Ducks reward their franchise cornerstone with huge new contract, but there's a major trade-off

It appears that there is a ceiling in place that GM Pat Verbeek was willing to go.  Veteran Troy Terry and newcomer Mikael Granlund both make $7M per season, and with Terry’s track record, it might have been hard for Verbeek to justify giving McTavish more than that.  Accordingly, it’s probably not a coincidence that McTavish’s AAV checks in exactly at that number.

Verbeek released the following statement:

"Today is an exciting day for me and my family to commit my long-term future to the Anaheim Ducks," McTavish said. "I believe in the direction of this organization and the group we have in the locker room. We’re building something special and I want to help this team take the next step toward becoming a consistent playoff contender and, ultimately, a championship team."

How Mason McTavish's extension affects the Ducks

The trade-off is that instead of a maximum-term eight-year agreement (that is still legal for one more year), the Ducks had to settle for just a six-year pact.  In doing so, they only pick up an extra two years of team control while McTavish will now be eligible to test unrestricted free agency in the 2031 offseason when he’ll be 28.

Still, even though they didn’t get the maximum commitment, they have someone they feel will be a long-term core piece locked up at what should be a reasonable price tag (assuming he continues to improve) for six years.  That’s a more than long enough timeline for the Ducks to get through what they hope will be the final phase of their rebuild and a return to contention.  Meanwhile, what happened with these discussions could serve as a look ahead to what could happen next summer when Leo Carlsson, another promising young middleman, will be RFA-eligible for the first time.

With the signing, the Ducks have all of their players under contract for the upcoming season and still have over $13.5M in cap space, per PuckPedia.  If Anaheim gets off to a hotter start than expected under new head coach Joel Quenneville, Verbeek should have plenty of wiggle room to try to add to his roster midseason.