March 8, 2011
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Anaheim Ducks announced Tuesday that the club has signed defenseman Luca Sbisa to a four-year contract extension, running through the 2014-15 season. Per club policy, no financial terms of the deal were disclosed.
"We are pleased to be able to reach an agreement with Luca on a long term contract," said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. "He has a bright future ahead of him and we look forward to watching him continue to develop."
Sbisa, 21 (1/30/90), has appeared in 99 career NHL contests, earning 2-13=15 points with 79 penalty minutes (PIM). In 52 contests this season, Sbisa has collected 2-6=8 points with 37 PIM while averaging 16:23 time-on-ice (TOI).
The 6-2, 207-pound blueliner scored his first career NHL goal with the Ducks on Dec. 28, 2010 at Phoenix as part of a 3-1 Anaheim triumph. Among Anaheim leaders, Sbisa currently ranks second in hits with 131 on the season.
Selected by Philadelphia in the first round (19th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Sbisa made his NHL debut with the Flyers in 2008-09, earning 0-7=7 points with 36 PIM in 39 games. At 18 years and 255 days, he was the fourth-youngest Flyer to appear in an NHL game on Oct. 11 vs. the New Rangers. He collected his first NHL point (assist) on Oct. 22, 2008 vs. San Jose. Sbisa became the second-youngest Flyer to make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Apr. 17, 2009 versus Pittsburgh. He also appeared in eight games with the Ducks in 2009-10, going scoreless with six PIM before being returned to the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
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 in exchange for Chris Pronger on June 26, 2009.
A native of Ozieri, Italy, Sbisa was raised in Switzerland and had the rare distinction of representing Switzerland at both the 2010 World Junior Championship as captain and at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. He appeared in five games during the Olympics and three in the World Juniors. In addition, Sbisa represented his country as a member of their 2008 World Junior Championship squad. He also played the 2006-07 season with Zug of the Swiss Jr. Elite League prior to his North American debut in 2007-08. In 109 career junior contests with Lethbridge and Portland (WHL) from 2007-10, Sbisa collected 15-52=67 points with 111 PIM and a +15 rating. He won the Carl Trentini Memorial Award in 2008 as the Hurricanes Rookie of the Year, while also leading all WHL defensemen in playoff scoring (3-12=15 points) in 19 games that included a WHL Finals appearance.
