The physical defenseman Trouba finished a seven-year, $8 million AAV contract. Bruce Bennett / Getty ImagesJuly 1, 2026 1:56 pm EDT Updated Free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba has signed a four-year contract with the San Jose Sharks, the team announced Wednesday.Trouba’s new contract carries an average annual value of $8.25 million, according to the Sharks. The physical blueliner, who spent parts of the last two seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, finished a seven-year, $8 million AAV contract before hitting the open market.Trouba, 32, had a rebound year in 2025-26 with the Ducks, who acquired him from the New York Rangers midway through the 2024-25 season following a contentious split. He had 10 goals and 35 points for Anaheim in his best season since 2021-22. The Ducks acquired him for Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round draft pick.
The Ducks wanted to re-sign Trouba, given how well he meshed with Jackson LaCombe as a partner and played a role in LaCombe’s breakout season as Anaheim’s No. 1 defenseman.Trouba said contract-extension talks “didn’t get very far” at the trade deadline but Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek kept Trouba for the Ducks’ playoff push with the intention of making another attempt at an extension following the season.“No matter how this whole thing I guess plays out, that’s something I will always be appreciative of Pat and the organization kind of took a chance on me when I was down, and I was certainly down,” Trouba said. “Finishing out that last year (with the Rangers and Ducks) was tough. Coming back this year, I had a lot to prove to myself, and I thought I did a good job of playing hockey again and I’m pretty proud of that.”Trouba’s advanced metrics show a player who had a concerning 46.15 GF% in five-on-five play during the regular season but rebounded nicely in terms of possession numbers (52.06 CF%) and high-danger chances (50.32) in coach Joel Quenneville’s up-tempo system.In 13 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, Rangers and Ducks, Trouba has 84 goals, 274 assists and 701 penalty minutes in 901 games.This story will be updated.Jul 1, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
