After a miserable season in which they finished last in the NHL, the Anaheim Ducks are looking to right the ship in 2023-24. They made some big moves in free agency to help with that goal, with the most notable being the signing of forward Alex Killorn.

The longtime Tampa Bay Lightning Forward was one of the top free agents on the market this offseason, and Anaheim paid him like it. The Ducks inked the 33-year-old to a four-year deal worth $25 million for an average annual value of $6.25 million. That's certainly a big commitment to make, and the Ducks hope it will work out well.

With that said, let's grade the Ducks' big free-agency splash.

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Ducks' Grade: B-

Let's just get this out of the way now, Alex Killorn is a very good hockey player. He's coming off a season in which he posted a career-high 27 goals and 64 points, being one of the Lightning's top scorers. He also has a strong two-way game and can play on both the power play and penalty kill.

Additionally, Killorn is also a great presence in the locker room. He was beloved by fans and teammates in Tampa Bay and should endure himself to the Anaheim faithful in short time. He also has plenty of Stanley Cup experience, which is exponentially helpful for a young team like the Ducks. Killorn and fellow free-agent pickup Radko Gudas, previously with the Florida Panthers, should go a long way toward building a winning culture.

That said, this contract is still pretty rich for the type of player Killorn is. His previous cap hit with the Lightning was $4.45 million, so he's getting a pretty significant raise here. Granted, he is coming off his best two offensive seasons and the cap is much higher now than when he signed his previous deal in 2016.

However, he'll be 34 when the season starts and 37 with the contract ends. The type of game Killorn plays takes a toll on the body, and by the end of the deal, he will likely be in decline. If the Ducks are paying over $6 million to a 37-year-old who can't keep up, that could be a problem.

The silver lining is that cap space isn't much of a factor for the Ducks right now. Even after committing over $10 million annually to Killorn and Gudas, they still have nearly $29 million in cap space and actually need to get to the cap floor. They still have to sign RFAs Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, which will take up a good chunk of that space. However, they should still have plenty of room for a while as they aren't contending, and thus spending big money, for a while.

Alex Killorn's Grade: A

There are two ways to look at any free agent signing from a player's perspective. You could judge a deal based on how much money the player got, or you could judge it based on championship aspirations. In this case, though, the former feels like the far bigger factor.

Alex Killorn has already experienced the highs of championships, winning two Stanley Cups and appearing in four Stanley Cup Finals. Meanwhile, he's had to take a lesser salary for most of his career as the Lightning try to stay cap compliant. He knows this is likely his last shot at a big payday, and he cashed in when he could.

Maybe Anaheim isn't the place to go to win another Stanley Cup, but Killorn still decided the Ducks' deal was the best for him. In the end, that's all that matters from a player's perspective.