Ducks agree to 6-year deal with holdout center Mason McTavish, AP source says
The Anaheim Ducks have agreed to terms with center Mason McTavish on a $42 million, six-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press.
The person spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because McTavish’s deal hadn’t been signed, but the agreement will end the key forward’s holdout, which lasted less than two weeks.
The 22-year-old McTavish, a restricted free agent, didn’t report to camp with the rest of the Ducks on Sept. 18 after negotiations dragged on his new deal. General manager Pat Verbeek called McTavish’s absence “disappointing,” particularly because the team is installing a new system under coach Joel Quenneville.
McTavish went home to Canada before training camp began, but the sides bridged their gap in recent days and reached a deal to keep McTavish in his role as the probable second-line center in Anaheim.
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 as the club’s second-leading scorer.
McTavish has grown as a playmaker and a defensive forward despite playing on three straight non-playoff teams with the Ducks, who have missed the postseason in seven consecutive years.
Verbeek has said he expects Anaheim to make the playoffs this season after posting a 21-point improvement in the standings last spring before hiring Quenneville, the second-winningest coach in NHL history. The Ducks also acquired veteran forward Chris Kreider in a trade with the Rangers, and they signed experienced scorer Mikael Granlund.
The Ducks open the regular season at Seattle on Oct. 9.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
