In the first of a 32 part series leading up to the start of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we will look at the key off-season transactions made by all NHL organizations with an overall grade. Here are the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks added four players in the offseason who are projected to be in the opening lineup one month from now. They are forwards Mikael Granlund of Oulu, Finland, Chris Kreider of Boxford, Massachusetts, Ryan Poehling of Lakeville, Minnesota, and goaltender Petr Mrazek of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Mikael Granlund
Granlund. a centre, came to terms on a three-year contract worth $21 million. He has spent seven seasons with the Minnesota Wild, five seasons with the Nashville Predators, one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, two seasons with the San Jose Sharks and this past season with the Dallas Stars. In 2024-25 with the Sharks and Stars, Granlund had 22 goals and 44 assists for 66 points in 83 games. He is projected to be on the Ducks third line with veterans Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano.
Chris Kreider
Kreider, a left winger, was traded from the New York Rangers to the Ducks with a fourth round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (Ducks selected goaltender Elijah Neuenschwander of Switzerland) for prospect Carey Terrance of Akwesasne, New York and a third round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (Rangers selected defenseman Artyom Gonchar of Russia). Kreider spent the last 13 seasons with the Rangers and is third on the all-time list in goals with 326. With the Ducks, Kreider is projected to be on the Ducks second line with Mason McTavish and Troy Terry. This past season, Kreider had 22 goals and eight assists for 30 points in 68 games.
Petr Mrazek
Mrazek is expected to backup Lukas Dostal of Brno, Czech Republic. He was traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the Ducks with fourth round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft and the Red Wings’s second round pick in the 2027 NHL Entry Draft for goaltender John Gibson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mrazek shared his time this past season with the Chicago Blackhawks and Red Wings. He posted a record of 12 win, 21 regulation losses and two losses in extra time in 2024-25, with a goals against average of 3.35 and a save percentage of .891 and one shutout. It came on March 16 in a 3-0 Red Wings win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Mrazek made 18 saves.
The Ducks will be Mrazek’s sixth NHL team. He previously played seven seasons with the Red Wings (2012 to 2018, and again in 2024 to 2025), one season with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2017 to 2018, three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2018 to 2021, one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2021 to 2022, and three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2022 to 2025.
Ryan Poehling
Poehling is joining his fourth NHL team after three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens (2018-2022), one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2022-2023), and two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers (2023-2025). In 68 games in 2024-25, Poehling had 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points. He is expected to be on the Ducks fourth line with Nikita Nesterenko and Sam Colangelo.
In the offseason, Poehling was traded from the Flyers to the Ducks with a second round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (Ducks selected center Eric Nilson of Sweden), and a fourth round pick in 2026 for centre Trevor Zegras of Bedford, New York.
Projected Grade
The Ducks have a grade of C in the offseason. They did a good job in bringing in Granlund and Kreider to provide experience and offense, but losing Zegras and Gibson is significant. Anaheim also has a new coach in Joel Quenneville, who won three Stanley Cups coaching the Blackhawks.
