Ducks sign former second-rounder to professional tryout contract

Harrington, 30, was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of the one-year, $750,000 contract that he signed with the San Jose Sharks during the 2022 offseason. He concluded the contract while a member of the Ducks, after being sent to the New Jersey Devils as one of the nine players involved in the Timo Meier trade. The Ducks claimed Harrington on waivers just two days later.

Harrington had one of his better seasons in the NHL when he did play last season, with 4 goals, 7 assists, and 11 points in 45 games, including three goals, one assist, and four points in 17 games with the Ducks. Those three goals just with the Ducks are more than he had scored in a single season in his career. He also played five games in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda, where he had just one assist.

Harrington is a former second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins and was selected 54th overall in the 2011 NHL draft. He spent parts of three professional seasons in the Penguins organization before he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the return in the Phil Kessel trade in 2015. He spent one season in Toronto before he was traded again to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016 for Kerby Rychel. Harrington then spent six seasons in Columbus before the franchise opted to let him walk to free agency in 2022, where he then signed his aforementioned contract with the Sharks.

The Ducks have had a somewhat busy offseason, signing Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas to pricey contracts, along with some cheaper depth pieces like their signing of Alex Stalock and trade for Ilya Lyubushkin. Anaheim also locked up one of their big pieces to a long-term deal, signing Troy Terry to a seven-year contract with a $7 million cap hit. They still have a bit more work to do, with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale being their only remaining restricted free agents. The Ducks have over $16.6 million in cap space with which to work.