GM Pat Verbeek discusses the Ducks' 2024 trade deadline moves

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek met with local media on Friday evening to discuss the 2024 trade deadline.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Before Friday's game against the Dallas Stars, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek addressed the media to discuss the moves he made prior to the conclusion of the 2024 trade deadline. This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

You acquired Ben Meyers today from Colorado, what do you like about his game?

I've actually been watching him for the (Golden) Gophers for a long time. When I was in Detroit, we actually tried to recruit him to play with us there. He's got pretty good hockey sense. He's a competitor. He's a good skater and a guy that we valued––losing Adam Henrique, obviously. He's good in the face-off circle, so we were looking for that. Being in a really tough lineup, he probably wasn't getting the quality ice time that could help him develop his game a little further. We thought it was a good opportunity to improve our team.

(Ducks head coach Greg Cronin) had him last year. What kind of input did he give you (on Meyers)?

It's more for me when we talk to the coaches and all that stuff. I want to know the character, the work ethic, the dedication. The competitive part. That's what I really dial in on. That's the information I want to find out from the coaching staff.

(Adam) Henrique and (Sam) Carrick, how determined were you to get that (first-round pick) with the offers coming in?

You're always trying to get the best deal you can. I saw what Winnipeg gave to Montreal (for Sean Monahan). I valued Adam and Sam in that same light. I stuck to my guns.

How close did you come to making other deals today?

Not really. It was just a lot of kick tires, discussing a few things. We had talked about this deal that we made this morning with Colorado last night. Everybody wanted to sleep on it. We made it happen this morning. You get calls. Teams looking to maybe do quick little things or different things. Stuff that we'd gotten calls on before but were prepared to deal with. Nothing came through.

You swapped young players with Montreal, what do you like about the player (Jan Myšák) who's coming back?

We watched him in juniors as well, so we think we're getting a really high-character kid, a hard worker. Someone who you've got to kick out of the rink. He's constantly looking to get better and those are the sorts of players that you want to get.

You claimed William Lagesson today from Toronto, what does he offer?

He's going to offer grit (and) competitiveness. He's a defensive defenseman, so you won't see offense out of him. But he's going to defend well. That's just something for the last 20 games. Our minor league team's really depleted on defense, so we looked at this as an insurance policy to make sure if there are any injuries, we don't really have to tear down or strip down our minor league team as well.

When you brought Ilya Lyubushkin in last summer (from Buffalo), was it always in the back of your mind that you could perhaps flip him at the deadline for assets?

That's always in the back of your mind. What surprised me a little bit was (Pavel) Mintyukov coming into training camp (and) was a lot better than we anticipated, which was a great surprise. What was even better was how well he and Lyubushkin played together and Lyubushkin was a really good mentor to him. Unintended consequences, it just turned out to be a great fit. We actually looked at maybe keeping Lyubushkin, but we ended up moving him. He was a great player for us.

You weren't actively shopping him, but were teams calling on (Trevor Zegras) near the deadline?

No, they were not. Zegras is hurt. It's a situation there that everybody is speculating on that. We want Z to play with us. Hopefully, he can get through this injury pretty quickly and get him back on the ice.

(Frank Vatrano's) name was out there quite a bit––

I know. I don't know where you guys get this stuff. *laughs* You guys hear all this stuff, you ask me the questions. I'm never shopping our players. You know, Wayne Gretzky got traded. Obviously, there's the possibility that anybody can get traded, OK? It's my job to listen and that's what I'm doing.

For a player of (Vatrano's) profile––a scoring winger; when you see the scoring wingers that moved at this deadline and some of the returns, were they underwhelming?

Frankie's going to be a 35-goal scorer. Those don't just grow on trees. We like Frank. We like what he brings inside the locker room. We like his work ethic. We like how he shoots the puck in the net. We like his contract. There's just so much to like about him. Unless you're going to blow my doors off, why would I do that?

(Vatrano) is heading into the final year of his deal (next season). Is there any thought about maybe discussing an extension with him or is that maybe a wait-and-see type of thing?

That's way too far to even talk about right now. I don't look to do those things when the season's not over. He still has another year on his contract, we can do that at any time.