Ducks sign veteran defenseman to one-year deal

The Philadelphia Flyers originally selected Hagg in the second round (No. 41 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.

The Uppsala, Sweden product made his NHL debut with the Flyers in the 2016–17 season. He emerged as a regular with the club the following year and also made his first Stanley Cup playoff appearance.

In 2021, the Flyers traded Hagg, a first-round pick in that year’s draft, and a 2023 second-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Hagg lasted less than a season in Buffalo before being flipped to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round pick.

As an unrestricted free agent in 2022, Hagg signed a one-year, $800,000 deal to join the Red Wings, with whom he primarily served as a fill-in defenseman. He appeared in less than half the team’s games during his lone season in Detroit.

Through 338 career games over parts of seven NHL seasons with the Flyers, Sabres, Panthers, and Red Wings, Hagg has collected 16 goals and 63 points. He’s added three assists in 14 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

Hagg will now compete for playing time as a member of a Ducks defensive group that also includes Cam Fowler, Jamie Drysdale, Radko Gudas, Jackson LaCombe and Urho Vaakanainen. The Ducks’ biggest signing of the 2023 UFA period remains Alex Killorn, who agreed to a four-year, $6.25M AAV deal with the club on July 1.