Speculation: 2026-27 Trade/FA thread - Waiting for the SCF to be over….

[robbieboy3686]

They do, which is why I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't available. However, if they feel that Greig can play that role for less than half the cap hit, then maybe they view Pinto as a luxury.

+1000

 

[Kariya 9]

I don't want the #25 pick in any deal for Mac.

If the deal really is, 9 + 25 + prospect, that’s ammo for a real upgrade. That trade value is wayyyy higher than McTavish alone.

 

[Big Fat Rebound]

Seattle firmly committed to being the most mid franchise of all time. They might end up being even less relevant than Columbus

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Would #9 for McT appease anyone? I would think Verbeek wants assets that can help us win now.

#9 plus...7 million in caps pace depending on what salaries are sent back

 

[robbieboy3686]

#9 plus...7 million in caps pace depending on what salaries are sent back

#9 + Grieg and call it a day. We get draft capital+ feisty beeker middle 6 player + cap space

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

If the deal really is, 9 + 25 + prospect, that’s ammo for a real upgrade. That trade value is wayyyy higher than McTavish alone.

It won't be. The offer will be more like 25 + prospect. Everybody wants the "right price" deal for Mac.

 

[dracom]

It won't be. The offer will be more like 25 + prospect. Everybody wants the "right price" deal for Mac.

Yup. Anyone thinking Mac has top 10 pick ++ kinda value are gonna be disappointed

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Friedman with a little back story to the Tkachuk trade...

 

[KaseMeOutside]

I dont expect a top 10 pick for Mctavish and to be honest there's only like 2 guys in that 9 range that would really make it worth it for me. We can always just keep him and hope he moves past a bad season and goes back to building on previous seasons

The wrench here is the money and the fact Carlsson and Gauthier are going to cost alot more than they probably thought a year ago

 

[robbieboy3686]

I dont expect a top 10 pick for Mctavish and to be honest there's only like 2 guys in that 9 range that would really make it worth it for me. We can always just keep him and hope he moves past a bad season and goes back to building on previous seasons

The wrench here is the money and the fact Carlsson and Gauthier are going to cost alot more than they probably thought a year ago

Beeker is moving on 100%, he has interested teams. The money savings + beeker may think McQueen is a lot closer than most of these boards think. My guess, he will tell teams to make their final offers Wednesday or so. He doesn’t want this to be a distraction. MacT isnt the type to play well through distractions. This will end up being a hockey trade that we’re probably pleased with. MacT right now has more value to the league than Zegras did when he was traded. We’re lucky, that the senators might see MacT as a 1st line winger and they may pay more than we think is possible to get him. Or the Canadians, being a Canadian team just over pays for MacT their 2nd line center ( they seem to not mind shorter players over there) I’m hopeful! Hell, Stevie Y may not get a better package offer on larkin than MacT++

 

[FiveTacos]

It won't be. The offer will be more like 25 + prospect. Everybody wants the "right price" deal for Mac.

Late 1sts are honestly no different than a bad team offering a 2nd. Would you trade him to Van for their 2nd and a prospect? Doubt it. But the Canucks jump on that in a heartbeat.

 

[tomd]

Late 1sts are honestly no different than a bad team offering a 2nd. Would you trade him to Van for their 2nd and a prospect? Doubt it. But the Canucks jump on that in a heartbeat.

The 25OA could be a trade chip towards acquiring Parayko (which seems sadly inevitable at this point). I'd rather have - and use - that chip than trade another 1st in '27.

 

[Son of Carls]

Delete

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Kind of crazy how different the drafting philosophy has been on these top picks between PV and BM, especially considering how its pretty much the same scouting team. Verbeek didn't hastily rid of the previous regimes picks either, he gave them good solid looks.

I don't believe the drafting philosophy are different in the top-10. Outside the top-10 is where you'll see differences.

There are many factors to consider when comparing the two GM's. For example, before the rebuild, the Ducks were in the playoffs eight of out 10 years, including six consecutive playoffs before the rebuild started at the 2019 TDL and five consecutive Pacific Division banners before the 2017-18 season. Which means Murray didn't have a lot of stock pile of top-10 prospects in tow already like Verbeek started off with.

Under Murray, the Ducks dropped down one for three consecutive drafts where as Verbeek only dropped down twice, where one of the drafts would still have landed him a #1 overall talent in previous drafts in the 2023 draft. Imagine how things would be different if the Ducks stayed at 5th overall and selected LD Sanderson, who was drafted higher than on most people's boards, but Murray let us know he was looking at Sanderson and Drysdale with the #6 pick after the draft.

Also Verbeek reset the rebuild, which is how Verbeek crashed into two top-3 draft picks compared to just one top-3 draft pick under Murray. Then factor the quality of the draft. The 2021 draft was quite vanilla. No one above Mac has actually created a huge distance from Mac. The best prospect in that draft was pick 23 in Wyatt Johnston.

We all can say that Zegras would have thrived under coach Q, but Verbeek traded him as a cap dump. But Zegras is a great example of the scouting group willing to take a player who was dropping... you know, like McQueen in the 2025 draft.

In the 2023 draft, we had three players that could have gone #1 overall in previous drafts in C Bedard, C Carlsson, and C Fantilli. It is my belief that Murray would have selected Carlsson. Remember, Verbeek admitted he was not the Carlsson bandwagon and was persuaded to draft Carlsson by the scouting group.
In the 2024 draft, there were a lot of talent to choose from. The scouting group chose a prospect much higher than on most people's charts. This isn't anything new to the org, though. Lindholm and Mac are two examples of the team drafting prospects higher than their mock projections. The Ducks went off the board again with Sennecke.

For the 2025 draft, Anaheim was the only team in the top-10 that could take a chance on McQueen because it has already collected talent since 2019. It parlayed Drysdale for Cutter. Mac was the team's 2nd best scorer and top goal scorer after the 2024-25 season. Carlsson and Cutter were taking their steps to improve. LaCombe looked like a #1D after Fowler was traded. Also, did I mention that the Ducks have drafted a player falling from the top-5 in a previous draft in Zegras?

---

All three lottery picks under Murray ended up missing training camp and pre-season due to prolong negotiations with Verbeek on their second contracts. All of them had their season affected them terribly after their hold out.

This off-season will be the first off-season where Verbeek will be dealing with his own draft picks that need their 2nd contracts done with Carlsson, Cutter, and Minty. Zell also needs a second contract or be traded.

 

[Kalv]

I'd want Pinto as well, but this is not a grocery store. Tge other team have to be willing ti trade that asset away too, and I just don't see why on Earth Ott would be willing to do that

 

[duckpuck]

These “ experts “ throw as much shit on the wall, as they can via the ducks. Truth be told, the beeker doesnt let anyone know Jack shit. MacT needs to be traded now, while he has center value imho. I don’t agree with people who say we’re selling low on him. Other than this past season( where he missed camp) he had always progressed nicely each passing season. The beeker is telling everyone that we have McQueen coming up and we have big salaries to pay. MacT is a luxury we can use to fill in other gaps.

I don't think the ducks need to trade McT now. Even if he continues on his current path, his contract is not a problem with the rising cap. I do agree with your other posts indicating that if McT is traded, it will be a good trade for the ducks, likely as part of a series of moves.

MacT wouldn’t be signed to that deal if Verbeek knew that he would just have to trade him a year later. It’s not like Cutter and Leo’s performances last year were completely out of nowhere. This is absolutely performance based, he’s fallen out of favor here, and we don’t want a repeat of the Gibson situation where his value deteriorates to a point that he’s sold for scraps

Agree with part of this - I think Verbeek views McT as part of the long term future. Verbeek traded Zegras because he didn't want to sign him. Opposite was true with McTavish.

I think a lot of the evaluation depends on what Verbeek and his staff believe about McT's ability to bounce back. By all accounts, McTavish is a hard working guy and coachable. At one point, he was thought of as captain material/high character. So it boils down to whether Verbeek thinks McTavish can change his off season training, improve his skating, etc. If he thinks that, then you keep him (at least for now).

That being said, if they can trade him and improve the team, no doubt Verbeek would. But I don't think it would be a purely futures deal (i.e., if they receive only futures, they'd be flipped for another roster player).

If I'm Larkin I'd much rather go to Utah or Minny and play top line minutes with better wingers and (probably) a better chance of winning a SC. Being 2nd fiddle to Carlsson with 2nd line wingers wouldn't be that appealing to me...especially since both Utah and Minny are probably ahead of the Ducks in being closer to a SC.

Larkin wants to win. Being a second line center means that he's on a pretty damn good team. He would still get minutes and be on a line with good forwards as a second line center on the ducks.

For sure Minny is ahead of the ducks in competing for a SC. But Utah is not. They have a nice core, but I don't think anyone would trade the Duck's roster/pipeline for Utah's. Utah actually has a lot of older mediocre players and less young talent.

 

[tomd]

Larkin wants to win. Being a second line center means that he's on a pretty damn good team. He would still get minutes and be on a line with good forwards as a second line center on the ducks.

For sure Minny is ahead of the ducks in competing for a SC. But Utah is not. They have a nice core, but I don't think anyone would trade the Duck's roster/pipeline for Utah's. Utah actually has a lot of older mediocre players and less young talent.

Larkin is paid like a 1st line center and I'm sure he wants to actually continue to be one. He also wants to win. He knows he can do both on another team other than the Ducks.

The way you described Utah reminded me of Anaheim. I think both teams are very similar in their makeup. Verbeek has to prove he can completely rebuild RD before I'll say that the Ducks are ahead of Utah. Right now they aren't.