The Ducks are in a rough, rough spot in terms of the salary cap. After matching Leo Carlsson's mind-boggling $18 million AAV offer sheet, they have just over $9 million in cap space and must re-sign pending RFA Cutter Gauthier to a long-term deal. Said contract will almost certainly land above $13 million per season, with David Pagnotta reporting that the initial belief was that he would be earning $15 million a year.
With that in mind, ex-Devil Pat Verbeek has his work cut out for him in terms of clearing significant cap space -- at least six million per season.
Early speculation has named the likes of Chris Kreider -- a former Devil-killer -- and Alex Killorn as potential casualties to the Ducks' cap situation, with the forwards making a respective $6.5 million and $6.25 million this season. Neither veteran is particularly appealing, though, given their age and declining performances over the years.
One name that should be of intrigue, though, is 28-year-old Troy Terry, who most recently put up a 57-point, 61-game regular-season campaign and tallied three goals and 11 total points in 12 playoff games. Of those 57 points, 19 were goals, marking his first season in five years that he did not pass the 20-goal threshold. He also has a 37-goal performance under his belt, which came in the very first season in which he received top-six minutes.
There's quite a lot to like from an underlying perspective, too. In 2025-26, according to HockeyStats, Terry ranked in the 94th percentile for even-strength offensive wins above replacement (WAR) and the 70th percentile for even-strength defensive WAR. His microstatistics are quite favorable as well, particularly offensively and in transition.
Terry ranked in the 86th, 84th, and 84th percentiles in zone entries, rush shots, and rush assists, respectively, signaling that he is a weapon in transition. On an in-zone scale, he ranks above-average in all of shot assists (passes leading directly to shots on goal), scoring chances, and forecheck involvement. For the most part, he's a jack-of-all-trades in the offensive zone, something that is absolutely reflected in his consistently strong 5v5 production.
For the Devils, who still need a real top-six player to put alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, Terry presents as a great option. Is he big? Not particularly. Is he physical? Not at all. He wins his minutes, though, and has produced quite well on a Ducks team that has habitually struggled outside of 2025-26.
Terry is also a bit of a buy-low candidate. For one, he would relieve most, if not all, of the Ducks' cap woes for 2026-27. He's also going to miss some significant time to start the season, being projected to miss the first couple of months of the season after undergoing the same hip surgery Nikita Kucherov went through years ago.
The Devils have the depth to be perfectly fine for the first couple of months, and Terry would be the best winger to have played alongside Jack and Jesper to date. It makes all too much sense, and it's an avenue Sunny Mehta should explore.
Add us as a preferred source on Google