Ducks sign defenseman Nathan Beaulieu to one-year, $850K deal

Another defenseman has turned a PTO into a full contract as the Ducks announced that they’ve inked Nathan Beaulieu to a one-year contract. Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports that Beaulieu receives a one-way deal worth $850K.

The 29-year-old spent last season in a limited role with Winnipeg where he played in 24 games, recording four assists while logging just 10:46 per game, well below his career average of 16:26 per contest. The Penguins acquired him at the trade deadline to give them extra depth for the playoffs once he recovered from his lower-body injury, but he never suited up for Pittsburgh.

Beaulieu has played in 419 NHL contests spanning a 10-year career between Montreal, Buffalo and Winnipeg, picking up 12 goals and 82 assists. Urho Vaakanainen was injured in Friday’s game against San Jose, and it certainly looks as if he’ll be out for a little while. So Beaulieu will have a shot at landing a full-time spot on the roster on what is a new-look back end with John Klingberg and Dmitry Kulikov being added earlier this offseason.