Hurricanes acquire rights to John Carlson in trade with Ducks

The Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricaneson Saturday acquired the rights to unrestricted free agent defenseman John Carlson in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks.

Carolina traded defenseman prospect Kyle Masters and a sixth-round pick to Anaheim to get Carlson's rights, with the intent to sign him to a new contract before free agency commences Wednesday.

Carlson would hypothetically return to the Eastern Conference, where he spent the first part of his career playing for the Washington Capitals before he was traded to the Ducks ahead of last season's trade deadline.

Carlson, 36, finished with 14 goals and 60 points in 71 regular-season games between Washington and Anaheim. He added six points in 12 playoff games, helping the Ducks advance to the second round where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights.

PuckPedia projects the Hurricanes have $11.105 million in available cap space that can be used to get a new deal done for the veteran puck-moving defenseman.

The Hurricanes currently have five defensemen under contract for next season: Jalen Chatfield, Shayne Gostisbehere, K'Andre Miller, Jaccob Slavin and Sean Walker.

Alexander Nikishin, who has been the subject of trade rumors, is a pending restricted free agent.