from Eric Stephens of The Athletic,

Within a space of three hours on Saturday, the Ducks were both lauded and lambasted for their free-agent signings of Radko Gudas and Alex Killorn. Some teams make contract terms public now. Most don’t, but they get revealed anyway, and that keeps interest flowing among fans. And it also encourages instant praise and criticism.

How the Ducks’ deals for over-30 veterans Gudas (three years, $12 million) and Killorn (four years, $25 million) age over the next few seasons will either confirm or refute the narratives. Pat Verbeek doesn’t seem to be concerned with narratives. The big picture is always kept in mind, but the Ducks’ general manager is thinking about the impact of those additions right now.

These two, with whom Verbeek has had long associations, have experienced success. Killorn is a two-time Stanley Cup winner who has been to the Cup Final two other times and has played 140 playoff games. More recently, Gudas played a prime role in Florida’s run to the Cup Final last month and was part of the club a year earlier that had a franchise-record 122 points and was the Presidents’ Trophy winner.

As the Ducks try to resurface from the bottom of the league, Gudas and Killorn won’t be tasked with being the main pilots in an ascent. But they’ll be counted on for their knowledge of navigating those turbulent waters.

“Certainly, they have an understanding of what winning’s all about,” Verbeek said. “Not accepting anything. Not accepting losing. And so that standard of compete, that standard of work ethic every day that comes to practice will be shown to all our young guys.

continued ($)