Newly acquired Helleson signed to entry-level deal

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek wasted zero time signing Drew Helleson to a three-year, entrylevel contract Tuesday, completing the deal 24 hours after acquiring him and a second-round draft pick in 2023 from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Josh Manson.

Verbeek said earlier in the day that he expected talks to move quickly and for Helleson, 20, to be assigned to San Diego of the AHL. Helleson was Colorado's secondround draft pick (47th overall) in 2019, the same year the Ducks selected Trevor Zegras in the first round (ninth overall).

Helleson and Zegras played on the United States team that won the World Junior Championship in 2021 in Edmonton, and on several other national age-group teams over the years. Helleson had four goals and 21 assists in 32 games as a junior defenseman at Boston College this past season.

“I love him,” Zegras said, offering a scouting report. “I think he could play right away. Obviously, that's not my decision to make. He's one of my good buddies. I told him if he gets a chance to play, I've got an extra bed for him. Come stay with me. He's smart. He's skilled. He always makes the right play. He's always in the right spot. He's got that good mix of offense and defense. I think he'll fit right in here. He's big. He's got great hands. You can put him in all situations – power play, penalty kill.

“I think he's going to be a difference-maker.”

Lindholm, Rakell extension updates

Verbeek said he hadn't closed the door to completing contract extensions for Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell, two potential unrestricted free agents at season's end who could follow Manson to new teams if deals can't be reached by

Monday's NHL trade deadline.

“I'm not sure at this point if it will or will not happen,” Verbeek said when asked if he was hopeful a new deal for Lindholm could be struck before Monday. “Things can change in three or four days. Pressures are brought to both sides, so we'll see.”

Of Rakell, Verbeek said, “It's hard to say right now. I've still got basically a week to figure things out. Things can change quickly. We'll see.”

Claude Lemieux, a former NHL player, is the agent for both Lindholm and Rakell.

Lindholm declined to shed much light on the subject of a new deal or a trade.

“I don't know,” he said when asked where things stand. “I'm not the worrying kind of person, so I'm just going to have a good nap (Tuesday) and a fun game (against the New York Rangers). I think I've always been pretty easy with that kind of stuff. I think if anything happens, it's going to be a little bit of a shock if it happens. Even if I sign, I want to get into – not a new mindset but a new start, anway. Either way, it's going to be something good that happens. Why try to worry or think about stuff you can't control?

“That's where my focus is.” The length of the extensions is likely to be the biggest stumbling block.

Missing Manson

Coach Dallas Eakins said it was important to speak to the team about Manson's departure, after the defenseman's 453 career games over almost eight full seasons with the Ducks.

“We want to honor teammates like that,” Eakins said. “Josh Manson has meant and means a lot to our organization. He's left a lot of blood on the ice here. This isn't, `Hey, we had a guy, we traded him, we're moving on.' He's a big part of Orange County. He's a big part of the Ducks' organization. But what happened is necessary, too. That's part of our gig as coaches and, more importantly, as players.”