Ducks sign Ryan Poehling to 4-year contract extension

The Ducks signed center Ryan Poehling to a four-year, $15 million contract extension on Thursday, locking the versatile pivot down through 2030.

Poehling, 27, was acquired via an offseason trade for former team-leading scorer Trevor Zegras. It also netted the Ducks a second-round draft pick that became prospect Eric Nilson and a fourth-rounder that will likely confer to the Boston Bruins in exchange for winger Jeffrey Viel.

Though Zegras, who has played in all 60 games for Philly after sitting out 76 for the Ducks across the past two seasons while maintaining a career-best scoring clip, has given the Flyers all they expected, Poehling has certainly done the same for the Ducks.

He has created tempo and pushed pace, with winger Troy Terry calling him the heartbeat of the team. He has also carried a heavy load on an improved but still inconsistent penalty kill, matched up capably with offensive threats and produced 24 points.

Fourteen of his 17 assists have been of the primary variety. Poehling’s 62 blocked shots are more than twice as many as any other Ducks forward has accumulated this season. Mason McTavish’s 28 represent the next highest total and Poehling’s 4.72 blocks per 60 minutes elevate him even higher on the team leaderboard.

Poehling scored in a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Wednesday night after recently expressing his desire to remain with the team ahead of Friday’s noon PT trade deadline. He is in the final year of a two-year, $3.8 million contract he signed with the Flyers.

He was originally a first-round pick, No. 25 overall, of the Montreal Canadiens, who also drafted his uncle, Stan Palmer. Poehling developed in their system before spending a season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, moving onto Philadelphia and now landing in what projects to be his longest tenure to date.