On the heels of a holdout that went into training camp, the Ducks took care of some other vital business early by extending defenseman Jackson LaCombe’s contract Thursday morning.
LaCombe will be the highest-paid player on the roster next season when his eight-year, $72 million extension kicks in for 2026-27. It’s the most lucrative agreement in franchise history, surpassing the deals of “twins” Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
“Today is an exciting day for my family and I am grateful to the organization for their belief in me,” LaCombe said in a statement. “It was an easy decision for me to commit my future to the Ducks and Orange County. We are building something special here and I am excited to do everything I can to help this team win.”
Their leading scorer from the blue line last season, with his 14 goals representing the most by a Ducks defender since 2010-11, LaCombe posted 43 points in 75 games. He broke out in his second pro season after his outstanding collegiate career at the University of Minnesota, which included a trip to the national championship game.
The 2019 second-round pick’s outburst last season allowed him to hop over players with higher draft standing. That included lottery pick Pavel Mintyukov, who like fellow Ducks rearguards Tristan Luneau and Olen Zellweger was his Canadian junior league’s defenseman of the year.
From a management perspective, there were three prominent restricted free agents with more prominent draft positions in three years that went well into training camp as holdouts: Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish. The first two of those three were later traded, with McTavish putting pen to paper Saturday.
Not only was LaCombe a pending RFA, so too were Mintyukov, Zellweger, Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier. Now, general manager Pat Verbeek trims down some of his workload for the year ahead.
“We are excited to sign Jackson to a long-term contract and lock up a core player for our future,” Verbeek said in a statement. “Getting this deal done early was a priority for us. Jackson has all of the tools to be an anchor on our back end for many years to come.”