After Pat Verbeek's statements on his desire to add two significant pieces and make a playoff push next season, the lack of movement has many scratching their heads over the Ducks approach to free agency.
After Pat Verbeek's statements on his desire to add two significant pieces and make a playoff push next season, the lack of movement has many scratching their heads over the Ducks approach to free agency.
It is well-known that Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek was searching for a top-six forward and a top-four defenseman heading into the 2024 offseason.
"What we're looking to do and what's going to really happen are two different things," Verbeek said with a chuckle at the Ducks "Summer Flock Party" fan event on June 30 when asked about his free agency plans. "What I'd like to be able to do is add a top-six forward and top-four defenseman."
The Ducks entered July 1 with over $31 million in salary cap space and were primed to be a big player for some of the larger names on the market following Verbeek's comments.
July 1
Well before free agency was set to open on Monday, July 1 at 9 am PST, reports of completed deals league-wide were flying fast and furious.
Within the first hour of free agency opening, most of the significant names had been signed to lucrative new contracts, and most of the contingent of players potentially meeting Verbeek's requirements found new homes elsewhere.
Eric Stephens of The Athletic confirmed the Ducks' interest in forwards Steven Stamkos (four years, $8 million AAV) and Jonathan Marchessault (five years, $5.5 million AAV), who each signed in Nashville for likely more than Verbeek was willing to offer in order to win out.
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That trend seemed to be the theme of the day as other potential fits at forward like Tyler Toffoli (four years, $6 million AAV), Jake DeBrusk (seven years, $5.5 million AAV), and Elias Lindholm (seven years, $7.75 million AAV) along with potential fits on defense like Brett Pesce (six years, $5.5 million AAV) and Matt Roy (seven years, $5.75 million) all signed at more term and/or dollars than Verbeek was likely willing to beat.
The Ducks were either rejected by the more impactful free agents who may have opted for teams closer to contention, took a more deliberate approach, were less willing to offer longer-term high-dollar contracts, or some combination of the three.
On July 1, 2022, the Ducks made splashes, signing Frank Vatrano (three years, $3.65 million AAV) and Ryan Strome (five years, $5 million AAV) to multi-year contracts. They did the same on July 1, 2023, when they signed Alex Killorn (four years, $6.25 million AAV) and Radko Gudas (three years, $4 million).
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This year on July 1, the only moves that were made by the Ducks were to re-sign defenseman Urho Vaakanainen ($1.1 million) and forward Brett Leason ($1.05 million) to one-year contract extensions.
Though they missed out on the high-profile options on day one, which could be considered a positive as they signed substantial new contracts, day two had a little more in store for the Ducks.
July 2
Later in the morning on July 2, the Ducks announced they'd traded for defenseman Brian Dumoulin (32) from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick.
Dumoulin signed a two-year contract with an AAV of $3.15 million last year on July 1. Though he'd averaged over 20 minutes TOI per game throughout most of his career, that number was reduced to 17 minutes as his role was reduced in Seattle to that of a third-pair defenseman.
The 6-foot-4 left-shot defenseman is considered more of a defensive specialist as his career high in points came last season when he tallied 25.
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In theory, he'd pair nicely with one of the young Ducks blueliners like Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, or Tristan Luneau, giving them someone steady and reliable to play off of as they progress in their young careers.
Dumoulin is a fundamentally sound defender with some bite in the tight areas of the ice. He doesn't give up the middle or get walked against the rush, absorbs opposing forechecks well before moving the puck up ice with an outlet pass, and boxes out his team's crease to clear rebounds or give his goaltender a view of the puck.
He's been a fixture on the penalty kill throughout his career, an area the Ducks are looking to improve as they finished 2023-24 with the 31st-ranked penalty kill at a 72.4% clip.
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Dumoulin won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 on their top defensive pair with Kris Letang.
The Ducks also announced on Tuesday they'd signed another former Pen, forward Jansen Harkins to a two-year contract with an AAV of $787,500.
Harkins (27) will be entering his seventh professional season in 2024-25, splitting time somewhat equally in his career between the AHL (214 games) and NHL (199 games).
An early draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets (47th overall in 2015), the 6-foot-2 forward has been productive in the AHL to this point in his career, but has struggled to translate that success to the NHL. He has 31 points in his 199 career NHL games and 144 points in his 214 AHL games.
He's a powerful skating high-motor forward with a good deal of playmaking ability and some finish. He'll either provide an offensive boost the the bottom of the lineup for the Ducks in the NHL or play a significant point-producing role in the AHL as the Gulls' likely top-line center.
Moving Forward
Because the Ducks weren't among the teams to hand out big-money, long-term contracts in the early days of free agency, they are now primed to improve their team in a significant way through the trade market if they so choose.
They are currently the only NHL team under the salary cap floor for the 2024-25 season and still possess $25.7 million in projected cap space.
With names like Mitch Marner, Martin Necas, and Nikolaj Ehlers consistently mentioned as players potentially on the move, the Ducks have the assets to acquire one of them and the cap space to extend them without hindering their future outlook.
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There are currently five teams with projected cap hits over the salary cap ceiling for 2024-25. The Washington Capitals, Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Nashville Predators will all have to shed some cap in order to comply with the $88 million cap limit.
Those teams could be inclined to move on from one of their highest earners at a discounted rate. The Ducks are primed to absorb a big-money player or two.
The offseason is still young and the Ducks roster for the 2024-25 season is far from finalized. Pat Verbeek has taken a different approach this season than in the past and it could benefit the team in the short and long term. At the very least, the team didn't get worse so far this offseason.
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