Three Anaheim Ducks Trade Candidates To Free Up Cap Space
Earlier this week, the Anaheim Ducks matched the Philadelphia Flyers' five-year, $90 million offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson. With this, the 21-year-old center will be staying put in Anaheim.
However, agreeing to pay Carlsson's new $18 million cap hit has made things very tight for the Ducks. According to puckpedia.com, they have about $9 million of cap space left.
With Cutter Gauthier being a restricted free agent and due for a big payday, Anaheim is going to need to free up cap space. Because of this, let's look at three Ducks who could be traded due to the Ducks' salary cap issues.
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Alex Killorn, LW
Alex Killorn is another Ducks player who could be traded as part of a salary-dump move. The 36-year-old winger is entering the final season of his contract and has a $6.25 million cap hit.
Killorn's offense has dropped since his prime years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, though. In 82 games last season with Anaheim, he recorded 15 goals and 33 points. The two-time Stanley Cup champion followed that up by posting four goals and nine points in 12 playoff games this spring.
Finding a team willing to take on Killorn's $6.25 million cap hit could be tough for the Ducks. Yet, his playoff experience could still help him generate some interest.
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Chris Kreider, LW
Out of this trio, Chris Kreider could get the Ducks the best return in a trade. The 35-year-old winger had a solid bounce-back season with Anaheim in 2025-26, posting 22 goals and 50 points in 75 games.
With this, he could be a nice pickup for a team looking for another winger in their top six.
The Ducks would likely prefer to keep Kreider, but he also has a $6.5 million cap hit until the end of next season. With this, if they have trouble finding new homes for players like Vatrano and Killorn, Kreider could be the one Anaheim parts ways with to free up more cap space.
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This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 9:59 AM.