For many, the 2026 offseason for the Anaheim Ducks was considered “disastrous” due to franchise center Leo Carlsson’s $18 million AAV offer sheet, the roster players they didn’t/couldn’t retain, and the lack of flexibility to replace them.
However, in the months since the OS was signed, players from around the league have used Carlsson’s new deal as a template, and what was once an outlier is now the new normal.
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Though there are now question marks when it comes to how the Ducks will perform in the upcoming 2026-27 season, beyond this year, the Ducks cap situation is much more encouraging, especially considering star forward Cutter Gauthier’s six-year, $13.5 million AAV deal, signed days before the opening of training camp, can be viewed as a relative discount.
Another piece of encouragement came in the form of a report from premier NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on Friday morning, who reported that the projected salary cap ceiling for the 2028-29 season is estimated to come in at $127.5 million. The cap is set at $104 million in 2026-27 and is projected at $113.5 million in 2027-28.
As the cap continues to increase by astronomical percentages over the next few seasons, the percentage of the cap being taken up by every player currently under contract will continue to decrease and, in theory, the Ducks’ cap structure will become increasingly flexible over time.
The 2026-27 season will be the first year in the new contracts for core roster players like Carlsson, Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe (8 years, $9 million AAV), and Pavel Mintyukov (5 years, $7.2 million). While those four players will eat up 45.8% of the 2026-27 salary cap, that percentage is projected to drop to 37.4% by 2028-29.
The 2028-29 Ducks currently have ten players (per puckpedia.com) under contract (Carlsson, Gauthier, Troy Terry, AJ Greer, Ryan Poehling, Jeff Mallot, Tim Washe, LaCombe, Mintyukov, and Lukas Dostal) and a now-projected $54.2 million in cap space (excluding players on ELCs like Nikita Klepov and Roger McQueen).
When the puck drops on the 2028-29 season, Ducks’ current significant veteran roster players Mikael Granlund ($7 million AAV), Alex Killorn ($6.25 million AAV), Frank Vatrano ($4.57 million AAV), and Nick Jensen ($2.2 million AAV) will have seen their current contracts expire.
Barring substantial growth in the next two seasons from younger players like Nathan Gaucher, Sam Colangelo, Nikita Nesterenko, Ian Moore, Drew Helleson, and Tyson Hinds, the only players projected to play top roles in the lineup by the 2028-29 season who will then require significant new contracts are Beckett Sennecke and Tristan Luneau.
Sennecke, the 2026 Calder Trophy finalist, scored 60 points (23-37=60) in 82 games during his rookie year. He’s already established himself as one of the NHL’s top young players, a point producer, a playoff performer, a difficult player to play against, and a foundational piece to the Ducks’ current build toward contention.
If/when Sennecke continues to grow his game at his current rate, he’ll be eligible for a big-money contract starting July 1, 2027, in the realm of Carlsson, Gauthier, and other young stars throughout the league like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, and Adam Fantilli.
Luneau is set for his first complete NHL season in 2026-27, following two successful development years with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, where he totaled 95 points (19-76=95) in 135 games over the past three years. He’s grown tremendously in every facet and is primed to step into an everyday NHL role where he can have a 200-foot, all-three-zone impact, highlighted by his deceptive breakouts, aggressive activations, and dynamic offensive blueline navigation. Luneau’s ELC will expire following this upcoming season, and if it’s as successful as many think it can be, it could lead to a sizable second NHL contract.
When the 2028 offseason arrives, the Ducks hope to be firmly in their cup-contending window, and their core, as a whole, will be in the early years of their primes. Now that the combined cap hit of said core will be drastically lower than projected, the front office will have some unexpected flexibility. Managing the second and third layers of the depth chart will be what ultimately makes or breaks whether they can bring a second Stanley Cup to Orange County.
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