The Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers agreed to a trade involving a pair of pending unrestricted free agents.
The Ducks traded the rights to defenseman Radko Gudas to the Panthers for the rights to forward A.J. Greer, the teams announced Monday.
Gudas, who served as Anaheim's captain for the last two seasons, previously played three seasons in Florida from 2020-23. The 36-year-old tallied 13 points, 67 penalty minutes, and 164 hits in 56 games last season. He averaged 16:11 per game, the lowest of his career.
The hard-nosed defenseman was part of the Panthers team that lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. He left before Florida won back-to-back Cups the following two seasons.
If Gudas signs with Florida, he projects to play on the team's third defense pair with Dmitry Kulikov.
The Ducks now face the distinct possibility of losing the entire right side of their blue line. John Carlson's rights were traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Jacob Trouba is also a pending UFA and is expected to test the open market.
Greer set career highs in goals (17), assists (15), and points (32) in 78 games with the Panthers last season. He's due for a sizable raise from the $850,000 cap hit on his previous contract. A highly physical forward, the 6-foot-3, 224-pound Greer would likely fill a bottom-six role with the Ducks if the two sides can agree to a new contract.
