The Anaheim Ducks enter the 2025-26 season with a new bench boss and playoff expectations. Joel Quenneville is behind the bench in Southern California, leading a group with newly signed Mason McTavish and Lukas Dostal. On Thursday, the Ducks signed Jackson LaCombe to an eight-year contract extension worth $72 million, the richest deal in franchise history. How did both sides fare in the negotiations?
LaCombe has been a mainstay on the Ducks' blueline for the past two seasons, playing 148 games with 60 points. A former second-round pick, he has held his own in both zones, showing glimpses of a bright future. Now, with a year left on his rookie contract, he has become a part of the core. He is the first defenseman to extend in Anaheim, but likely won't be the last.
LaCombe signed a comparable deal to New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, who has the same NHL experience and similar offensive output. Anaheim will use LaCombe as their number-one defenseman immediately, while Hughes is still playing behind Dougie Hamilton. Plus, LaCombe is two years older than Hughes despite having the similar experience.
Jackson LaCombe can sign another contract
Hughes' brother, Jack Hughes, has become a bit of a cautionary tale for young players in contract negotiations. He signed an eight-year deal worth $8 million per year and has outperformed that in every way. Jack still has five years left on that deal. That variable prevents LaCombe from getting a perfect grade, but he should still be able to sign another deal.
LaCombe will be 32 years old when this contract ends, meaning he can sign another long-term deal during his prime. He could have signed a shorter-term deal, earning another raise in three seasons when he hits free agency. But instead, he has decided to be a part of the Ducks' core for the start of his prime.
LaCombe grade: A-
Ducks powering out of their rebuild
The Ducks won the 2007 Stanley Cup and followed it up with a solid run of competitive seasons. While they never made it back to the Cup Final, they had traded many prospects and picks that forced them to rebuild. Drafting Trevor Zegras was the first big move of the rebuild, and trading him this offseason was the first move of the Quenneville era.
The Ducks have located their core and started extending them. But now comes the hard part for general manager Pat Verbeek. They need to find the right veterans to support their young core, which they do not have. Chris Kreider may be the first one to be a locker-room leader and pick up some slack on the ice. But Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas have not been great on the blue line.
The most important step in a rebuild is extending the drafted players that brought you out of the basement. The Ducks have done that and will continue doing that with Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger needing deals. They had sent the precedent that $7 million was the max AAV, with Troy Terry and McTavish earning that salary. But LaCombe has blown that out of the water with his record-setting deal.
The Ducks did a great job getting their best defenseman under a reasonable contract for the bulk of his prime. Could it lead to a tough negotiation with a different player down the road? Potentially, but that is not something that the team should be worried about now. They have a franchise cornerstone under contract, which is huge for a team with limited success in recent years.
The Ducks get an A+ for the Jackson LaCombe contract extension, heading into the 2025-26 season on a high note.
