The Ducks and defenseman Tyson Hinds agreed to a two-year contract extension Tuesday, a one-way deal that will pay him $900,000 per campaign.
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Hinds, 23, was a third-round selection of the Ducks in 2021. He made his NHL debut last season, playing six games down the stretch and nine more in the playoffs. In the postseason, he recorded his first NHL point, an assist, and played on the Ducks’ third pairing.
With the San Diego Gulls, Hinds frequently formed a formidable tandem with Tristan Luneau, whom Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said he expected to be with the parent club full-time next season after getting only nibbles at the NHL apple the past three years.
Hinds and Luneau project to be regulars on the Ducks’ blue line. As of now, their defense corps figures to be one of the youngest and least experienced in the league with six players 25 or younger, including the two aforementioned rookies and a second-year player in Ian Moore.
The Ducks traded rearguard Olen Zellweger to the Buffalo Sabres right before they saw all three of their veteran right defensemen – John Carlson, Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba – walk out the door in free agency.
On Sunday, they re-signed left defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year, $36 million deal, his bridge-contract candidacy evaporating as vultures circled in the restricted free agency market.
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That was the least of their offer-sheet troubles though, as franchise center Leo Carlsson remained in limbo thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers’ successful pitch. The five-year, $90 million, frontloaded poison pill of a pact has left the Ducks with the option to either match an onerous offer – Carlsson will be the highest-paid player in NHL history to this point – or let Carlsson skate away in exchange for four first-round draft picks.
They also still have to sign last year’s team-leading scorer Cutter Gauthier to a new contract, with PuckPedia now projecting them to have a lean $9 million to do so if they were to match Philly’s offer for Carlsson.
Though Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman described the situation as dire and chaotic on his “32 Thoughts” segment, the Ducks at least secured a cost-controlled piece with room for growth in Hinds.
The 6-foot-3, 201-pound Hinds has largely been touted for his defensive prowess and mobility, but won’t take away from an offensive-minded partner’s game.
He produced at nearly a point-per-game clip during his final year of junior hockey, though his sterling +/- rating as well as his combination of size and skating were what made him an attractive pro prospect.
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