Anaheim General Manager Patrick Verbeek has been working to form a team of young talent for the 2026-27 season. While balancing hefty new contracts, a salary cap that they are inching towards, and veterans with big question marks at the end of their names, the Ducks seem to be finding their footing. They have started the season winning four of their first five games.
Tristan Luneau’s Future Value
Tristan Luneau is now officially a part of Verbeek’s vision for Anaheim. After playing only 14 NHL games, the 22-year-old defenseman has been signed to a six-year, $43.2 million contract. This averages $7.2 million per year.
After sending Luneau back and forth between the AHL and the NHL, Verbeek is finally ready to commit to him. Verbeek has faced some backlash for the amount Luneau is making, and many Ducks fans were concerned about the gamble. Luneau is young, with minimal NHL experience, but has been looking confident thus far into the season. Hockey fans were quick to point out that Luneau’s contract almost matches the total earnings of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. These contracts are only going to increase in value as the cap rises.
Luneau’s future makes the deal all that more attractive. Luneau will be well into his prime years when this contract expires. Anaheim has him locked in at $7.2 million through some of the highest-paying years of a hockey player’s career.
Verbeek’s Evolving Vision
The Ducks have been balancing a need for hard-hitting talent and their salary cap. After signing Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier, analysts are concerned with the amount of money left to sign the rest of the team. Verbeek’s deal with Luneau is expensive, but smart, especially when he believes in a player’s future worth. The last thing the Ducks need is another expensive offer sheet negotiation to navigate. Paying their talent early is what prevents this.
Verbeek has been brutally realistic about his vision for the Ducks rebuild over the last five years. He began building the team around star forwards Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish and defenseman Jamie Drysdale, all of whom have been traded. Finally, Verbeek seems to be placing his hopes in Carlsson, Gauthier, and now Luneau. Right-wing forward Beckett Sennecke‘s entry-level contract expires in 2028, but he too will likely be signed to a hefty long-term contract.
Endless Possibilities of Line Combinations
Possibly the most interesting future for Anaheim’s lines would be to combine the heavy hitters: Sennecke-Carlsson-Gauthier as the forwards and Luneau-LaCombe as the defensemen. Head Coach Quenneville has already tested out a version of this line on the power play, substituting LaCombe for first-year captain and forward Mikael Granlund.
Out of the 18 goals scored this season so far, all five power play goals have been from this unit. It will be interesting to see how things shake out over the next month. Once veteran forward Troy Terry is back in the mix, the lines will have to be re-evaluated again.
Unfortunately, both Gauthier and forward Ryan Poehling were injured last week. Gauthier was seen practicing with the Ducks, but it is still unclear if he will be available for Tuesday night’s game against Calgary. The Ducks have enough depth to manage with these two absences. With Gauthier out after the first period, the Ducks were still able to clinch a 4-2 win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. The Flames looked fresher and faster on their feet and will provide a challenge for the Ducks in their next game.
Tune in tonight at 6:45 pm PST to see if the Ducks can keep this momentum up.
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