How The Offseason Stacks Up for Ducks RFA Brett Leason
The Anaheim Ducks head into the 2024 offseason with seven RFAs in need of new contracts. Pat Verbeek has an interesting history with RFAs in his tenure as Ducks GM. How will Brett Leason fare this summer?
Brett Leason (25) is two and a half seasons into his NHL career. He was placed on waivers by the Washington Capitals on Oct. 9, 2022, was claimed the next day by the Anaheim Ducks, and has been a consistent member of the team's bottom six forward group since.
Leason's two-year contract which carried an AAV of $775k expired at the end of the 2023-24 regular season and he's now a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. If the Ducks intend to keep his rights, they must extend an $840k qualifying offer before July 1. If they elect not to, he will become an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any team that offers him a contract.
Heading into the summer of 2024, the Ducks have seven RFAs whose futures need to be decided upon before July 1.
Brett Leason (drafted 56th overall in 2019) has been fairly productive in his young career despite playing toward the bottom of the lineup for the majority of it. He has 20 goals and 37 points in 158 career NHL games.
Leason was a bit of a late bloomer before being a second-round pick in 2019 out of the Prince Albert Raiders organization of the WHL. 2019 was his third year of draft eligibility as he was passed over in 2017 and 2018. He had a remarkably productive 2018-19 season, when he scored 89 points in 55 regular season games, 25 points in 22 playoff games en route to a WHL Championship, but was held scoreless in three Memorial Cup games. He also represented Canada at the 2019 World Junior Championships, when he scored five points in five games.
Leason has all the tools to be a quality depth offensive option in an NHL lineup. He's a strong and fluid skater who uses his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame to protect pucks low in the offensive zone and the small area skill to get them to dangerous areas of the ice.
He's opportunistic and at his best in transition, often forcing turnovers high in the defensive zone and creating rush opportunities out of them. On those rushes, he displays his surprisingly above-average release, foot speed, and puck skills.
“When he goes in on the forecheck, he’s got to make sure he goes helmet to helmet and maintain his balance on contact,” Cronin said when asked what Leason needed to do during the season to earn more ice time. “Second thing is, when he goes to backcheck, he has to go through people’s hands. He’s a reacher. The third thing is, in the offensive zone, when he gets the puck, he’s got to drive his feet and be a threat.”
To this point, Leason's a player who's shown he is capable of adapting and growing into whichever role he's assigned and could even grow further into a role higher in an NHL lineup.
For the ability to retain his rights, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek would have to offer Leason a modest $840k qualifying offer. Verbeek hasn't been shy about forgoing a player's rights if he deems their QO too expensive. Leason doesn't seem to fit in that "too expensive" category, but the Ducks have a surprisingly limited number of lineup spots available and several players in the NHL and AHL vying for them. It wouldn't be surprising either way if Leason is qualified or not.