After a franchise altering weekend at the 2026 NHL entry draft and armed with nearly 35 million in cap space, Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek had an opportunity to take a big swing, once free agency opened on July 1st. Instead, Ducks fans are left wondering why Verbeek traded away valuable assets to sit on his hands and not upgrade the roster in a significant fashion. Let's take a look at what happened and what didn't during the opening of free agency, in what has now become an agonizing annual tradition of doing the bare minimum.
In and out
Out: Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas, John Carlson, Ross Johnston, Jeffrey Viel
In: A.J. Greer, Nick Jensen, Jeff Malott, Laurent Brossoit
The entire right side of the Ducks defense from last season has been vacated, along with some depth contributors. Gudas went to his old stomping grounds in Florida to chase that elusive Stanley Cup, Carlson opted out of an extension with Carolina for Tampa Bay, Trouba changed zip codes for Nor Cal, Viel also went to Tampa Bay and will probably put up 50 points in Jon Cooper's system, and Johnston will be protecting Mason McTavish in St. Louis.
Greer should provide more offense as depth option, as he had 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 78 games for Florida last season. Jensen could be a viable replacement on the second or third defense pair, as he notched 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 61 games for the Ottawa Senators, while averaging 17:01 in ice time. Malott had a whopping 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 58 games for the Los Angeles Kings. The Brossoit trade seems like goaltender insurance, as Petr Mrazek is unlikely to return, after suffering a hip injury that ended the UFA's season.
No home run swing
With McTavish and Olen Zellweger off the board, the Ducks are further depleted of trade pieces that could fetch a significant return. While the sagas of Dylan Larkin and Jason Robertson are ongoing, Verbeek would have to give up future draft capital and/or a good prospect to snag a higher caliber player. If the goal last season was to make the playoffs (mission accomplished and hang the banner, Nashville Predators style), the goal for this season should be to push into that upper tier of playoff teams, like the Vegas Golden Knights or the Carolina Hurricanes. While supplementing aging depth with slightly less aging depth is fine, those kinds of passive moves do not move the needle.
Key RFAs left unsigned
Yes, the offseason has just begun, but both Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier are without new contracts. Both skaters are key pillars to the future of the franchise, yet Verbeek has once again decided to strong arm valuable talent. While other franchises make signing their core pieces a priority, Ducks fans have to watch as Verbeek prolongs another wave of summer negotiations. For what it's worth though, at least Verbeek has a contingency plan in place this time.
Saw one offer sheet yesterday — Barrett Hayton/New Jersey — and are wondering about more. Heard over the past few hours Anaheim guaranteed it will match any attempt on Leo Carlsson, and the reason the Ducks haven’t made many moves is to make sure to be in a safe cap position.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 2, 2026
Hopefully, another team is willing to offer sheet Carlsson and force Verbeek into making the right decision of paying the Ducks number one center what he is worth. Unfortunately for Gauthier though, as he is not eligible to sign an offer sheet, expect the same song and dance from the Ducks front office.
Final thoughts
Meh. That's the Ducks offseason so far. Even with Verbeek opting to leave enough cap space to sign his RFAs, that's not an excuse to do nothing. The San Jose Sharks got stronger through the draft, the Knights are the Knights and will take swings on any high-end player, and the Edmonton Oilers might be a train wreck, but they still have McDavid. If there was ever a time to bolster the lineup, Verbeek missed the mark.
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