although that latter gap will close and then some when Gauthier and top center Leo Carlsson, the Ducks’ two leading scorers last season, sign new deals, they have plenty of cash to fill holes, though the FA market features an exorbitantly priced Rasmus Andersson and little else of note on defense. Trading McTavish netted the Ducks another $7 million to play with, and now there are indications that a worthy playmate may be headed to the trade market.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, who won the 2026 Norris Trophy in a highly competitive race, appears destined for a new home. He has two years remaining at around $9.6 million annually, a tremendous value for a player his caliber that’s joined the likes of Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes among elite blue-liners.
The cost would be at least as high as it was for the Minnesota Wild to acquire Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks last season: a quality young roster player, a star prospect, a former first-rounder and a future first-rounder.
Columbus appears to be seeking tangible assets that can be integrated into its roster immediately, but adding Werenski to what’s already one of the most promising young nuclei in the NHL would make the offseason a success regardless of any other developments.
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