{"id":100413,"date":"2025-08-21T22:42:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T22:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/100413\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T22:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T22:42:08","slug":"how-do-ducks-view-mason-mctavish-is-anaheim-a-wild-card-threat-mailbag-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/100413\/","title":{"rendered":"How do Ducks view Mason McTavish? Is Anaheim a wild-card threat? Mailbag, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

You fine readers had enough questions to load up the Ducks mailbag that a Part 2 was necessary. If you didn\u2019t see Part 1, we dropped it earlier this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among other topics, we promised we\u2019d get to the Mason McTavish section in Part 2 so let\u2019s not dawdle any longer and launch right into that.<\/p>\n

(Some questions have been lightly edited for style and clarity.)<\/p>\n

There has been a massive amount of rumors about Mason McTavish which in turn seems to have garnered some serious interest from more than a handful of teams. The thing is when a player is brought up to be the main (or only) piece of a trade, all we hear is, \u201cthat\u2019s too much.\u201d It would seem many teams really want McTavish but don\u2019t want to pay up for him. What is your personal opinion and the consensus opinion of other hockey journalists you have talked to about McTavish on what his realistic value is in a legit trade? Thank you. \u2013 Night R.<\/p>\n

Why does Pat Verbeek squeeze RFAs (Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, McTavish), while handing out rich contracts for past-their-prime guys like Alex Killorn and Mikael Granlund. Why risk alienating his young talent when they see other teams handing out lucrative long-term deals to their peers? What happens next year when Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger are all RFAs? \u2013 Alan L.<\/p>\n

Is there anything in McTavish\u2019s game that would explain why he is not under contract yet? \u2013 P G. <\/p>\n

Night, would the R. in your handle stand for Ranger? Just asking. I\u2019m going to cut to the chase on McTavish and all the rumblings of him possibly being traded. The Ducks want to re-sign him. They want to keep him. They see him as an important part of their lineup. True, the lack of an extension this late into the summer creates wonder and generates discussion. I\u2019m sure teams have asked Verbeek about him. Right now, the sides have gone back and forth on deals shorter and longer in term. The Ducks may not want to go to eight years \u2014 which can still happen until the new CBA kicks in \u2014 but they\u2019re not just looking at a bridge deal.<\/p>\n

By now, you\u2019ve probably seen articles on the teams that need a No. 2 center and would be potential destinations for McTavish. You know who else needs a No. 2 center? Anaheim. And it has one that\u2019s 22 and on the rise with a strong finishing kick to last season. I\u2019m not going to get into what the cost would be other than \u201ca lot more than what they got for Zegras.\u201d As to McTavish\u2019s game, I think he took his defensive shortcomings to heart but he can still stand to improve. Even though his 40 even-strength points were second only to Troy Terry, I\u2019d like to see him become more of a play-driving force in five-on-five play.<\/p>\n

Alan, it\u2019s key to remember that re-signing your RFAs and bidding on UFAs are different entities. With restricted free agents, it\u2019s about leverage and teams try to keep that as they manage their cap. In the UFA business, it\u2019s about wooing a player to your club. And that can mean outbidding others or making it financially attractive to land that player. Paying for vets like Killorn and Granlund can be questioned for sure. But with your team\u2019s best RFAs, it is about projecting what they\u2019ll become and finding a contract both sides can agree on.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t get into Verbeek\u2019s head, but I don\u2019t think he thought Zegras and Drysdale were sure things when it came to being core players. I do believe he sees McTavish as one. But it\u2019s well-known that Verbeek and assistant GM Jeff Solomon are tough negotiators. Negotiations on Lukas Dost\u00e1l\u2019s five-year extension were smooth, but the Ducks needed to keep their No. 1 goalie from going to arbitration. McTavish\u2019s leverage is withholding his services. There is still time to get a deal done \u2014 and I think it will get done \u2014 but I agree that Verbeek does need to show he\u2019ll commit to an important youngster sooner than later.<\/p>\n

Was there something behind the scenes that Verbeek just didn\u2019t like about Zegras? He seemed through Greg Cronin to be determined to bury him. And was Beckett Sennecke a huge reach at 3 last year? \u2013 Christpher P.<\/p>\n

To put a wrap on that, I just didn\u2019t see Verbeek fully embracing Zegras\u2019s freewheeling nature or as part of the vision for the Ducks being a consistent winner and regular playoff participant. Media members out here (including myself) asked him on multiple occasions if he saw Zegras as a core piece. There was never full endorsement of that. And Verbeek never truly slammed the door on the loads of trade rumors, some of which were fantasy and some that were cultivated from reality. You never got a sense he was off-limits.<\/p>\n

In the past I\u2019ve gotten criticism for mentioning the trade chatter that surrounded him or adding fuel to those rumors with stories. What I write is borne out of reporting; unless the angle is completely speculative, I wouldn\u2019t write about trade potential unless there is something concrete to that. The Ducks would be the first to object if stories of Zegras being a legitimate trade candidate had no validity to them or were dead wrong. (And I\u2019m still a believer that he should have gotten a chance under Quenneville).<\/p>\n

As for Sennecke, I tend to lean on the expertise of Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler here at The Athletic and while Sennecke being the third pick was a surprise to many, including the winger himself, it wasn\u2019t as much of a shock to our draft gurus. Sennecke\u2019s stock was rising sharply, and I had started hearing a connection between him and Anaheim a couple days before the draft. He\u2019ll be watched closely during camp but I\u2019d key in on the World Juniors, where he should be motivated after being left off Canada\u2019s 2025 roster.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Trevor Zegras was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers shortly before the draft in June. (Sean M. Haffey \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

How much of a difference will a competent coaching staff (finally) make on the Ducks\u2019 record? \u2013 Aj M.<\/p>\n

How well do you think the Ducks\u2019 push to make the playoffs will go? I\u2019m hoping for a noticeable improvement over last year, but I still see them missing the playoffs. \u2013 Matthew C.<\/p>\n

Aj, the changes behind the bench have the potential to be the best moves this offseason. Whatever you think of Joel Quenneville and him coaching in the NHL again, there is no debating his track record. And even if he\u2019s the league\u2019s oldest head coach at 66, I don\u2019t think the game has passed him by. Jay Woodcroft will be leading an NHL club again at some point, so getting him to solve the power play feels like a coup. Ryan McGill has run some effective blue lines in Vegas and New Jersey. To me, that alone should result in a 10-point boost.<\/p>\n

Matthew, it would be a massive disappointment \u2014 if not an outright failure \u2014 if this team didn\u2019t improve on last year\u2019s 80 points. Between the new staff and some expected leaps by the young core of Carlsson, McTavish and Gauthier, steady goaltending by Dostal and improved systemic and special-teams play, that should make for a move upward. Edmonton and Vegas remain the class of the Pacific. L.A. is still a factor despite a sketchy offseason. But I think Calgary and Vancouver can be overtaken. What\u2019s realistic is jumping into the wild-card mix that also includes St. Louis and possibly Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Sam Colangelo was a bit of a surprise and played well after his call-up. Was last season an aberration or do the Ducks look at him as part of the future? \u2013 Eric M.<\/p>\n

Colangelo left a good impression in scoring 10 goals in his 32 games with the Ducks after earning a promotion from San Diego, where he led the Gulls with 22 goals in just 40 contests. What I like about the 23-year-old\u2019s game is that he\u2019s got a presence around the net and can successfully tip pucks. He can find rebounds and has a good shot as well, which he can uncork when he gets space. I think he\u2019s got to always work on his skating. He signed a two-year deal earlier this month and there\u2019s a path to securing a job, but the contract being two-way this season means he can\u2019t take a spot for granted.<\/p>\n

The Ducks have a royalty of defensive prospects: Tristan Luneau, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger, Ian Moore, Stian Solberg and Drew Helleson. All while Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas look to be free agents after the upcoming season. How do you foresee Verbeek and Quenneville solidifying their defense this year and into the next season? A trade or two may need to happen in order to diversify the team\u2019s assets. \u2013 Luis L.<\/p>\n

Luis, I suppose I\u2019ll sum it up like this. If the Ducks are in playoff contention or even holding down a spot at the 2026 trade deadline, I don\u2019t see Trouba or Gudas being dealt unless one or both specifically wants to move. Now, you don\u2019t want to let valuable UFAs walk for nothing, but you also don\u2019t want to jeopardize the club\u2019s first run at a playoff berth in many years. I think they\u2019d like to keep some veteran presence. But in listing all those young defenders, it highlights an area they can pull from to engineer a trade for a high-impact forward \u2014 preferably one that still has prime years left in a contention window.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jackson LaCombe had a notable season averaging 22 minutes a night on the Ducks\u2019 blue line. (Ronald Martinez \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Is Jackson LaCombe a legit NHL No. 1 defenseman? Does the organization think he is? \u2013 Jason K.<\/p>\n

A long-term extension would be some proof of the Ducks\u2019 view. Who knows if that will shake out but the view of LaCombe across the league got an added boost when he was one of 44 invitees to the USA Olympics orientation camp. That doesn\u2019t mean he has a spot on Team USA for next year\u2019s Milan Cortina Games. But it does mean that he is on Bill Guerin\u2019s radar. The points breakout was the eye-opener for LaCombe last season, but he took some big strides with his defensive game. If he becomes a true weapon on the power play, he\u2019ll move to the next level as a bona fide star blueliner.<\/p>\n

Were there any notable big names that Verbeek seriously swung at and missed on? \u2013 Eldrida R.<\/p>\n

Even with loads of cap space available, I don\u2019t think Mitch Marner ever seriously considered Anaheim simply due to the Ducks not being far enough along in their path to annual playoff contention. And I don\u2019t think the Ducks were keen on throwing a $14 million AAV at him as an overpay enticement. There was interest, just not at that kind of number. Otherwise, this year had a limited crop of impact free agents that got even smaller with several re-signings. But there\u2019s been the rumored interest in Jason Robertson or Martin Necas. Given the pieces Anaheim has, I can see the trade route being one to take.<\/p>\n

Do you know where Rodwin Dionicio will be playing this season? \u2013 Thomas H.<\/p>\n

From what I\u2019ve gathered, Dionicio will likely stay overseas. The 21-year-old is still under an entry-level contract that runs through 2026-27. The Ducks sent him to EHC Biel-Bienne in Switzerland \u2014 where he was raised and plays for internationally \u2013 right after he was suspended three games for an incident at the end of a game while playing for San Diego. It isn\u2019t clear if that loan was punitive in nature but while he\u2019s got offensive talent from the blue line, there are discipline issues in his history that he\u2019s also got to overcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You fine readers had enough questions to load up the Ducks mailbag that a Part 2 was necessary.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[4830,385,99],"class_list":["post-100413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}