The Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks] head into the 2025 offseason with $38.69 million [https://puckpedia.com/] in cap space and need to spend $13.79 million to reach the cap floor. Ownership has given general manager Pat Verbeek a mandate to push for the playoffs in 2025-26 and has given him the green light to spend [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-ownership-prepared-to-spend-what-it-takes-this-summer] to the cap ceiling, if it’s deemed necessary to achieve that goal. Barring extensions signed before July 1, the 2025 free agent class will consist of one franchise-altering superstar (Mitch Marner) and a long list of quality players just beneath at every position who could provide varying degrees of their personal brand and impact to a team’s depth chart. The Ducks currently have 16 players under contract for the 2025-26 season, with five restricted free agents under team control. They were a team near the bottom of the league in most traditional and underlying statistical categories [https://www.naturalstattrick.com/teamtable.php] in 2024-25 and could use upgrades at several positions within their lineup. Verbeek has stated his priority to add goal scoring, and recently hired head coach Joel Quenneville has traditionally valued puck possession. Three spots in the lineup the Ducks could look to address in free agency are a top-of-the-lineup producing forward, a two-way middle-six center, and a mobile defensive defenseman. Ducks Potential Free Agent Fits: Middle Six Center [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/players/ducks-potential-free-agent-fits-middle-six-center] Ducks Potential Free Agent Fits: Top of the Lineup Point Producer [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/players/ducks-potential-free-agent-fits-top-of-the-lineup-point-producer] With how the Ducks roster is constructed and the brand of hockey they’re hoping to ice on a nightly basis, who are the best fits on the free agent market? DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN Verbeek stated during his post-season press conference that the biggest need heading into the offseason is improved goal scoring. However, the Ducks were one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, spent too much time in their own zone, and had significant difficulty generating clean exits. In the 2024-25 season, the Ducks allowed the 10th-most goals per game (3.18) in the NHL, the most shots against per game (32.3), and deployed the league’s 29th-ranked penalty kill (74.2%). As the defensive depth chart is currently constructed, the Ducks have a breakout two-way star (Jackson LaCombe), two unproven offensive dynamos brimming with potential (Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov), two relatively stationary veterans (Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas), and a trio of inexperienced right-shot youngsters with varying skillsets (Drew Helleson, Ian Moore, Tristan Luneau). While the potential on the blueline is tantalizing and the roster had issues with logjams a year ago, if the goal for the 2025-26 season is for the Ducks to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, that collection of defensemen likely won’t cut it. Adding a modern-day mobile defense-oriented defender to the Ducks' blueline would alleviate responsibility on Trouba and Gudas, who have shown trouble assuming shutdown roles at this point in their careers, while potentially insulating and nurturing one or several of the team’s young talents on the backend. All contract projections provided by AFP Analytics [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WuCp8WHgCaTAijtVsww-C-1qmdBdNBiTbDIPdJr_Fwo/edit?gid=1769332179#gid=1769332179] May 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) looks on against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period in game three of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/51de593e-5c26-403e-bad0-11b61718bea9.jpeg] May 9, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) looks on against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period in game three of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images AARON EKBLAD Contract Projection: 7 years, $7,802,350 Ekblad (29) is currently playing in his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final, as his Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] squad looks to hoist the greatest trophy in sports for a second straight season. Over the last three seasons, next to Gustav Forsling, Ekblad has made up half of one of the NHL’s most consistent and dominant shutdown pairs, winning shifts while matching up against the league’s elite opposing lines. The 2014 first overall pick is a proven playoff performer who’s as bruising as he is tenacious. Playing against him, he makes it a chore to get to dangerous areas of the ice and will punish opponents for trying. Offensively, he plays a simple game, but is adept at absorbing forechecks and making clean outlet passes. Ekblad’s mobility isn’t what it once was, and he’s had his bouts with the injury bug, missing at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons. In 2024-25, he served a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. He stated he used a substance as part of a recovery program from a recent spell of injuries. For a player like Ekblad, the potential term on his contract would be more of a drawback for a team like Anaheim than the potential salary. He would, however, provide a needed boost to the Ducks' penalty kill, as he’s consistently among Florida’s leaders in TOI on the PK. While he’s a proven playoff performer and champion, it’s unclear how much he’d help a team like Anaheim make the jump from 80-point playoff hopeful to 95-point wildcard threat, especially if he can be penciled into missing 15-20 games per season. Feb 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) skates with the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period of a hockey game at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1af01c4c-bc8e-46c4-b88b-5614da696d3b.jpeg] Feb 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (84) skates with the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period of a hockey game at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images VLADISLAV GAVRIKOV Contract Projection: 7 years, $7,608,621 Gavrikov (29) has earned recognition as one of the better shutdown defenders in the NHL since he was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] to the Los Angeles Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] at the 2023 trade deadline. In 2024-25, he led the Kings in ice time (1893:06) by over 150 minutes and was their most frequently used penalty killer (271:40 TOI). Gavrikov filled in valiantly for the injured Drew Doughty for the majority of the 2024-25 season on the right side of premier shutdown defender Mikey Anderson. He’s adapted well when tasked with playing his offside, something he’d likely have to do if Anaheim were to pursue him in free agency. He’s suffered no major injuries during his six-year NHL career and would seemingly fit nicely next to a young, budding star like Pavel Mintyukov. Jan 7, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro (15) moves the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/af1b2326-f240-4371-bce2-3741377cc6fc.jpeg] Jan 7, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro (15) moves the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images DANTE FABBRO Contract Projection: 4 years, $4,528,519 Fabbro (26) was seen as somewhat of an afterthought as his days as a member of the Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators] dwindled. So much so that he was placed on waivers in early November and claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he played the remainder of the 2024-25 season. He found a home next to All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski, where the duo paired together for over 1000 minutes and formed one of the better two-way top pairs in the Eastern Conference. Fabbro was the second-most utilized Blue Jackets defenseman on the penalty kill, averaging 1:41 TOI per game on the kill. He isn’t as physically imposing as other available defensively-minded blueliners, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for with proper angling and engagement techniques so as to never surrender the middle of the ice. He is a more-than-capable puck mover who can get to dumped pucks and find his outlets quickly to negate opposing forechecks. With his skillset, age, and success next to a star two-way puck mover like Werenski, Fabbro could form a formidable pair next to someone like Jackson LaCombe in Anaheim’s top four. Other potential fits on the free agent market: Ivan Provorov, Dmitry Orlov, Brent Burns, Ryan Lindgren, Brian Dumoulin, Nick Perbix, Henri Jokiharju If the Ducks do decide to add to their blueline without subtracting, they could find themselves in a similar situation they were in during the majority of the 2024-25 season, where they had too many NHL-caliber defensemen in need of NHL minutes, leading to potentially hindered development. However, if the intention is to take the next steps toward contending, it’s unlikely the backend is sufficient as currently constructed. It may benefit them to add a complementary, modern-day, mobile, and defensive-oriented defender to their blueline and sort out the rest of the organizational depth chart when they get to that point. 'I Do Wonder if Anaheim Takes a Shot at This': How the Anaheim Ducks Fit as a Possible Destination for Jonathan Toews Comeback [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/i-do-wonder-if-anaheim-takes-a-shot-at-this-how-the-anaheim-ducks-fit-as-a-possible-destination-for-jonathan-toews-comeback] Ducks Wont Be Bothered by Offer Sheets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/ducks-wont-be-bothered-by-offer-sheets] Former Duck Joins Exclusive Club [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/former-duck-joins-exclusive-club] Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
