Up to this point, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek has operated in the cool comfort of a shadow cast by low expectations and nonexistent pressure as he made moves to stockpile futures and improve the organization’s long-term outlook.
With that freedom, he has embraced chaos time after time, shaking up the final rankings in 2023 when he took Leo Carlsson over Adam Fantilli and then unleashing an earthquake on the prospect order in 2024 when he launched Beckett Sennecke up the draft board.
Now, thanks to a fan base that has grown impatient across six noncompetitive campaigns and his own proclamation that he wants to vie for a playoff spot next year, Verbeek has elevated standards and stakes even after his club accumulated just 59 points in the standings last season.
He has said he wants to add a top-four defenseman and a top-six winger, both right-handed shots ideally, and that he plans to reimagine the Ducks’ bottom-six forward group.
Yet Verbeek has again found a way to deke and dangle, even as an executive, carrying nearly every cent of his NHL-high amount of salary cap space into Day 2 of free agency after almost every notable target came off the board on Day 1.
Sure, the Ducks re-signed the two most likely returners from their group of nonqualified restricted free agents, defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and winger Brett Leason. Yes, they will receive a boost from the full-time presence of prospect Cutter Gauthier, whom they acquired midseason in a potential coup of a trade. But they otherwise stood pat, despite being almost $32 million under the salary cap’s ceiling and, even after those signings, nearly $9 million below its floor.
While the Nashville Predators raided the free-agent cupboard on Monday – they signed not one but two Stanley-Cup-winning, right-handed-shooting forwards in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault as well as prized defenseman Brady Skjei – the Ducks appeared to be saving their appetite.
One could infer that this is another zig in place of an anticipated zag from Verbeek, but the Ducks’ aversion to the frequently premium-laden free-agent market is nothing new, and Verbeek has been less loath to dip into it than his predecessors.
Since they signed Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer coming out of the 2005 lockout, the Ducks have only twice invested $25 million or more in a free agent from another team, sinking exactly that sum into Ryan Strome in 2022 and then into Alex Killorn last summer, with both being signed by Verbeek. By contrast, Nashville’s trio of acquisitions cost them $27.5 million, $32 million and $49 million, respectively, and those were all made in one offseason.
Now, the Ducks literally have to spend money and add players, as they are the only team presently beneath the cap floor after Verbeek’s former teammate and front-office cohort Steve Yzerman and his Detroit Red Wings tidied up some business Monday.
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But that would be the bare minimum, and no team seriously discussing a playoff push or even an acceleration of its build could be taken seriously by spending in a way that typically reflects a franchise awaiting a series of lottery picks, relocation or both.
While Verbeek and the Ducks did not stage any media availability on Monday and said they would have to refrain from commenting on circumstances or potential moves, there is little doubt that the days to come will prove eventful on the trade front and possibly even with some value signings among lingering free agents.
Former Ducks Adam Henrique and John Klingberg are still on the free-agent market, with Henrique feeling like a fair possibility should the already active Edmonton Oilers not retain his services, while veterans like Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan Suter remained available Monday evening as well.
