The Montreal Canadiens have caught fire during the preseason, dominating opponents like Toronto and Ottawa by comfortable margins heading into opening night. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson have led the charge, giving fans legitimate hope for a deep playoff run.
However, while the Canadiens continue their strong preseason, their 2C issues remain unresolved. All summer long, the Ducks’ Mason McTavish appeared to be their ideal trade target, but talks never materialized. Now, one insider believes he knows why the Canadiens walked away from the deal.
Insider Reveals Why Canadiens Passed on Trading for Mason McTavish This Summer
With Montreal’s second-line center spot in flux because of Kirby Dach’s injury, McTavish appeared to be the perfect trade target. However, GM Pat Verbeek’s steep asking price and his reluctance to move the young center quickly shut down any realistic negotiations.
Until the preseason began, many believed a trade remained possible. Those hopes vanished when McTavish signed a six-year, $42 million extension with Anaheim, ending any chance Montreal could acquire him.
Now, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels believes he knows why the Canadiens never pushed harder for a deal. “The simple answer is because Anaheim never had an interest in losing McTavish and would’ve matched,” Engels explained.
Despite the Ducks not immediately locking him up with an extension, Engels believes they were never willing to part with McTavish under any circumstances. “And the Canadiens weren’t going to cross a threshold that would make him too expensive for Anaheim to keep and too expensive for them to acquire,” Engels added.
According to Engels, the asking price for McTavish was simply too high for the Canadiens to meet. This aligns with Ducks GM Verbeek’s earlier statement that the only scenario where he’d consider moving McTavish would be for a proven top-four defenseman in return.
While the Canadiens possessed the ideal trade asset in David Reinbacher, they deemed that price too steep to pay. Furthermore, the McTavish camp never entertained the possibility of a move this summer. Experts believed it was always about getting the right number with the Ducks.
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Meanwhile, despite the center missing the training camp with the Ducks under the new head coach, Joel Quenneville, the two parties eventually agreed on the $7 million number.
McTavish also mentioned how he was happy to be back with the team. “Love the guys here, and I love hockey. This is where I want to be, and to sit out, it was not enjoyable at all,” he said. “Glad everything worked out, and I got here before the regular season started.”
However, while the Canadiens might have missed out on acquiring him, the franchise is still doing pretty well as it approaches its opening night.
