Fresh off a breakthrough playoff run, Pat Verbeek must now navigate a thin free-agent market to fortify a defensive corps lacking veteran stability on the right side.
After achieving their seemingly lofty goal, set in the Spring of 2025, to qualify for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 2025-26 Anaheim Ducks took it a step further and won their opening round series against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Ducks believe they’ve driven the final nail into the coffin of their long rebuild, and can now be seen as a young, proven, contending franchise for the foreseeable future. Their breakthrough season, exciting young talent that now boasts playoff experience and success, and a market that features a desirable lifestyle, have the potential to render Anaheim a destination for impact players on the move through the trade market or free agency moving forward.
Anaheim made the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and they will likely be setting their sights on an even deeper run in 2026-27. However, they witnessed firsthand what it takes on the ice to win multiple long series in the springtime, as they were defeated by the now Western Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights in six games.
From a roster construction standpoint, the Ducks have some areas of their depth chart in need of tweaking and/or improving. They have several impact veterans with contracts set to expire every summer for the next three years, and though the prospect cupboard is still somewhat full, there aren’t many obvious internal replacements to fill the projected holes left behind by said veterans.
This year’s free agency class is as thin as it’s ever been, teams are flush with cap space due to the NHL’s now-ever-rising ceiling, and it’s been reported that teams are eyeing “massive” trades this summer. With that said, what holes are currently in the Ducks’ depth chart, and where can general manager Pat Verbeek look to improve his roster in the present, moving forward?
Right Shot Defensemen
Jacob Trouba (32), John Carlson (36), and Radko Gudas (35) will all see their contracts expire on July 1 if extensions are not agreed upon before then. That would leave the Ducks with just Drew Helleson (25), Ian Moore (24), and Tristan Luneau (22) as the only right-shot defensemen under team control with NHL experience.
If the Ducks were to roll with a right side of Helleson, Moore, and Luneau across from Jackson LaCombe (25), Pavel Mintyukov (22), and Olen Zellweger (22), they would boast a talented but vastly inexperienced blueline. For a GM who values experience to insulate his young talent, that potential blueline would likely be quite unappetizing for Verbeek heading into a season where expectations will be amplified.
LaCombe’s emergence as a true #1 defenseman has been a breath of fresh air and was needed for Anaheim’s build to get off the ground. The next step toward LaCombe realizing his potential will be finding him a complementary partner to grow alongside, and together, form an elite defensive pair in the NHL.
Acquiring the long-term Devon Toews to LaCombe’s Cale Makar, the Brayden McNabb to his Shea Theodore, Brock Faber to his Quinn Hughes, etc., will amplify the potential of LaCombe, the blueline, and the entire roster.
To a lesser extent, adding a similar complementary piece to the second pair beside either Zellweger or Mintyukov would also be welcome.
Second Line Center
The Ducks’ lack of center depth and consistency behind Leo Carlsson was exposed during their second-round series against the Golden Knights. Between Mason McTavish sliding to wing (and the press box), Granlund as the interim second-line center, and Ryan Poehling’s promotion to the third line down the stretch of the season, Vegas’ two-way centers like Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, and Mitch Marner’s cameo down the middle overmatched the Ducks with their 200-foot impact on every line.
Center isn’t as dire a need, as McTavish may return to form, Granlund can perform adequately, and prospect Roger McQueen (10th overall in 2025) could potentially be awarded an audition at some point in 2026-27.
However, if the Ducks intend to make a deeper run in the 2027 Playoffs, beyond the second round, an upgrade in the form of an all-three-zones, impact center to provide secondary scoring and defensive prowess could be necessary to elevate the forward group into that of a contending team.
Top Nine Winger
Every offseason, it seems as if all 32 NHL teams are looking to improve the top of their forward groups and are in the market for top-six wingers. As far as the Ducks are concerned, sophomore Cutter Gauthier (22) and rookie Beckett Sennecke (20) established themselves as two of the NHL’s top young scoring wingers, totaling a combined 129 points in the 82-game regular season and 18 points in the Ducks’ 12-game playoff run.
However, beyond that young, dynamic pair, the Ducks have short and long-term question marks on the wing. Troy Terry (28) is scheduled to undergo hip surgery this offseason, leaving the start to his 2026-27 campaign up in the air.
McTavish’s future with the Ducks has come into question, and if he’s to remain in Anaheim for the foreseeable future, it’s unclear if he’ll transition back to center or remain on the wing, the position he played down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Mikael Granlund (34) has two years remaining on his three-year contract with an AAV of $7 million. He’s a versatile player who can provide an impact anywhere in the top nine, so he can be seen as more of an impact gap-filler during the latter stages of his career.
Frank Vatrano was a staple in the Ducks’ top-six during his first three years in Anaheim, but found himself playing fourth-line minutes for head coach Joel Quenneville and the Ducks in 2025-26 when he did find himself in the lineup. He was healthy scratched for all 12 of the Ducks’ playoff games, and his future with the team is in question as he enters the second year of his three-year contract that carries an AAV of $4.57 million.
Chris Kreider (35) and Alex Killorn (36) will be entering the final year of their deals and may be suited for roles lower in the lineup as the Ducks look to advance further in the 2027 Playoffs than they did this year.
The Ducks still have one of the deepest prospect pipelines in the NHL, which features players of various NHL readiness, including Nikita Nesterenko (24), Sam Colangelo (24), Nico Myatovic (21), Yegor Sidorov (21), Sasha Pastujov (22), among a slew of others.
Though the potential remains that one or several of them break through and become top-six options, the likelihood of it being in 2026-27 is slim. A supplementary proven bridge veteran who more fits the Ducks’ timeline could be a useful addition to a team aiming to truly compete next season and beyond.
Some ancillary needs the Ducks may look to pursue could include an additional backup goaltender and/or more fourth-line depth pieces. Ville Husso is a serviceable backup, but NHL teams are electing to employ three goaltenders with increasing frequency, as injury and volatility are common at the position. The Ducks have multiple internal options from which they can build a fourth line. However, Verbeek has shown a penchant for tinkering with that area of his depth chart.
Stay tuned for articles this week featuring organizational situations around the league Verbeek could look to target were he intent on adding to his roster via the trade market this offseason.