Greg WyshynskiOct 2, 2025, 02:43 PM ET
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
The Anaheim Ducks have locked up defenseman Jackson LaCombe, a key part of their rebuilding team, on an eight-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
The deal carries a $9 million average annual value, a source told ESPN on Thursday, the same AAV as the deal defenseman Luke Hughes signed with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, although that was on a seven-year term.
LaCombe’s contract is the largest ever given out by the Ducks and will begin in the 2026-27 season and end in 2033-34. He has one year left on a two-year bridge deal ($925,000 AAV) that he signed in 2024.
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Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek said extending LaCombe was “a priority” for the team and that the young defenseman has “all of the tools to be an anchor on our back end for many years to come.”
“Both sides were looking at long-term deals, so I think it came together pretty quickly,” Verbeek said after the Ducks’ practice in Irvine, California. “What we’re all trying to gauge the landscape of where salaries are going [with the future NHL salary cap], so I feel really comfortable with the contract and the character of Jackson LaCombe. And the player, and I still think there’s lots of upside and growth in his game. I think the best is still to come from Jackson.”
LaCombe, 24, was selected No. 39 in the 2019 NHL draft. He has 60 points in 148 NHL games, with a career-best 14 goals and 29 assists in 75 games last season for the Ducks as he formed an effective pairing with bruising veteran defenseman Radko Gudas.
LaCombe said it was an “easy decision” to go long term in Anaheim.
“I love it here,” LaCombe said. “I love being here. I love playing here. I love all my teammates here, too, so for me it was an easy decision. … It’s easy to live here. You could say the weather [is a positive] and the place is so nice, but just the group we have has been great for me. Everybody has been so welcoming for the last two years, so I’m grateful for that and I’m just excited to be here for a long time.”
A Minnesota alum, LaCombe was invited to the U.S. men’s Olympic orientation camp, putting him in contention for a spot on the 2026 men’s hockey team that will contend for gold in Italy. LaCombe helped the U.S. win gold at the 2025 world championships — the Americans’ first gold at the event in 92 years.
LaCombe is the first player to re-sign in the Ducks’ large class of restricted free agents coming up next summer. He was slated to be an RFA alongside center Leo Carlsson, left wing Cutter Gauthier and defensemen Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov.
“Jackson is the first domino to fall, and we’re working on other stuff as well,” Verbeek said.
Overall, LaCombe is the second big signing for Verbeek in the past week. The Ducks and restricted free agent center Mason McTavish agreed to a six-year, $42 million extension Saturday, ending a contentious negotiation that kept him out of training camp.
Anaheim is seeking its first playoff berth since 2018.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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