Last season, unrestricted free agent winger Brett Leason saw some regular action with Anaheim, primarily slotting in on their fourth line. However, no firm contract has come his way just yet so to get back on the ice and playing, he has signed a PTO contract with AHL Charlotte (affiliate of the Panthers), per a team release.
The 26-year-old played in 62 games with the Ducks last season where he notched five goals and 12 assists in just under 13 minutes a night of playing time. That output was a little below his 2023-24 output when he had 11 goals and 11 helpers in 68 contests. While Leason was non-tendered at that time to avoid arbitration, he quickly re-signed a one-year, $1.05MM contract. This past summer, Anaheim simply non-tendered him and moved on.
Leason took part in training camp with Minnesota on a PTO agreement and got into four games with them where he was held off the scoresheet before being let go at the end of September, sending him back to the open market.
This will be Leason’s first taste of AHL action in a while. The last time he saw time in the minors was back in 2021-22 with Hershey when he was still in Washington’s system. He has 18 goals and 29 assists in 114 games over parts of three seasons at that level and will look to have a strong showing there to help lock down a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season.