The Anaheim Ducks locked up defenseman Luca Sbisa on Tuesday, signing the 21-year-old defenseman to a four-year, $8.7 million contract extension.
"He was up at the end of the year," said Ducks Executive Vice President and General Manager Bob Murray. "He’s only 21 years old, he’s one of our good young players and he’s tied up for four years, which I think is wonderful. He has a bright future ahead of him and we look forward to watching him continue to develop.”
Sbisa was acquired by Anaheim with Joffrey Lupul, a first-round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (Kyle Palmieri), a first-round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (Emerson Etem), and a conditional third-round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Chris Pronger on June 26, 2009.
In 99 career NHL games, Sbisa has 2 goals and 13 assists. In 52 games this season, Sbisa has 2 goals and 6 assists while averaging 16:23 of ice time.
The 6-foot-2, 207-pound blueliner was on the last year of his entry-level contract and slated to become a restricted free agent after the season. Sbisa was demoted to the AHL for a few weeks earlier this season, but Murray felt it made him a better player.
"He struggled in training camp and a lot of that was self-inflicted," Murray said. "I think he saw Cam (Fowler) come in and play really well in training camp and Luca thought, 'There is no way I’m gonna play here. They can only have one young guy here.' And I think he got down on himself. He went down and I think it was the best thing in the world for him. He was a key down there and he figured out how good he was. He’s been a different guy ever since he’s come back."
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