Ducks land intriguing prospect in Penguins trade

The Anaheim Ducks have had a bit of a messy offseason. The Leo Carlsson offer sheet threw a massive wrench into their offseason plans. Anaheim still has to re-sign Cutter Gauthier, as well. On Wednesday, though, the team swung an intriguing trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Ducks have acquired prospect forward Cruz Lucius from the Penguins, the team announced. In return, Pittsburgh is receiving future considerations. Pittsburgh’s team control for Lucius had run its course, with the 22-year-old being able to test unrestricted free agency soon.

Lucius was initially drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2022. He was a part of the Jake Guentzel trade between Carolina and Pittsburgh in 2024. He has not made his NHL debut to this point, as he has not signed his entry-level contract.

The 22-year-old forward spent the 2025-26 campaign at Arizona State University. He scored 15 goals and 46 points through 36 games with the Sun Devils. This is the second-most amount of points scored by a player in a single season in program history.

As previously mentioned, the new Ducks prospect has not signed his entry-level contract. As a result, Lucius has the ability to test free agency 30 days after submitting paperwork that he is no longer an undergraduate student.

The Ducks could certainly sign him and render that moot. At the same time, Anaheim does have more pressing matters, such as attending to Gauthier’s next contract. It’s hard to imagine the team not being interested in signing him following this trade, though. This is an intriguing situation that fans should monitor as it develops this offseason.

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