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Anaheim Ducks: Top 5 All-Time Free Agent Signings

By Shepard Price

DALLAS - APRIL 15: (L-R) Chris Kunitz #14, Scott Niedermayer #27 and Teemu Selanne #8 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate a goal in front of Marty Turco #35 of the Dallas Stars during game three of the 2008 NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 15, 2008 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS - APRIL 15: (L-R) Chris Kunitz #14, Scott Niedermayer #27 and Teemu Selanne #8 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate a goal in front of Marty Turco #35 of the Dallas Stars during game three of the 2008 NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 15, 2008 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – FEBRUARY 16: Sergei Fedorov #91 of the Anaheim Ducks fires a slap shot against the Dallas Stars on February 16, 2004 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. Anaheim won 3-1. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

The Anaheim Ducks have had quite a party since the introduction of free agency in the 1990’s. The Ducks best free agents also helped lead to their Cup in 2007.

The Anaheim Ducks have made several really smart free agent acquisitions over the years. From the 2005 offseason on, they’ve been able to turn older veterans and college free agents into talented NHL players and their risks have paid off.

Two to three of their best free agent acquisitions came in one offseason. When that happens, the Ducks had one of the best offseasons of all-time. And that helped lead to a Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, none of their best free agent acquisitions have come in the last five years, and that’s a major setback to winning a Stanley Cup.

5. Sergei Federov

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Sergei Fedorov is a legend of the game. One of the 100 best players of all-time, one of the best Detroit Red Wings, a terrific offensive center who was also great defensively. Really just a near-perfect player.

So when the Anaheim Ducks signed him away from Detroit in 2003, it made a lot of sense. Sure, the center was 33 and about to enter his age 34 season. But at 33, Fedorov put up 83 points. He played 21 minutes a game. And he scored 36 goals, 11 of them game-winning.

The Ducks held onto Fedorov for a year where he posted 65 points including 31 goals. He continued playing 21 minutes a night as the Ducks relied on him to help replace the production of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

In the end, though, Fedorov was just on the team for 5 games before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. One of the pieces the Ducks got back was Francois Beauchemin.

Beauchemin went on to make vital contributions to the Ducks for eight years, including being traded back to the Ducks by the Toronto Maple Leafs. During the Ducks’ 2007 Cup run, Beauchemin played 30 minutes a night through 20 games.

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