IRVINE — The Ducks entered Wednesday’s opening of free agency flush with salary cap space, but their Christmas in July was more of a bargain hunt than a shopping spree.
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They made depth signings at every position. They brought in goalie Laurent Brossoit, 33, to compete with Ville Husso behind Lukáš Dostál after Brossoit played in San Jose’s system last year. Veteran right-handed-shooting defenseman Nick Jensen, 35, was signed for two years after spending last season with the Ottawa Senators. Up front, they added some muscle with now-former Kings winger Jeff Malott, 29, on a three-year deal.
In all, the Ducks had more departures than arrivals.
While John Carlson remained unsigned after his rights were traded to the Carolina Hurricanes at the draft, former Ducks captain Radko Gudas went back to the Florida Panthers for $9 million over six years while fellow right defenseman Jacob Trouba got $33 million across four years from the rival Sharks. Olen Zellweger signed a new three-year, $9 million pact with the Buffalo Sabres while Jeffrey Viel was bound for the Tampa Bay Lightning (five years, $12.5 million) and Ross Johnston reunited with former Ducks coach Greg Cronin, now an assistant for the St. Louis Blues (three years, $6 million).
The Ducks also formalized Tuesday’s agreement in principle with rugged winger A.J. Greer, signing him to a four-year, $17 million contract as the headliner of their modest free-agent haul.
Greer said there was mutual enthusiasm between him and the Ducks, including General Manager Pat Verbeek and Coach Joel Quenneville. Greer said a quick conversation with Quenneville impressed him deeply.
“I told my agent, ‘Listen, I’m really open to this opportunity if it’s available.’ All around, it was a good fit. Off the ice, it’s a great place in terms of lifestyle. It’s an amazing place, California, a great place to live with your family,” Greer said. “Then you look at the hockey component, and it’s an amazing opportunity. Given the situation, I’m gonna be putting myself in a position where I can establish myself as a top-nine guy.”
Greer said he looked forward to bringing his imposing game to a speedy, hungry group that was headed in a promising direction.
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“I thought about the Mighty Ducks at first, how they started, with guys like Paul Kariya and Teemu Selänne, (Chris) Pronger and (Scott) Niedermayer, these guys shaped the organization and its identity,” Greer said. “Then you look at the perspective of the organization now and how they’re trending with these young guys with so much talent.”
Greer said his second campaign with the Panthers, who entered last season as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs, was a pivotal one for him.
Long possessing intangibles and solid underlying numbers, Greer had been typecast as a fourth-line grinder. He said he conveyed to Florida coach Paul Maurice a desire to play higher in the lineup and, with a multitude of Panthers injuries, Greer made the most of his opportunities by potting 17 goals and setting new personal bests offensively.
He was already known for his ability to punish and consternate opponents, something that Verbeek, Quenneville and the Ducks valued.
“They just reiterated how my style of play, the way that I did things the last two years and the way I’ve played really set me up for success,” Greer said. “Having a power forward, that physicality, that energy and that agitation is an important thing in this game. You need to put fear into your opponent, and I can do that.”
Per PuckPedia, the Ducks still had more than $35 million in cap space, though the preponderance of that will be committed to new contracts for restricted free agents, Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier being the most notable among them. There were no clear signs of progress toward extensions with either player, though Verbeek did not address the media Wednesday.
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