The McTavish case is starting to look more and more like the Zegras fiasco

Maxime Truman
The McTavish case is starting to look more and more like the Zegras fiasco
Credit: YouTube (capture d'écran)

It's the story of a guy, you know what I mean.

The guy is the GM of an NHL team, and for 18 months, he's been trying to trade a young, talented player who doesn't seem to be able to reach his full potential on his current team.

He receives some solid offers, but he demands more. He wants more. He stands his ground.

Eighteen months later, he realizes he's asking for too much and resigns himself to trading the young player in question for considerably less than he'd hoped. And for a return that's less than some of the offers he'd received the previous year.

That guy's name is Pat Verbeek, and he's the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks.

And the young player in this story, as you may have guessed, is Trevor Zegras.

Almost exactly a year ago, the Ducks sent Zegras to the Flyers in exchange for Ryan Poehling, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick. The saying goes that the team that lands the best player involved in a trade wins that trade. With 67 points in 81 games this season, Zegras has clearly given Daniel Brière the win.

Why am I bringing up this particular trade this morning? Because I would have thought Pat Verbeek would have learned from his mistake.

But no!

It's been over a year now that Mason McTavish's name has been on the trade market, and his value continues to decline day by day. We've reached the point where GMs are wondering if McTavish is really a top-six player (on a $7 million-per-season contract).

McTavish, a center by training, finished the 2025–26 season on the left wing of the third line. He recorded just 41 points—including only 17 goals—in 75 games. That's a very modest output for a $7 million player.

His value isn't as high as Pat Verbeek would like, but Verbeek isn't backing down: he wants his asking price.

Verbeek is making the same mistake he made a year ago. #McTavish #Zegras

That's what happens when you overvalue your players and refuse to face reality.

The Ducks have several quality young players. Let's hope for their sake that Pat Verbeek doesn't squander the team's potential by continually trading away some of these talented young players at a discount…

Although, if it comes to that, the Canadiens might actually benefit from it.


In a nutshell

– No-trade and no-move clauses are a problem specific to the NHL.

– Predators' amateur draft: How would you rate it?

– So, a World Cup really does pay off!

– What moving moments!

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