Young NHL players continue to cash in with big contracts based on expectations.
The Ducks, who had to deal with another team's offer sheet this summer to Anaheim's top center, signed defenseman Tristan Luneau to a six-year contract extension on Thursday, Oct. 1. It's worth a reported $43.2 million or a $7.2 million average per year.
Luneau, 22, has played only 14 NHL games, totaling two goals and two assists.
He has spent nearly all of his two-plus-season professional career on the American Hockey League's San Diego Gulls and scored a goal in his lone NHL game last season.
Here are some reasons for such a big payday for a player who has such limited NHL experience:
The Ducks like his potential
"We see him as a top-four defenseman for years to come," general manager Pat Verbeek
said in a statement about the 2022 second-round pick.
During his time in the AHL, Luneau has 95 points in 135 games. Among all AHL defensemen the past two seasons, he ranked third in points (93), fourth in assists (74) and sixth in goals (19).
The Ducks need defensemen
Anaheim seems weaker on the blue line this season. Trade deadline acquisition John Carlson signed with Tampa Bay, Radko Gudas signed with Florida, Jacob Trouba signed with San Jose and Olen Zellweger was traded to Buffalo.
Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov are signed long-term, but the remainder of the blue line was signed for two or fewer years.
If the 6-foot-1, 211-pound Luneau does develop into a top four defenseman, he's now signed until 2033. And $7.2 million will seem less significant with the salary cap continuing to rise. Plus, he gives up two years of restricted free agency.
The #FlyTogether signed 22 y/o D Tristan Luneau to a six year $7.2M cap hit contract
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) October 1, 2026
Yr 1: $1.75M Salary, $3M Signing Bonus
Yr 2: $4.75M
Yr 3-4: $7.813M
Yr 5-6: $9.038M
10 team M-NTC in Yr 5 & 6, covers 2 UFA seasons
Rep'd by Ian Pulver and Jonathan Lachance @WillSportsGroup…
The Ducks learned their lesson
“Getting the deal done before the season started was a key part of our planning for now and the future," Verbeek said.
In other words, sign him before the potential of an offer sheet next July. That's probably the biggest key.
The Ducks' cap situation was thrown out of whack when the Philadelphia Flyers gave restricted free agent Leo Carlsson a five-year, $90 million offer sheet that makes him the highest-paid NHL player this season. Then, the Ducks matched it.
That forced the Ducks to pay more for Mintyukov ($7.2 million average) and bumped up the price for leading scorer Cutter Gauthier ($13.5 million). Luneau will be making the same at Mintyukov, also 22.
The Ducks had to cut ties with Chris Kreider to get under the cap limit.
Verbeek had played hardball in the past with some other restricted free agents who lacked arbitration rights. But the Luneau extension suggests a change in strategy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Ducks' Tristan Luneau got $43.2 million deal after just 14 NHL games
