La Mirada's De Leo, four others sign

The Ducks signed La Mirada native Chase De Leo and four others in order to bolster their organizational depth Thursday, the second day of the NHL’S freeagent signing period. De Leo played most of last season for the New Jersey Devils’ minor-league team after spending 2018-21 in the Ducks’ organization.

“No Place Like Home Lets Run It Back Baby!” De Leo wrote on Twitter.

In addition to De Leo, a left wing, the Ducks also signed centers Glenn Gawdin and Justin Kirkland and defensemen Austin Strand and Colton White. De Leo, Gawdin and White have two-year contracts and Kirkland and Strand have one-season contracts. All but Gawdin’s are two-way deals.

De Leo, 26, led New Jersey’s AHL team, the Utica (New York) Comets, with 35 assists and 56 points this past season. He is scoreless in seven career NHL games with the Devils, Ducks and Winnipeg Jets, who selected him in the fourth round (99th overall) in the 2014 draft.

Gawdin, 25, had 15 goals and 35 assists last season with the Calgary Flames’ AHL team in Stockton. Kirkland, 25, had 25 goals and 23 assists with Stockton in 2021-22. Strand, 25, had two assists in eight games with the Kings last season and also 32 games with the AHL’S Ontario Reign.

White, 25, played 27 games with the Devils last season and six with Utica.

Strome's assessment

The New York Rangers were no one’s idea of a Stanley Cup contender when Ryan Strome arrived after a trade from the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 16, 2018. The Rangers went on to finish the season seventh in the eight-team Metropolitan Division with a lackluster 32-36-14 record.

But the Rangers remodeled their roster around players like Strome and by this past season, they were a contender. New York finished second in the division behind the Carolina Hurricanes with a 54-24-6 record and advanced rather impressively to the Eastern Conference final.

Strome said Thursday that he sees similarities between the Rangers team in 2018-19 and the current Ducks team he joined after signing a five-year, $25-million contract Wednesday. The Ducks were seventh in the eight-team Pacific Division with a 31-37-14 record last season.

“I said this to Pat Verbeek, but I see a lot of similarities between this team and when I got to New York,” Strome said, referring to the Ducks’ general manager. “We turned things around pretty quickly there and got things in the right direction. I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I can provide to a young team.”

Strome played alongside Connor Mcdavid while with the Oilers, with John Tavares while with the New York Islanders and with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad with the Rangers. So, he knows talented players when he sees them, and he sees a good deal of talent on the Ducks’ roster.

“Around the league, it’s not really a secret what they’re building and the talent that’s there, and how it’s insulated by some great veterans,” Strome said of the Ducks. “There are so many guys who have done so many great things in the NHL – around the back end, up front and, especially, in net.

“There’s a lot of great pieces there. I hope to be a part of that.”