Getzlaf's No. 15 Goes to the Rafters. Now It's Carlsson and Gauthier's Turn.

The Anaheim Ducks announced they will retire Ryan Getzlaf's No. 15 this season, closing the book on the franchise's championship era. Getzlaf spent his entire 17-year NHL career with the organization, serving as its longest-tenured captain and all-time leading scorer before retiring in April 2022. Raising his number is a straightforward call—and a clean symbolic marker of where the Ducks have been and where they are trying to go.

The timing lands at an interesting moment. The franchise has spent this offseason making its next-era bets explicit: a five-year, $18 million AAV commitment to Leo Carlsson in July, followed by a five-year extension for Pavel Mintyukov. Carlsson posted 48 points in 49 games last season and was ranked the 14th-best center in the league by NHL Network in August. Cutter Gauthier, at 42 points in 50 games, has drawn recognition as one of the league's better young wingers. Those two are the foundation the organization is building around.

What the Getzlaf ceremony will also underscore is how much ground remains. The 2025-26 Ducks finished 43-39 and missed the playoffs, going 2-8 over their final 10 games with the defense allowing 4.1 goals per game in that stretch. Troy Terry, the team's leading point producer among forwards not named Carlsson or Gauthier, is recovering from hip surgery and will miss the start of 2026-27. The roster is thinner than it was a year ago. Getzlaf's banner will go up into a building still very much under construction.