Ducks Give Defenseman With 14 NHL Games Played a $43.2 Million Extension

The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Tristan Luneau to a six-year, $43.2 million contract extension on Thursday, the team announced, locking in a $7.2 million average annual value for a player who has appeared in exactly 14 NHL games.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the deal is the largest contract in NHL history for a player with that little NHL experience. Luneau, 22, has two goals and two assists in his brief NHL career, averaging 16 minutes 52 seconds per game, according to theScore.

"Signing Tristan to a long-term contract was a priority, as we see him as a top-four defenseman for years to come," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a team statement. "Getting the deal done before the season started was a key part of our planning for now and the future."

Why Anaheim Is Betting Big

Luneau was the Quebec major junior league's top defenseman in 2022-23, according to The Associated Press, and made Anaheim's opening-night roster the following fall. His development stalled when he contracted a viral infection while practicing with Canada's world junior team that winter, costing him the rest of the season.

The Ducks then kept him in the AHL for two more years with their San Diego Gulls affiliate, a deliberate, health-conscious approach per the AP. He delivered: 52 points in 59 games in 2024-25 and 41 points in 70 games last season, according to Pro Hockey Rumors, building a career AHL line of 19 goals, 76 assists and 95 points across 135 games per Newsweek.

That track record is why Anaheim is confident enough to pay him like a proven top-four NHL defenseman before he's actually played a full NHL season. The Ducks lost four veteran defensemen this offseason: Jacob Trouba, captain Radko Gudas, John Carlson and Olen Zellweger, leaving a thin right-side blue line that Luneau is now expected to anchor alongside Jackson LaCombe, according to theScore and the AP. Nick Jensen is the only other right-shot defenseman on the roster making more than $1.5 million.

The Risk Side of the Ledger

A reasonable skeptic would point out that Luneau has played 14 NHL games. He's carrying a minus-2 rating according to Newsweek, and his AHL scoring actually dropped last season, from 52 points to 41, per Pro Hockey Rumors. Locking a player into $7.2 million a year for six seasons before he's proven he can hold a top-four NHL job is a real bet, not a sure thing. If Luneau doesn't become at least a true top-four defenseman, Anaheim is stuck with the deal regardless.

Verbeek spent this past summer getting burned repeatedly in restricted free agency, according to the AP. He failed to sign center Leo Carlsson, who then accepted a $90 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers that briefly made him the NHL's highest-paid player before Anaheim matched it. That saga forced Verbeek to also give defenseman Pavel Mintyukov a five-year, $36 million deal after other teams began circling him, and sign forward Cutter Gauthier to a six-year, $81 million extension. The resulting cap crunch pushed the Ducks to waive 22-goal scorer Chris Kreider, according to the AP.

Locking up Luneau now, before he has arbitration or offer-sheet leverage, appears to be an attempt by Verbeek to avoid a repeat of that expensive, chaotic summer. Pro Hockey Rumors notes the deal mirrors the Pittsburgh Penguins' eight-year extension of Ville Koivunen, another long-term bet on a player with limited NHL track record but clear organizational belief in his ceiling.

What Happens Next

Luneau is slated to open the season on Anaheim's top defense pair with LaCombe, who signed his own eight-year, $72 million extension a year ago per theScore. Travis Mitchell will compete with him for minutes in the top four, while Drew Helleson and Ian Moore are currently sidelined with injuries, according to Pro Hockey Rumors.

The Ducks are scheduled to open their season Friday night at the Vegas Golden Knights, with their home opener against the Florida Panthers scheduled for Sunday. Anaheim ended a seven-year playoff drought last spring and advanced to the second round under coach Joel Quenneville, according to the AP.

The question is whether a 22-year-old with 14 NHL games, a minus-2 rating, and a recent dip in AHL production can carry a top-four role for six years at $7.2 million annually. Anaheim has already wagered that he can. The answer plays out over the length of the contract, not the opener.