Ducks Qualify Seven Players

By Thomas Harrington

Earlier today, the Ducks extended qualifying offers to seven restricted free agents: forward Leo Carlsson, forward Cutter Gauthier, forward Sasha Pastujov, defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, defenseman Tyson Hinds, goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets, and goaltender Calle Clang. They did not extend qualifying offers to forward Jan Mysak, forward Jaxsen Wiebe, defenseman Kyle Masters, and defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka.

When the Ducks and other teams extend qualifying offers to their restricted free agents, they are essentially signaling that they are planning on retaining that player’s rights. Depending on how much the player made the previous season, the team must offer a contract that pays at least a certain percentage of the previous contract. If there is no qualifying offer made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign where they want, including back with the team that failed to qualify them. Sometimes teams will not qualify a player in the hopes of re-signing them to less than they would have made with the qualifying offer. This happened a couple years ago when the Ducks did not offer a qualifying offer to Brett Leason and then signed him at a cheaper price. Once a qualifying offer has been made, the two sides can work out a longer deal, or the player can take the qualifying offer as a one-year deal.

There was never any question of Carlsson, Gauthier, and Mintyukov not receiving qualifying offers. Hopefully Carlsson and Gauthier sign long-term deals, but depending on how negotiations go, either of them could end up with a bridge deal. I don’t think Mintyukov has done quite enough to get a full eight-year extension, though I’m not opposed to it. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he signed a deal similar to what Brandt Clarke just signed for the Los Angeles Kings, but for a little less money.

A third round pick from the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Pastujov has arguably been San Diego’s top forward for the past season and a half. While he has yet to make his NHL debut, he has 102 points in the AHL over the past two seasons. He’ll likely get a two-way deal for a couple of seasons. Hopefully we see him finally get a shot in Anaheim during his next contract.

Another third round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Hinds was another sure bet to be qualified, especially after the Olen Zellweger trade. Hinds essentially took Zellweger’s spot late in the regular season and for much of the playoff run. Depending on what moves Anaheim makes through the rest of the summer, a spot with the Ducks isn’t guaranteed for him, but I do expect him to see some NHL time this coming season.

A sixth round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Buteyets had a difficult season. He spent most of it in the ECHL, suiting up for 44 games for the Tulsa Oilers and recording a 3.11 goals against average, a .908 save percentage, and two shutouts to go along with a 18-19-5 record. He also got four games with the Gulls, where he picked up his first AHL win, and made his NHL debut when he came in for relief for one game. Given his struggles, I was somewhat surprised to see him qualified, but a team can never have too much goaltending depth. I’d expect him to spend much of this season in the ECHL again with some time in the AHL. Hopefully he’s able to put up some better numbers in both leagues.

Acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Rickard Rakell deal, Clang is the most surprising player to see qualified, since he has already signed to play in Rogle BK of the SHL this coming season. However, by qualifying him, if he ever does want to come back to North America, the Ducks will still control his rights. This past season Clang spent entirely in the AHL, and became San Diego’s starter once Ville Husso was recalled to be Lukas Dostal’s backup.

Ducks Don’t Qualify Four Players

Wiebe was signed as a free agent three years ago. He’s a physical player who has unfortunately spent a lot of time on injured reserve over the past couple of seasons. He spent all of last season in the ECHL, playing for both the Tulsa Oilers and Savannah Ghost Pirates. There’s a chance he could be brought back to San Diego on an AHL-only deal, but I’d be stunned if the Ducks offered him a two-way deal.

Mysak was acquired from Montreal in exchange for Jacob Perreault a couple of years ago. Since then, he’s played only for the Gulls. In his first full season with San Diego, Mysak played very well, scoring 18 goals and 42 points in 68 games. He and Pastujov formed some amazing chemistry on the team’s second line. This past season didn’t go as well though, and his totals fell to 10 goals and 23 points in 56 games. He spent much of the end of the season on injured reserve. It was previously announced that he had signed with HV71 of the SHL, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him not issued a qualifying offer.

Biakabutuka was acquired from St. Louis in the Cam Fowler deal a year and a half ago. Since then, he’s primarily played in the ECHL but did suit up for 11 games with the Gulls in the 2024-2025 season. He spent all of this past season in the ECHL playing for the Tulsa Oilers. Similar to Wiebe, there’s a chance San Diego could sign him to an AHL-only deal, but don’t expect him to sign a cheaper deal with Anaheim.

Masters was just acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes, along with a sixth round pick, in exchange for John Carlsson’s signing rights. Masters was originally drafted by Minnesota in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He was then traded to San Jose, who eventually dealt him to Carolina. During that time, he’s played in both the ECHL and AHL, but has never done a ton in either league. Between Wiebe, Biakabutuka, and Masters, I think Masters is the most likely to sign a cheaper deal with Anaheim, but it would still be very surprising if that happened. I think it much more likely he either leaves as a free agent, or the Gulls sign him to an AHL-only deal.

Even after signing their restricted free agents, the Ducks should still have ample cap room to make some moves this summer. While it’s not a deep free agent class, there are some good players available. It will be interesting to see who the Ducks target or if they decide to go the trade route instead.

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June 29th, 2026