Penguins trade Cruz Lucius to Ducks for future considerations
The Anaheim Ducks have acquired the signing rights to forward prospect Cruz Lucius from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for future considerations, the clubs announced Wednesday afternoon.
In April, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas confirmed that Lucius had declined to sign an entry-level contract with the club, potentially opening the door for him to become an unrestricted free agent. The 22-year-old forward has played four seasons in the NCAA, most recently at Arizona State University.
Lucius can become a free agent 30 days after submitting paperwork to the NHL’s Central Registry indicating that he is no longer an undergraduate student. It remains to be seen whether the Ducks will have any more success signing Lucius than the Penguins did.
As a senior with the Sun Devils in the 2025-26 season, Lucius collected 15 goals and 46 points in 36 games and was named to the NCHC’s First All-Star Team.
The Carolina Hurricanes originally selected Lucius in the fourth round (No. 124 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. The Lawrence, Kansas product spent his first two post-draft seasons at the University of Wisconsin before transferring to ASU in 2024.
Near the end of Lucius’ sophomore year with the Badgers, the Hurricanes moved him to the Penguins as part of the Jake Guentzel trade, which also saw Pittsburgh receive Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Michael Bunting, and a pair of draft picks. Lucius left Wisconsin for ASU shortly after joining the Penguins organization.
Across his four seasons in the NCAA, Lucius collected 41 goals and 124 points in 125 games split between the Badgers and Sun Devils. His older brother, Chaz, was a first-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2021 but retired in 2024 for medical reasons.
Assuming Lucius signs with the Ducks, he’ll likely be on an entry-level contract with the club for the next two seasons and could start with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. However, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek almost certainly has his continuing negotiations with RFA winger Cutter Gauthier higher on his list of priorities.
