ANAHEIM, Calif. – Out of the contract negotiation woods and onto the ice in screaming color, Mason McTavish donned his orange jersey and rejoined the Anaheim Ducks at morning skate on Monday at Honda Center.
“It’s great. I’m glad that it’s over and passed,” McTavish said. “I’m really excited to be here. We got a great group here and just stayed in touch with them the whole time. It was tough at home, but I’m very grateful and thankful to be here with the guys today.”
The Ducks had gone through over a week of training camp and three preseason games by the time the deal was finally agreed on. McTavish said “it sucked” training back home in Ottawa instead of practicing in Orange County and he was “itching” to get back with his teammates. Each side had their numbers and eventually met in the middle to get it done.
“I think both groups obviously really wanted to be here. It’s just that’s the business side of it,” McTavish said. “I still don’t really know why it takes that long, but it’s a cliche, it’s just the business side of it. Obviously both groups really wanted to get it done, and that stuff just takes time. I’m very fortunate and grateful to be back here.”
McTavish was able to lean on former teammates and close friends Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras, who were the last Ducks RFAs to have contract negotiations drag into training camp. Zegras–whose summer trade to Philadelphia McTavish called “brutal” and said “that sucked” to see his best friend be sent away–and Drysdale also missed more than half of Ducks camp in 2023.
“Obviously talked to those guys and you can know what to expect at that point,” McTavish said. “I figured it’s going to be a while. So, I talked to them a little bit during the process, and they know exactly how it feels, so it’s good to pick their brain a bit.”
Both McTavish and Ducks coach Joel Quenneville were eager to get the 22-year-old center into camp to get up to speed with the systems and get up to speed with his body, as everyone looks to hit the ground running for the regular season.
“The pace of practices that we’ve had is higher than probably what he’s been skating at, be it in Ottawa (with the junior 67’s) or off the ice,” Quenneville said, “We don’t want to ratchet him up too quick. I think we’ve had some history here where guys have gotten hurt early because of having a real hard pace right off the bat, and then all of a sudden they’re missing time, so we’ll make sure that the workload as we’re going to be ratcheting it up each day for them will be appropriate to how we feel that the amount that he can handle.”
“I love the guys here. and I love hockey,” McTavish said. “This is where I want to be and to sit out, it was not enjoyable at all. But I’m glad everything worked out and I got here before the regular season started and get some practice under my belt. Very, very fortunate.”
McTavish was a welcome presence on the ice and in the locker room. During training camp, players had each said how much he meant to the group and how close they were, as they all skated together in Orange County before the opening of camp.
“He’s such a big part of what we are trying to do on the ice, but off the ice too,” Troy Terry said. “He’s a guy we’ve all missed. He’s a fun guy to have around. It feels like we’re ready for camp now. I’m going to be happier for him. I’m happier for the team. Everyone got it settled, and everyone seems happy. You got a lot of excited people in here to have them back.”
Ducks No. 1 center Leo Carlsson felt “great” about having his No. 2 center back in the fold. McTavish’s situation might be a precursor to next summer, as Carlsson is one of five upcoming RFAs–all of which are key players in Cutter Guathier, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger.
However, that’s not on Carlsson’s docket quite yet.
“No, I didn’t think about it so far,” Carlsson said. “It’s a long way to go there. Just trying to focus on the season right now, basically.”
As can everyone else in the Ducks locker room with summer business finally locked up and the regular season 11 days away.