Ducks reel in Brendan Morrison to fill No. 2 center spot

The Ducks are hoping their search for a center to anchor their second scoring line ended today when they agreed to terms with Brendan Morrison on a one-year contract worth $2.75 million.

Morrison, who’ll be 33 next month, spent the last eight seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and had his most productive years there under current Ducks General Manager Brian Burke.

The diminutive 5-foot-11 center is rehabbing from knee surgery performed in April after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in a collision with Colorado’s Ruslan Salei, a former Ducks defenseman, on March 26.

Morrison also missed 38 games because of wrist surgery. Before that, he had appeared in 542 consecutive games.

The Ducks were among a number of teams interested in Morrison, a speedy playmaker who had 20 or more goals four times with the Canucks and had a career high 71 points in 2002-03.

A former college player of the year at Michigan, Morrison reportedly turned down several offers, including from the Kings, Minnesota and Colorado.

The Ducks haven’t been able to adequately fill the No. 2 center spot behind Ryan Getzlaf since trading Andy McDonald last December. Veteran Doug Weight failed in that role while youngster Ryan Carter is seen as someone not quite ready to handle the duty full time.

 eric.stephens@latimes.com