Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We start our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Ducks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Leo Carlsson – Let’s start with a big one. The second overall pick in 2023 showed plenty of promise in his first two seasons but took a big jump forward in 2025-26. He finished second on the team in scoring with 29 goals and 38 assists in just 70 games. He saw some shorthanded ice time. He upped his faceoff success rate. Basically, he took steps toward being the two-way top-line center the Ducks thought they’d be getting when they picked him. Now, he’s about to be paid like he is that player. A long-term deal would probably run the Ducks past the $11MM per season mark which would set the new benchmark for Anaheim’s forwards. A bridge deal, meanwhile, would keep the cost lower in the short term but even that could land in the $8MM range per year. GM Pat Verbeek has held a firm line in talks with core youngsters before. This could very well be another of those negotiations.
F Cutter Gauthier – That last sentence may wind up applying here as well. Gauthier led the Ducks offensively this season, notching 41 goals along with 28 helpers to finish two points up on Carlsson for the team lead. He even averaged a point per game in the playoffs while playing through a back injury. Wingers don’t often get the type of premium money that centers do and it should be noted that, unlike Carlsson, he isn’t eligible for an offer sheet after only playing once in the first year of his contract. Still, a long-term deal could approach the $9MM territory while a bridge pact would likely check in around the $6.5MM range. Carlsson is the headliner but Gauthier’s next deal is going to be a significant one as well.
D Pavel Mintyukov – The young blueliner hasn’t had quite the impact Anaheim hoped when they made him a top-ten pick back in 2022. An offensive dynamo in junior, the production hasn’t quite materialized in the NHL yet as he put up 28 points in his rookie year in 2023-24 and hasn’t returned to that mark since, notching 22 this season. Meanwhile, a lack of playing time earlier in the year had him believed to be amenable to a trade. With that in mind, there’s a solid case to make that a short-term bridge contract would make more sense for both sides, allowing for more time for him to make his case for a higher spot on the depth chart and improve his production. The price tag for that type of deal should check in around the $3.5MM mark.
D Olen Zellweger – There are some parallels to Mintyukov here. While he wasn’t a lottery pick, he was still a prolific producer in junior who has yet to establish himself offensively in the NHL and even spent a lot of time in the playoffs as a healthy scratch. Zellweger had 22 points in 76 games this season but saw his ATOI drop by nearly two minutes a night. He could also find himself in trade speculation this summer if Verbeek wants to reshape the back end a bit. Accordingly, a bridge deal makes a lot of sense here too. With Zellweger not having as much of a track record as Mintyukov, a short-term agreement should check in a little lower compared to his counterpart.
Other RFAs: D Jeremie Biakabutuka, G Vyacheslav Buteyets, G Calle Clang, D Tyson Hinds, F/D Ian Moore, F Jan Mysak, F Sasha Pastujov, F Jaxsen Wiebe
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D John Carlson – The Ducks were the surprising winners of the Carlson sweepstakes, adding him at the trade deadline to aid their playoff run. He wound up averaging nearly a point per game down the stretch at over 24 minutes per night of playing time. The production dipped in the playoffs to six assists in a dozen contests but he again was over the 24-minute mark. While he’s 36, Carlson has shown that he can still be a top-pairing player, at least for now. How quickly the potential drop-off could be will always be a concern for players his age but with the UFA market not being particularly deep, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him land a price tag in the $7MM range while getting two or three years on the contract. With demand for right-shot impact blueliners set to be quite high, he’s in great shape heading to free agency.
D Radko Gudas – The three-year deal he received in 2023 ultimately worked out pretty well for both sides. Gudas got to play a more prominent role than he was accustomed to early although he slowed down a fair bit this year and was banged up at the end of the season. It’s certainly possible that Anaheim could look to bring back their captain but it would have to be with the understanding that he’d be more of a sixth defender moving forward. Turning 36 next month with his rugged style of play, he’ll be a little more hard-pressed to command a multi-year deal although he is eligible for incentives in a one-year pact. After making $4MM per season on this last contract, there’s a good chance that ticks down by at least a million this summer.
D Jacob Trouba – Acquired in a cap-clearing move from the Rangers last season, the change of scenery worked out nicely for the veteran, especially this year. Head coach Joel Quenneville elevated Trouba’s role and he made the most of it, putting up his best offensive numbers since the 2021-22 campaign while the last time he played more than his 22:30 ATOI was back when he was in Winnipeg. Now, was this a late-career resurgence or a one-time blip? That’s a key question heading into free agency but again, given the limited right-shot impact options available, teams are likely to be offering contracts that suggest they believe this year is repeatable. The 32-year-old probably won’t hit the $8MM mark again but something in the $6MM to $7MM range on a multi-year pact could very well happen.
F Jeffrey Viel – Score one for stick-to-itiveness. A regular in the minors until this season, Viel got a chance to play more regularly following an early-season trade from Boston. The 29-year-old got to play above the fourth line at times, a rarity for someone who was basically on the roster in case a fight was needed. He then impressed in the playoffs with four points in 12 games while still averaging more than four hits per game. It’s unlikely that he’s going to command a huge deal this summer but doubling his $775K current price tag isn’t unfathomable either. At a minimum, he should have much more financial stability after bouncing around on two-way pacts for a lot of his pro career.
Other UFAs: F Jansen Harkins, F Ross Johnston, G Petr Mrazek
Projected Cap Space
The Ducks enter the offseason with a little over $40MM in cap space. Their RFA class should easily take up more than half of that number, assuming that they can work out long-term agreements with Carlsson and Gauthier. Beyond that, they will have a fair bit of flexibility to work with although Verbeek will be dealing with re-signing or replacing the right side of his back end. When all is said and done spending-wise, they may not be too far off the Upper Limit.
Photos courtesy of John Jones (Carlsson) and Perry Nelson (Carlson)-Imagn Images. Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
Zelleweger, And, Mintyukov are great young defensemen, They will also get better, Honestly, It’s okay that a defenseman plays defense, It’s actually in the job title. Let’s be honest, Alot of D-men who score a lot are incapable of defending.