On Thursday, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek met with local media to discuss RFA Mason McTavish's contract negotiations, new head coach Joel Quenneville and various other topics. The following is a full transcript of that press conference, which has been lightly edited for clarity and length:
Pat, the big story, Mason McTavish, unsigned. In your professional opinion, why do you think that he's not signed at this moment?
That's always a tough question. Talks are ongoing and we've made a lot of progress over the summer, but, we're not there yet. So, until we get there,he won't be here.
How would you characterize the talks so far?
Amicable. Normal. I've known (McTavish's agent) Pat Morris for a long time, so we both understand each other and know how each other goes about their business, so it's just totally fine.
The progress that you talk about, is any of that taking place lately, or has it kind of ground to a halt here?
Not really, no. We're closing in, I would say. But, like I said, we're not there yet. So, both sides have to agree to a deal.
These discussions with McTavish… Looking ahead to all the RFAs you have next season, does this affect how you think about those contracts? You thinking of getting any of those done earlier?
Well, we're kicking that around now internally. We've been discussing that, so that's stuff you always look at. Each contract, they're all individually done and looked at differently. We have our process of how we go through and analyze each player's scenario or situation and come up with a game plan and proceed to go through the process to get it done.
Is that a tricky thing to manage? Because, like you said, you have more coming up on the docket and each is its own thing. But maybe one could impact the other in managing that.
I would say there's probably more outside influences, whether it's league influences that kind of become tricky with that situation, versus internal. I don't consider it tricky. It's just a process and things you have to go through.
A couple of years ago with (Trevor) Zegras and (Jamie) Drydale, those negotiations kind of took basically all of camp. How much are you looking to avoid a similar instance in terms of being able to get it done and get them in here?
When you talk about those players––I know you've mentioned (Troy) Terry and (Lukáš) Dostál. In the end, all the deals that were done were all fair, market-value contracts. That's the process––where and how and when it gets done––a lot of different variables. But, in the end, we feel that it's good for the team and good for the player, the deals that get accomplished.
Not having one of your top two centermen in camp under a new coach, does that compromise your preparations for the new season?
It's disappointing that he's not here. Yeah, virtually a whole new coaching staff and the group's really excited like I've never seen before. There's a new system that's getting implemented. There's a lot of things to learn and it takes a lot of reps to get it under each player's belt. When Mason gets here, he's got a lot of catching up to do. I've been through this scenario. It's not easy to join mid-camp or miss (the) whole camp. Camp is a very important part of a player's preparedness to go into the season, and so from that aspect, it's disappointing.
What was it like to see Joel back out there back in his element?
It's exciting. He's excited. The passion, the intensity, the vibrance that he brings. The players, they feel it and they're excited about it. They can't wait. Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done, a lot of things to hone in on for this upcoming season. That's part of the process that we have for training camp and exhibition games to really start to dial it in, to get a good start to the season.
Can you tell a difference in the attitude and the tenor of the group coming into this year versus the last couple?
It's night and day. There's a couple (reasons why). The coaches brought a lot of excitement. The players highly respect him. They respect his track record, so that's exciting for them. I think the addition of a few players to the group and the young players looking at themselves getting better and taking a jump is exciting for them as well. There's a lot of different variables coming together at the same time, which is very important.
Not just Quenneville, but you've got Jay Woodcroft, Ryan McGill as well, basically an overhaul. How much of a difference can you see just this staff making?
Well, they've got a lot of tremendous experience. With Ryan from his side of things, top-5 PK for the last little while here with the two teams that he's been with and Jay, who I've known since Detroit, very detailed coach. Very detailed on how he goes about his teaching process with things that need to get accomplished on the power play. So he's got a long track record of having a top-10 power play as well. So, all exciting stuff, and I think, very vast experience in those areas to really help this young and experienced group at the same time.
What's your goal or goals for the season for the team performance-wise?
Well, our expectation is to make playoffs. That's our goal and then we'll go from there.
First day of training camp, are you comfortable with where the team is at right now, or are you still looking to add pieces?
No, this is our group right here. We'll see. There's a lot of younger guys (who are) gonna be pushing for jobs, so we shall see. That's why we have the exhibition games and training camp to see who pushes themselves through.
You mentioned the young guys leveling up as a goal. What about (Mikael) Granland, (Chris) Kreider, (Ryan) Poehling? What impact do you see them making?
Production. If you look at all their production, I think Kreider’s last year was an anomaly for me in the sense that he had a tough season. I think every player, you can look through their history (and see that) they come across a tough season. The one thing about change and players being excited, it's fresh. I'm expecting a big bounce-back season. He's going to be able to give us things that we haven't had. Granlund, 66 points last year. Expect a lot of the same. He's a very smart player, very competitive player and a guy that gets into the dirty areas of the ice, which is important to score goals. Poehling as well, looking anywhere third, fourth line. His production, his points were in the 30s, that was part of the thing that I was looking to improve in the bottom-6 production. Plus, he kills penalties. So, there's a lot of things that have been added to the group, subtly, which makes us deeper, and we can put out four strong lines.
Beckett Sennecke, what do you see the path forward being for him right now? It feels like a very pivotal point for him. In terms of juniors or the NHL, there's not really any other option.
We're going to go through this process that I went through with Leo (Carlsson). So, we're going to analyze to see where he is at the end of these three, four weeks here. As I did with Leo, I've got a couple different plans in my mind. We'll see and make the best decision at the end of training camp.
Obviously, you want McTavish in here sooner rather than later. But how much does Granlund’s importance grow with McTavish not here?
From that point, I think there’s a lot of options. Cutter Gauthier can play center. Poehling can move up. We have Tim Washe. There's lots of options that can kind of fill––I'm not saying we can fill the void completely, but there'd be opportunities for players to step into that role to fill it if it has to be done. It's no different than dealing with an injury all through the season. Guys go down, you're going to have to find somebody to plug the hole. So, that's kind of how we're approaching it.
Just to jump off that a little bit. You mentioned Gauthier playing center. He did that in college, but moved to wing once he became an NHLer. Do you see that as a realistic scenario at some point at all, even when McTavish comes back?
I'm not sure. I'm not sure about that. Ultimately, coach and I discuss that thing, discuss that, and we'll see. What's best for the team is how our guys will be deployed.