How The Offseason Stacks Up for RFA Jackson LaCombe
The Anaheim Ducks head into the 2024 offseason with seven RFAs in need of new contracts. Pat Verbeek has an interesting history with RFAs in his tenure as Ducks GM. How will Jackson LaCombe fare this summer?
Jackson LaCombe (23) just wrapped up his rookie season in 2023-24. He was signed to his ELC after his University of Minnesota team lost in the 2023 NCAA Championship game. He played two games for the Ducks at the end of the 2022-23 season and burned the first year of his two-year entry-level contract.
His versatility was on display in his rookie year as he played both right and left defensive positions and featured on all three pairs in the lineup. Coming off of his ELC, LaCombe is a restricted free agent but doesn't hold arbitration rights. If the Ducks intend to keep his rights, they must extend an $874,125 qualifying offer before July 1. If they elect not to, he will become an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any team that offers him a contract.
Heading into the summer of 2024, the Ducks have seven RFAs whose futures need to be decided upon before July 1.
Jackson LaCombe was drafted in the second round (39th overall) of the 2019 NHL draft as a raw, but smooth and cerebral puck-mover. He had a remarkably successful collegiate career at the University of Minnesota after the Ducks selected him where he improved year after year. In his senior season (2022-23), he finished fourth in the country among defensemen in scoring with nine goals and 26 assists in 37 games.
LaCombe has all the tools necessary to become an effective and impactful two-way defenseman in the NHL for a long time. His four-way mobility is well above average as he can either jump into rushes offensively or close gaps defensively. His first pass out of the defensive zone might already be above league-average, with the smallest amount of time and space he can read a forecheck deftly before springing a cutting forward in the neutral zone with a crisp, accurate outlet pass.
Defensively, LaCombe kills rushes and seals at the blueline with ease and regularity. He's disruptive with his stick in lanes and stays with his assignment in defensive zone coverage.
LaCombe has yet to fully adjust to the strength of NHL opponents in tight areas of the ice and the limited amount of time and space he's afforded. He was outmuscled in net-front battles at times.
He played a significant portion of the season on the right side of the blueline when the Ducks were short on right-shot defensemen due to injury. He played primarily on the right in the NCAA but struggled to control and keep pucks moving up the strong side wall from his backhand. He or the coaching staff may have to tweak some tactics on their breakout if they explore that route further.
He averaged 19:22 minutes per night in his rookie season. He only saw 40 minutes of power play time in total but was a fixture on the second penalty kill unit where he played 174 minutes, good enough for third among Ducks blueliners in 2023-24.
It's unlikely LaCombe will become an offensive juggernaut at the NHL level as a few roadblocks are standing in his way, namely the supreme talents of Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger. He can, however, maintain offensive impacts by skillfully sparking rush offense from the defensive and neutral zones at even strength.
For the ability to retain his rights, Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek would have to offer LaCombe a modest $874,125 qualifying offer. Though Verbeek hasn't been shy about cutting bait with players he doesn't deem important pieces to the future of the organization, LaCombe seemingly showed enough promise to be worth the minimal QO. There seems to be a great deal of untapped potential in LaCombe as a steady bottom-four two-way defender who can dazzle at times on breakouts and regroups.