Carlson’s Rights Traded To Carolina

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

As day two of the NHL Entry Draft wined down, the Anaheim Ducks made one more trade. They traded the rights to John Carlson to Carolina in exchange for Kyle Masters and the sixth round 192nd overall pick.

The word on the street was Carlson was not going to re-sign with Anaheim and that he wanted to go back east closer to his family. The Ducks originally acquired Carlson before the trade deadline giving up their first round 18th overall pick and a third round pick in the 2027 entry draft.

Carlson was injured when he was traded and ended up playing in 16 regular season games and registered 14 total points (4 G + 10 A). He played in all 12 of Anaheim’s playoff games and had six assists. Carlson helped Anaheim make the playoffs and advance past Edmonton, but ultimately they fell short to Vegas.

Kyle Masters is a right-handed puck moving defensemen, who was draft by Minnesota 118th overall in the 2021 NHL entry draft. He is known was good two-way game, fast skating, offensive creativity and hockey IQ. He has gone back and worth between the AHL and ECHL the last three seasons. He had three assists in 10 games with the ECHL Wichita Thunder last season. His best season was 2022-23 when he recorded 65 total points (11 G + 54 A) in 66 games with the WHL Kamloops Blazers. The offensive abilities are there, but have gone dormant recently.

Noah Kosick is a playmaking center known for having an elite hockey IQ, quality stick handling and dynamic transition play. He is very skilled and good off the rush. He has a good upside to his offensive game. He is inconsistent with his defensive game as he tends to get out of position and needs to use his frame more when back checking.

Analysis:

This is a good trade for Anaheim because Carlson was going to walk next week when he became unrestricted free agent. Instead of the Ducks being left with nothing, they gained a solid prospect for a 6th rounder and a player who will be a minor league depth addition at worst. Carolina only gained the rights to Carlson at this time as no pre-arranged deal is currently in place. This isn’t the greatest trade, but at least General Manager Pat Verbeek got something out of nothing.

The Ducks are still going to need to add to their blueline if Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas do hit free agency next week. Pat Verbeek told the media yesterday and today, “the door is obviously still open” on re-signing Gudas and Trouba. He said they will figure things out by July 1st. It is going to be interesting to see how the situation plays out with both of them. The Ducks do have the cap room, even once Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier are re-signed, to potentially bring back Gudas and/or Trouba. They also could use their cap space for another trade or free agency signing as well.

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June 27th, 2026