Ducks Trade Ryan Strome To Flames
Veteran forward Ryan Strome is heading from the Ducks to the Flames, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. It’s a seventh-round pick in 2027 headed the other way, per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. The Flames have confirmed the deal.
Strome, 32, is in the penultimate year of his deal, paying $5MM per season. That’s quickly turned into a negative-value deal with Strome struggling to even stick in the lineup this year. He’s had just three goals and nine points in 33 games, plummeting from the six straight seasons of 40-plus points he’d carried in 2025-26.
Strome’s season started on the injured list with an upper-body issue. It’s unclear if it’s been plaguing him for the whole season, but that would provide an explanation for his cratering offense. He’s been a healthy scratch for extended periods as of late as a result. He drew into the lineup against the Islanders on Wednesday, his first appearance since Jan. 26.
It’s not so much a cap dump by Anaheim, who have plenty of space. It’s more of a high-cost pickup by the Flames to give them more flexibility in reaching the cap floor next season. The salary cap floor next season will be $76.9MM, and while the Flames are currently projected to exceed that by nearly $10MM with Strome in tow, they’ll continue to look to move out veterans – Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri chief among them – that could put them in danger of being below the floor next year if they’re not active in free agency. He also gives Calgary some center depth if they do end up moving Kadri, although he has played mostly on the wing in Anaheim this year.
Ducks Acquire John Carlson
A midnight blockbuster kicks off deadline day. The Ducks announced they’ve acquired two-time All-Star defenseman John Carlson from the Capitals. Washington lands a conditional first-round pick in return, plus Anaheim’s third-round pick in 2027. Anaheim will send its 2026 first-rounder if they make the playoffs this year; if not, then they have the option to send their 2027 pick instead.
Last night, it looked like adding a winger was the Ducks’ deadline priority. That may still be in play heading into sunrise on Friday, but for now, they’ve made a major splash on their blue line to load up on a veteran-heavy right side that already includes imposing shutdown pieces Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba.
They do so by acquiring a name that few believed would ever be on the move. While a pending unrestricted free agent, Carlson has been the face of Washington’s defense group for well over a decade, taking over #1 honors from the high-octane Mike Green around the time of the 2012 lockout. The 6’3″ righty may have lost a bit of a step from his days as a consensus top-10 defender in the league throughout the late 2010s, but he still finished 16th in Norris Trophy voting just last season and has put up even better boxcar stats here in 2025-26.
At age 36, Carlson hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down. He’s put up 10 goals, 36 assists and 46 points in 55 outings this year to rank 13th in the league among defenders at 0.84 points per game. It’s his best offensive showing since finishing 10th in Norris voting in 2021-22 and the fifth-best season of his 17-year career on a per-game basis. He immediately becomes Anaheim’s fourth-leading scorer this season behind their young forward triumvirate of Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and Beckett Sennecke, and that’s despite having his minutes in Washington drop to #2 deployment behind dominant lefty Jakob Chychrun. The minute-muncher’s 22:52 average time on ice is his lowest figure since the 2016-17 campaign.
The Caps had hinted at a sell-off yesterday morning by sending Nic Dowd to the Golden Knights. This is a move of an entirely different caliber, essentially closing the book on a disappointing follow-up to last year’s Eastern Conference regular-season championship.
A 3-2 loss to the Mammoth on Tuesday dropped their record to 31-25-7, and after the conclusion of Thursday’s games, they’re only four points back of the Bruins for the playoff cutoff. The Blue Jackets and Senators stand between them, though, and all three clubs have two games in hand on the Caps. With their playoff chances down under 25% as a result, the Caps will continue the on-the-fly retooling mindset that’s kept them competitive following their 2018 Stanley Cup championship by selling off their older assets – as hard as it may be – to continue stocking their cupboards with futures.
Of note, there is no extension in place between Carlson and the Ducks at the time of the deal, and those talks aren’t yet scheduled to take place, per Frank Seravalli of Victory+. There’s a real chance the Ducks, looking to wrestle the Pacific Division title away from the Golden Knights for their first postseason berth since 2018, are taking on the potential Hall-of-Fame defender as a rental.
While Carlson’s reputation is that of a more one-dimensional puck-mover, his two-way game has improved drastically in the later stages of his career. He’s continued to log major shorthanded minutes in D.C. and has had spectacular possession metrics for several seasons now, including a 53.2% Corsi For share at 5-on-5 this season. That’ll fit in well with an Anaheim group that’s completely turned around its two-way play, albeit in a high-event manner, under head coach Joel Quenneville. It also means there’s a natural fit for him to slide in alongside Jackson LaCombe on the Ducks’ top unit to let Trouba and Gudas patrol the ice against lesser competition, ideally boosting the Ducks’ puck possession when LaCombe isn’t on the ice.
The Ducks, with five of their top seven scorers this season aged 25 or younger, won’t miss a first-round choice in the next two years too much. They’re still armed with an above-average prospect pool and still have a decent stable of relatively high picks, including three second-round selections in 2027 that can be packaged to move up. The Caps, who were short on depth picks this year after trading away their second and third-rounders, will now likely end up with a pair of first-round selections that they can either use or flip for NHL-ready talent today or at the draft.
It will still be incredibly jarring to see the Caps’ roster without Carlson for the first time since 2009. A first-round pick the year prior, Carlson ends his time in Washington with 166 goals, 605 assists, and 771 points in 1,143 games. All of those are franchise records for defenders – by relatively wide margins – and he ranks fifth among all skaters in franchise history in points behind Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Bäckström, Peter Bondra, and Mike Gartner.
Image courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the trade.
Ducks Sign Ryan Poehling To Four-Year Extension
The Ducks announced they’ve signed center Ryan Poehling to a four-year extension. It carries an average annual value of $3.75MM for a total value of $15MM, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’s now under contract through the 2029-30 season.
Poehling, 27, would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s in the back half of a two-year, $3.8MM deal he signed with the Flyers in 2024. Anaheim was likely never keen on letting him hit the open market after making him the key piece of the return they received from Philadelphia for Trevor Zegras last summer.
A first-round pick by the Canadiens back in 2017, Poehling has taken the long road toward being a stable top-nine contributor, but it’s looking like he’s finally arrived. He played mostly fourth-line minutes for the first several years of his career, but he first got an extended look on Philly’s third line last season. A defensively responsible pivot who’s featured heavily on the Penguins’, Flyers’, and Ducks’ penalty kills since the 2022-23 campaign, the offense arrived in earnest with a 12-19–31 scoring line in 68 games for Philly.
Anaheim was banking on him keeping that production up while continuing to feature as a #3/#4 center. So far, that’s been the case. Despite a five-point regression in shooting percentage from last season, his 7-17–24 scoring line through 54 contests as a Duck is roughly in line with his points per game output in 2024-25. He’s done that with what seems like a never-ending rotating cast of linemates while also leading Anaheim forwards in shorthanded ice time.
Poehling’s 46.3% faceoff win rate isn’t anything to write home about, but his +7 rating is tied with Troy Terry for the team lead, and his 62 blocked shots are the most among Ducks forwards. That kind of skillset, plus what seems like a consistent ability to score in the 30-to-40-point range, is valuable considering how low he generally plays in the lineup, and he’ll now be filling that role behind core centers Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish through the end of the decade.
Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Ducks Looking To Add On The Wing
So far, it’s been a quiet deadline season for Anaheim. The only deal the Ducks have made this season was to acquire depth winger Jeffrey Viel from the Bruins in January.
Now, it appears more additions on the wing could be ahead of a more headline-grabbing variety. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet relays that the Ducks are still gauging the market for a top-nine winger and hope to land one ahead of tomorrow’s lineup, calling them a “stealth team.”
While a handful of names have come off the board today – Michael Bunting and Warren Foegele have found new homes in the past couple of hours – there are plenty more available. Options on The Athletic’s latest trade board, published today, include Blake Coleman, Bobby McMann, Conor Garland, Evander Kane, and, to a lesser extent, Jordan Kyrou. Friedman also mentioned Nashville’s Jonathan Marchessault as a name with continued urgency to move after reports of a mutual desire for a trade last month.
Some might gawk at Anaheim’s defensive numbers – they’ve allowed the third-most goals in the league to date – but their under-the-hood numbers are strong. They’re high-event but are controlling the majority of play at 5-on-5 (52.3 CF%, 50.7 SCF%), but have fallen victim to some underwhelming special teams and a recent cold streak from starting netminder Lukáš Dostál after his exceptional start.
Still, their offense hasn’t been overpowering. They’re third in the league with 30.2 shots per game, but their goals per game of 3.25 is much closer to league average at 13th. That’s certainly playoff-caliber, but there’s a clear need to improve their finishing ability to make a deep run in a wide-open Pacific Division in their first year of playoff contention this decade.
Anaheim has gotten exceptional performances from the young players at the top of their lineup, 31-goal man Cutter Gauthier chief among them, but some of their higher-priced veterans in top-nine roles have struggled. Alex Killorn has only eight tallies in 61 games despite averaging over 16 minutes per night. Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome have combined for just seven goals on the year. Moving two of them to a fourth-line role by adding a top-nine name and getting Mikael Granlund back healthy seems to be high on general manager Pat Verbeek‘s wish list.
Whatever they’re willing to leverage in return will likely be futures-based. There’s been some talk of defenseman Pavel Mintyukov being dangled, but they don’t have the defensive depth to sustain his loss if they’re not taking a D-man back in return.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Frank Vatrano
The Anaheim Ducks have activated winger Frank Vatrano off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, they have placed center Mikael Granlund, who is sidelined with an upper-body injury, on injured reserve.
Vatrano has been out since Dec. 27 with a shoulder injury, an ailment that kept him sidelined for 22 contests. It’s been a tough season for the 31-year-old sniper, and his activation today will give him the chance to re-enter the lineup and attempt to re-write the story of his 2025-26 campaign. Vatrano, who scored 37 goals and was an All-Star two years ago, has just three goals and six points in 38 games this season.
He’s scored at least 20 goals in every season since he joined the Ducks as a free agent in 2022, but it appears almost impossible for him to reach that number in what remains of the 2025-26 season. The emergence of several talented young scorers in Anaheim, such as star rookie Beckett Sennecke, has eaten into the prime offensive opportunities Vatrano once received.
This season, Vatrano ranks No. 11 among Ducks forwards in time on ice per game, averaging 12:20 with only sporadic usage on either side of special teams. In both 2023-24 and 2024-25, Vatrano was the team’s No. 2 forward in terms of time on ice per game, playing regularly on the top power play unit in both years and occupying a notable penalty kill role in his All-Star campaign.
Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville, who also coached Vatrano during both players’ tenure with the Florida Panthers, commented to The Hockey News’ Derek Lee on Vatrano’s season, saying “whether it was his shot or his production, it’s been off a little bit, and I think that he needs to get himself feeling good and getting that some confidence in his game.” With today’s activation, he’ll get his first chance to rebound and begin to build back his confidence level. For tonight’s game against the New York Islanders, Vatrano slotted in on the team’s third line, playing alongside Ryan Poehling and Ryan Strome.
Replacing Vatrano on IR is Granlund. The veteran forward has been sidelined for four consecutive games with his injury, suffered at the Olympic tournament while helping Finland to a bronze medal. The 34-year-old was a key offseason addition for GM Pat Verbeek, signing a three-year, $7MM AAV deal to head to Orange County.
While he’s dealt with some injuries, he’s largely kept to his career pace as a Duck, scoring 27 points in 38 games, which is a 58-point 82-game scoring pace. He’s replaced Vatrano as Anaheim’s No. 2 forward in terms of ice time, skating 18:55 time on ice per game, including 3:10 on the power play and 1:41 on the penalty kill.
Trade Deadline Primer: Anaheim Ducks
With the Olympic break now over, the trade deadline is less than a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? Next up is the Ducks.
The Ducks currently hold a playoff spot in the Western Conference and have been a pleasant surprise this season. The team is in a very advantageous position heading into the trade deadline, with a ton of trade capital and plenty of space under the salary cap. If GM Pat Verbeek wanted to get aggressive, he certainly could, but given that it is a buyer’s market, it feels as though this club might not be ready to make a splash just yet. Verbeek has seen mixed results making trades in recent years, but there is no doubt he has put together a good blend of youth and veteran experience in Anaheim.
Record
33-23-3, 2nd in the Pacific (93.6% playoff probability)
Deadline Status
Conservative Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$52.61MM on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2026: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, ANA 3rd, DET 4th, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th
2027: ANA 1st, ANA 2nd, STL 2nd, DET 3rd, ANA 3rd, ANA 5th, ANA 6th, ANA 7th
Trade Chips
Pavel Mintyukov isn’t necessarily the Ducks’ best trade chip, but he’s the most likely to be used before the deadline if the Ducks are to make a significant move. It was just a few years ago that the former 10th-overall pick (in 2022) was a standout OHL defenseman with a lot of shine to his game. In 2023-24, the then 20-year-old had a terrific rookie season, tallying four goals and 24 assists in 63 games, finishing 14th in the Calder Trophy conversation. The versatile defenseman hasn’t been able to match that level of production since and has been squeezed quite a bit by the Ducks’ packed left side of their defense.
This depth has led to Mintyukov being a healthy scratch at times and to his playing time being reduced, something he clearly isn’t happy with. If the Ducks decide the youngster isn’t a fit with the team, he still has enough value to be a solid trade chip if the Ducks want to grab a bigger asset to improve their lineup in the here and now. The issue for the Ducks on their back end is that they need defensive defenders on the right side, which is what Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas were supposed to be. With both of those men likely gone in the offseason, Verbeek may hang on to Mintyukov.
Among other top young players, the Ducks aren’t moving forward Beckett Sennecke, the third overall pick in 2024, who has been a rookie sensation this year, scoring 19 goals and 29 assists in 58 games. Beyond Sennecke, the Ducks have a few prospects they could look to move if they wanted to go big-game hunting.
The Ducks have strong depth on the left side of their defensive core, which could make Stian Solberg expendable. The 2024 first-round pick (23rd overall) has been toiling in the AHL in his first full season in North America. At just 20 years old, Solberg has shown he is very difficult to play against, thanks to a mean streak a mile long and an ability to keep opponents away from the front of his team’s net. Solberg doesn’t have the offensive instincts to contribute much on the scoresheet, but he does have a heavy shot and is an efficient skater.
Moving up to forward, there is little chance the Ducks move Roger McQueen, whom they drafted last summer, but Lucas Pettersson, a 2024 second-round pick (35th overall), could interest teams looking for a player whose NHL trajectory is about two years away. Pettersson is a bit on the small side, but he makes up for it with a two-way game that leans offensively. The 19-year-old is a creative playmaker who can play in any situation and possesses terrific offensive skills, including a sneaky-accurate wrist shot and great passing. Pettersson could be of interest to teams seeking a plug-and-play forward who is potentially a second- or third-line NHL center in the making.
Team Needs
A Right Shot Defenseman: The Ducks continue to deploy Trouba and Gudas in roles that are beyond their skill set, but that shouldn’t be the case beyond this season. Right-handed defensemen are always in demand and among the hardest assets to acquire. The Ducks may opt to wait until the summer to try to sign or trade for one, but the free-agent market for defense is barren, and the Ducks may not be inclined to get into a bidding war. GM Pat Verbeek has shown a tendency to overpay in free agency to acquire assets (Alex Killorn, for example), but with Cutter Gauthier and Leo Karlsson both due raises as RFAs this summer, he might not want to spend so liberally. Rasmus Andersson of the Vegas Golden Knights could be the best available defender if he reaches the market, while Tampa Bay’s Darren Raddyish is having a monster year with the Lightning. A veteran like John Carlson could also test the market, but at 36, he might be too late in his career for the Ducks to consider him an option.
Bottom Six Depth: The Ducks’ bottom six isn’t great right now, as injuries have forced Ryan Poehling to center the third line and Jansen Harkins to take regular shifts in the NHL lineup. No disrespect to either man, but they are both currently playing in roles beyond their skill sets. Poehling is a capable fourth-line center but is often overmatched when playing in the top nine, while Harkins is best served as a tweener with limited offensive capabilities. Both men’s spots in the lineup clearly indicate a need for the Ducks to get deeper on their bottom two lines. The Ducks could acquire top-six help and push players down the hierarchy, or they could look for bargain options that could slide onto the third or fourth line to fill out a bottom six that is currently quite weak.
Image courtesy of Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images.
Ducks Activate Leo Carlsson
Anaheim’s push to hold onto a playoff spot will get a boost tonight as center Leo Carlsson has been activated off injured reserve, according to the NHL’s Media Site. The Ducks had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made but their roster is now at the maximum of 23.
Carlsson underwent a procedure in mid-January to treat a Morel-Lavallée lesion in his left thigh. The initial recovery timeline was three to five weeks. At the time, the hope was that he’d be able to suit up for Sweden at the Olympics but ultimately, he wasn’t able to participate.
Before being sidelined, Carlsson had been one of the breakout performers in the first half of the season. Head coach Joel Quenneville had the 21-year-old playing a more prominent role compared to his sophomore campaign and the center responded with 44 points in 44 games, a total that made him Anaheim’s leading scorer prior to the injury.
Despite missing a dozen games, Carlsson has only slipped to a share of second place in team scoring, behind only winger Cutter Gauthier. He’s also tied with fellow youngster Beckett Sennecke and veteran winger Troy Terry for that number two spot in points.
It’s not all good news on the injury front for Anaheim, however. Derek Lee of The Hockey News relays that forward Mikael Granlund will miss tonight’s game against Edmonton due to an upper-body injury sustained at the Olympics. Fortunately for them, he’s expected to skate on Thursday and hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s contest versus Winnipeg.
Ducks Recall Ian Moore, Tim Washe
Feb. 24: As expected, the Ducks announced today that Moore is back on the roster ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Oilers. He was recalled alongside forward Tim Washe, who was on the NHL roster prior to the break but was sent down to San Diego earlier than Moore. His return indicates the Ducks aren’t expecting either Leo Carlsson or Frank Vatrano to be able to come off injured reserve yet.
Feb. 18: According to a team announcement, the Anaheim Ducks have reassigned defenseman Ian Moore to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. It’ll be Moore’s first stint in the AHL since the beginning of the season.
It’s not expected to be a long-term demotion for Moore. Simply put, the move to AHL San Diego will allow the 24-year-old defenseman to play in as many as three games before the Ducks return to action against the Edmonton Oilers next Wednesday.
Regardless, it won’t be an unfamiliar environment for Moore. The former captain of Harvard University played nine games for the Gulls last year to close out the regular season, scoring one goal and five points. He has only registered one AHL contest this season.
Although he didn’t crack Anaheim’s roster out of training camp, he’s been with the Ducks for much of the 2025-26 campaign. He’s scored two goals and nine points in 41 games, averaging 14:10 of ice time per night. He’s shown quality possession metrics for a rookie, managing a 53.5% CorsiFor% at even strength.
Moore’s rise as a capable NHL defenseman has sparked mixed feelings in Orange County. His play at the beginning of the year led to a loss of ice time for defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, who even considered requesting a trade in late November.
Ducks’ Petr Mrazek Out For Season After Hip Surgery
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that netminder Petr Mrazek will miss the rest of the 2025-26 season after undergoing hip surgery yesterday. Mrazek has not played since Jan. 5 and has been on injured reserve since Jan. 7.
This news is an undoubtedly unfortunate development for Mrazek, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer. The 34-year-old veteran has a $4.25MM AAV contract that is set to expire. Today’s news means that Mrazek won’t be able to put any additional games on his résumé before he hits the open market. Acquired by the Ducks in June as part of the Detroit Red Wings’ acquisition of John Gibson, Mrazek played in just 10 games this season. He went 3-5-0 with a grisly .858 save percentage and 4.07 goals-against-average.
Those numbers won’t help Mrazek’s case in free agency, but looking past just his brief Ducks tenure, Mrazek’s platform as a free agent looks improved. He was the No. 1 goalie playing behind a weak rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team in 2023-24 and posted a strong .908 save percentage across 56 games played. Throughout his NHL career, Mrazek has been a talented, if inconsistent goaltender.
While he was likely viewed as a more straightforward option for clubs interested in a veteran backup goaltender in this summer’s open market, today’s development will likely inject some uncertainty into his free agency.
Latest On Leo Carlsson, Frank Vatrano
The Anaheim Ducks took the ice today for their first practice back from the Olympic break, with Leo Carlsson and Frank Vatrano full participants, as noted by Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Both players are working their way back from procedures.
In Carlsson, the 21-year-old young star was one of the biggest stories of the first half of the campaign, as he has broken out along with his Ducks, putting up 44 points in as many games. Carlsson was on his way to representing Team Sweden at the Olympics until a Morel-Lavallée lesion sidelined him in mid-January, requiring surgery.
On the other hand, while many Ducks have enjoyed such breakouts in 2025-26 under new Head Coach Joel Quenneville, it has been the opposite for Vatrano. The 31-year-old has just three goals and six points in 38 games, night and day from his 37-goal production two seasons ago. Although, to be fair, it came at an unsustainable 13.6% shooting percentage, and the emergence of several young forwards has cut his ice time dramatically. The Massachusetts native sustained a shoulder fracture in late December which brought a six week timeline estimation.