According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Anaheim Ducks have finished some paperwork, signing Jacob Larsson to a new two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.2MM and keep the pending restricted free agent under contract through the 2021-22 season.
Larsson, 23, was a first-round pick of the Ducks back in 2015, and though he made his debut in the 2016-17 season, he still hasn’t established himself as the rock-solid NHL defender that many expected. The 6’2″ defenseman has played games for the Ducks’ minor league affiliate in each of the last five seasons but did suit up in 60 games for the NHL club this year.
Unfortunately, those 60 games didn’t produce exceptional results, as Larsson scored just 11 points and provided brutal possession statistics. Still young enough to improve there is still plenty of time for Larsson to live up to his first-round billing, but this relatively inexpensive contract reflects his inconsistent performance to this point.
For the Ducks, who have nearly $80MM in salaries committed to next season even as they enter a “rebuild,” contracts like this are necessary. Larsson will be given every opportunity to take a larger role, especially if the team decides to try to move on from one of their more expensive veteran blueliners.
When the contract expires, Larsson will still be a restricted free agent.
Bob Murray is easily one of the worst GM’s I’ve ever dealt with. His draft record is spotty at best. Yet is one of the longest tenured GM’s in the league. Not really fair to those great fans in Anaheim who deserve something on the ice.
They have spent a decade developing “talent.”
Uncle bob said you are the worst David, just try a little harder
Kesler & Perry amount to $13.5MM in dead money, with some young talent, but not so overwhelming as to instill fear in the rest of the division or conference. Was Trader Bob thinking, like some other GMs, that the cap was going to virtually double next year? Looks, as you stated Dave, that there are more lean years to come, barring a miracle coaching job by Dallas. I can already see the head shaking from Steve & Dan on the interweb radio side…
Kesler will get paid, but we can LTIR him if we need the cap space (I wouldn’t call his contract dead space for that reason… more of a filler contract in regards to the 50 contract limit). Perry… yes, dead space,,, although just looking at this year we still save money (2 mil savings from the buyout – 1.45 mil for Terry as a ‘replacement’)….
Big picture here might be the Expansion Draft. One dman with the following designation must be exposed: “must be under contract in 2021-22 and have played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season, or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons”… I don’t want Larsson playing a whole lot, but he may very well be our exposed dman in a year.
@HalosFan8 – True about Kesler, there, so that’s my bad. He’ll get to go to IR, but the lack of cap flexibility, while slightly better, is still nothing to write home about, right? Being a bit skittish about the D-core being raided is certainly justified. When healthy, I don’t know that I’d want to lose anybody, other than maybe Djoos or Gudbranson. And, where do Del Zotto & Irwin fit into next year’s plan? At best, Seattle might not care about targeting Anaheim harder than other teams, but we’re still too far away to know right now.