By Gm Pat Verbeek,NHL Trade Talk

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Don’t call the Anaheim Ducks asking if Mason McTavish is available for trade. That is, unless you want to be told off by GM Pat Verbeek.

Reports this week, as McTavish skates with the Ottawa 67’s, and it looks like contract talks have taken a turn for the worse, are that other clubs are asking if McTavish is available. They’re being told to “get lost”, in much more direct way.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports:

As of Thursday afternoon, the Anaheim Ducks and restricted free agent center Mason McTavish’s camp hadn’t discussed a contract since Monday. McTavish then got on a plane to Ottawa, where he’s skating with the OHL 67’s. But the point of emphasis here is that his agent, veteran Pat Morris of Newport Sports, would have likely told his client that the Ducks still aren’t moving off their stance, so it’s going to be a long one. Hence, McTavish flying to Ottawa.”

Meanwhile, Elliotte Friedman updated what he’s hearing on the situation.

He noted on the 32 Thought podcast on Friday that when a player goes far from the NHL club instead of finding local ice, it can set off alarm bells.

The situation here is that both sides are dug in pretty tightly. He noted that the Anaheim Ducks do not want a bridge deal. They want a longer-term contract. He believes McTavish is open to a long-term deal, but the gap between what the Ducks are willing to offer and what McTavish’s representatives at Newport Sees see as fair is significant. Both sides are hard-nosed negotiators, “so this is a real grinder”, said Friedman.