Before this season, the Ducks made a serious investment in Tristan Luneau, and it’s already paying dividends.
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A team that had been known for tooth-and-nail negotiating and then saw protracted talks with core players inflate its bottom line signed a defenseman who had played just 14 career NHL games to a six-year, $43.2 million contract.
Thus far, Luneau has more than delivered, even a year before that extension kicks in at the start of next season.
Per Natural Stat Trick, Luneau leads all Ducks defensemen in every major underlying category at 5-on-5. His possession numbers, goals share, shots share, scoring chances share, high-danger scoring chances share and more top the Ducks’ D corps. That’s despite the goaltending behind him – his on-ice save percentage is the lowest among eight Ducks blue-liners – being less than stellar.
He’s also played just 10 fewer seconds per game five-on-five than top defenseman Jackson LaCombe, whose own $9 million-per-year pact started this season. Luneau trails only LaCombe in terms of blue-line scoring, with his total climbing after a three-point showing in a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
“When he has confidence, he’s insane, so he’s just got to have that confidence all the time, because he’s a great defenseman in this league,” said Leo Carlsson, who added two points. “Super fast and strong; he can do everything. I’m excited to see his future, too.”
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Luneau’s strapping physique, multidimensional skating, and sweeper proficiency were already evident. Now, he broadened his contribution through traditional stats.
“Defensively, he’s growing. Offensively, there are some parts to his game that we want to see grow as well,” Coach Joel Quenneville said.
Luneau, Carlsson and company scraped two points from their rally in hostile Philly. There, they had lost lopsided affairs in each of the past two seasons. Overall, they had dropped five straight games, including the other three dates on their road trip.
Now, they’ll host the Vancouver Canucks, who have much bigger problems. They’ve underwhelmed even relative to their very low expectations. They have a 10-game winless streak and have endured a skid that length in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
First-year coach Manny Malhotra has enjoyed a strong rebound from Elias Pettersson (13 points in 13 games) but has yet to have a healthy Thatcher Demko (hip) in net. The Canucks have the worst penalty kill in the NHL and have allowed 17 more goals than any other team entering the week.
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CANUCKS AT DUCKS
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Honda Center
How to watch: KCOP (Ch. 13), Prime Video