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John Carlson of the Anaheim Ducks.

The 2025/26 Anaheim Ducks were one of the most interesting teams in the National Hockey League, and with their young core taking a major step forward, they made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, defeating the rival Edmonton Oilers in the first round.

For the most part, the team is locked in for the future, with Troy Terry, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson Lacombe and others leading the charge into what many believe could be a golden period in the history of the Ducks franchise. However, they’ve got some massive decisions to make this off-season, with the likes of Mason McTavish being seen as a potential trade candidate, while there’s some free agents they need to deal with as well.

Top Ducks Trade Deadline Pickup Becomes a Free Agent

GettyJohn Carlson with the Anaheim Ducks.

Given their promising start to the regular season, the Ducks became buyers at the 2026 trade deadline, with their biggest acquisition being long-time Washington Capitals star defenseman John Carlson. Carlson was drafted by Washington way back in the 2008 NHL Draft, and across 17 seasons with the team, he became a franchise icon, helping them to the Stanley Cup in 2018 while tallying 166 goals and 771 points across 1,143 career games.

After arriving in Anaheim, he made a huge impact on this young Ducks team, and with six assists across 12 post-season games, he proved that even at 36-years-old, he can be a major asset for an NHL franchise.

John Carlson Linked to Three Teams in Free Agency

Following the 2025/26 season however, Carlson is set to become a free agent after playing out the final year of an eight-year, $64 million deal he signed with the Capitals way back in 2018. While he’s no longer the star that he once was, Carlson combined to post 14 goals and 60 points across 71 games played between the two teams in the regular season, with a combined point differential of +9 on top of that.

As a result of the solid production, he’s likely to draw significant attention as a free agent in the coming weeks, and according to NHL Insider Frank Seravalli on the Frankly Hockey show, there’s three teams interested in the veteran. Unsurprisingly, one of those teams are the Ducks, who saw the influence Carlson had on their young core, but along with that, both the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers are fits that make sense to Seravalli.

All three of these teams have young cores that are seemingly ready to take the next step, and with key needs on the right side of the defense, all three should be in play when he hits free agency on July 1st. As of right now, there’s no indication as to what Carlson’s priorities are as a free agent, but with plenty of interest and fantastic production for a player that’s set to enter his 18th year in the National Hockey League, he could be one of the biggest and most important free agent signings in the league this off-season.