Anaheim Ducks Want To Keep Mason McTavish

Mason McTavish and his camp were seeking a trade more so than the Anaheim Ducks

Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Dave McCarthy on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio last Friday and was asked about where things stood with Mason McTavish and the Anaheim Ducks and why a team like Anaheim would want to trade a player like McTavish.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Dave McCarthy: “What about Mason McTavish, Dave?  I’m surprised that his name has popped up as much in trade rumors as it seems to have popped up. Like, I look at that Ducks team right now, and I just see a perfect fit there for Mason McTavish. Like, it just seems to work with the group that they have. And they’re clearly at a point now where they’re looking to take a step forward, and if not play meaningful games down the stretch, but to make the playoffs this year.

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And Mason McTavish is a guy whose role seems to fit in the group that they have. Is a guy that is from an age standpoint, in the appropriate window. Where are the Ducks at with Mason McTavish? And can you help me understand why his name seems to be popping up in trade rumours as often as they are? My question is, why would the Ducks want to trade this guy?”

Dave Pagnotta: “They don’t want to. They want to keep them. That’s the objective from their side of things. But because of some of the changes that the team has made, because of some of the additions the team has made, the indication in early July was that there was concern from the players side. That the opportunities may not necessarily be there right now for him to further develop his game, further enhance his game, and solidified himself as the 2C  in Anaheim.

And whether his role is modified, and that could be five-on-five, that could be power play opportunity, that could be the specialty, like everything. So I think there was an exploratory stage from his representation, to see what options may be available to him elsewhere, given that he is a free agent.

Now it’s restricted, and the Ducks, they hold his rights. And there was never a sense, and even though I think there were some discussions of the possibility of offer sheets, I don’t think that was ever something seriously considered by the clubs out there, given the fact that Anaheim has a boatload of cap space. They’ve got the most space right now. So I don’t think that was ever a serious threat.

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But I do believe speaking to people across the league back then and recently, back in July, I should say, and recently, yeah, there were some discussions with his camp about the possibility of, ‘Hey, what are the opportunities here?’ Here’s where we think we fit. And let’s go pursue a trade. I think there were discussions. I don’t think anything has gotten overly serious to this point. But yeah, there’s, I mean, for a player like Mason McTavish, look as things progress, teams always inquire.

I mean, the job of the manager is to go out there and see what’s available and see what opportunities may pop up. So, no stone left unturned kind of thing. But there have been discussions, but at the same time, Anaheim wants to hold on to him. So, unless they get blown out of the water with a ridiculous offer, they’re going to keep things going.

Now a little different than what we talked about with Hughes. If these discussions continue to hit the wall, then Anaheim activates trade mode a little bit more seriously than they have over these last several weeks. But this isn’t a scenario where the Ducks have been trying or looking to get rid of or trade Mason McTavish.

This has more been the player and his reps doing what they think is right for him in terms of harnessing the opportunity in Anaheim.”

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