Ducks GM Verbeek says center Mason McTavish’s holdout as training camp begins is ‘disappointing’

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Center Mason McTavish is not in training camp with the Anaheim Ducks amid a contract dispute, and general manager Pat Verbeek says it’s ”disappointing” to begin preparations for a new season without the key forward.

The 22-year-old McTavish is a restricted free agent, but he has not been able to agree on a long-term contract or a bridge deal with the Ducks over months of negotiations. He was skating with his teammates in Orange County earlier this week, but he had gone home to Canada when the Ducks held their first full practices under new coach Joel Quenneville on Thursday.

“It’s disappointing that he’s not here, obviously,” Verbeek said. “We have virtually a whole new coaching staff, and the group is really excited like I’ve never seen before. There’s a new system that’s getting implemented. There’s a lot of things to learn, and it takes a lot of reps to get it under each player’s belt. So when Mason gets here, he’s got a lot of catching up to do.”

McTavish has spent the past three full seasons with the Ducks, who drafted him third overall in 2021. He has 60 goals and 80 assists in 229 games for Anaheim after posting career bests of 22 goals and 30 assists last season.

Anaheim expects McTavish to be its second-line center for the foreseeable future, and Verbeek traded away Trevor Zegras this summer in part because of his long-term belief in McTavish and Leo Carlsson as the team’s top two pivots. But the Ducks and McTavish’s representatives are still locked in a dispute that is now jeopardizing McTavish’s ability to contribute in a new structure under Quenneville, Verbeek said.

“I mean, I’ve been through this scenario, OK?” Verbeek said. “It’s not easy to join mid-camp, or miss the whole camp. Camp is a very, very important part of a player’s preparedness to go into the season. And so from that aspect, it’s disappointing.”

During his playing career, Verbeek was reportedly the first player in New Jersey Devils history to hold out in a contract dispute — although it lasted just one day in 1991.

Verbeek has had a few prolonged contract standoffs with young players since taking over the Ducks’ front office in February 2022. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale and Zegras both held out of training camp in 2023 as restricted free agents, but both eventually signed three-year deals — only for Verbeek to trade both players to Philadelphia 17 months apart.

Verbeek and forward Troy Terry also had a lengthy negotiation before they agreed on a seven-year, $49 million deal in August 2023 for the four-time 20-goal scorer.

Verbeek said his talks with McTavish’s camp are active, and they’ve “made a lot of progress over the summer, but we’re not there yet. Until we get there, he won’t be here. … We’re closing in, I would say, but we’re not there yet.”

The Ducks have missed the playoffs in a franchise-record seven consecutive seasons, but they made a 21-point improvement in the standings last year. Verbeek on Thursday reiterated his expectation that Anaheim will make the playoffs this season under Quenneville, the second-winningest coach in NHL history.

But that would be tough without McTavish, whose two-way play and scoring acumen seem vital to the Ducks’ chances of success. He was Anaheim’s second-leading scorer last season with 52 points.

“We all understand what situation he’s in,” Ducks captain Radko Gudas said. “Obviously we would love to have him here. He’s a huge part of this group. We love him as a guy. … Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to get the deal done, but we can’t wait to get him around here and get him up to speed. He’s very important for us, but we’re all hoping this is going to get resolved as soon as possible.”

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