As soon as Trevor Zegras was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, everyone got extremely excited about his reunions with Jamie Drysdale and Cam York. Drysdale, a former teammate on the Ducks, and York, who was with the centerman during his time on the U.S. National Team Development Program, would be getting to pal around with their goofy forward once more and all is right in the world.
But we often don’t think about the other side and the teammates who are now losing a clearly positive player to have in the locker room. Well, of course we don’t as fans of the team acquiring the player. But, in his first media availability since signing his substantial six-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks, Mason McTavish made it clear that he hates the fact that Zegras is no longer going to be his teammate.
After answering a couple milquetoast questions about how the contract negotiation process was and how he spent his summer away from the team, the 22-year-old center gave his thoughts on the departure.
McTavish on Zegras trade: “That sucked. Brutal. I pretty much spent every day with him. He's happy there, which is good. I think it's a good thing for him, good fit. No, it's tough seeing your best friend go away.”@SportingTrib | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/dQbewZJWQe
— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) September 29, 2025
“Yeah, you know, it sucked. Brutal,” McTavish said when asked what it feels like not being on a team with Zegras. “I mean, I pretty much spent every day with him. You know, he’s happy there which is good, I think it’s a good thing for him and it’s a good fit. But yeah, it’s tough seeing your best friend kind of go away but at least he knows a couple guys there, Jamie obviously, so yeah it’ll be good to see them on the road.”
That’s about as honest an answer you’ll get for just how much a player hated that his general manager decided to trade someone that was well-liked among his teammates. Well wishes of course on a personal level, but to just be as honest as possible and straight forward in a way that you say trading him “sucked” is something you don’t see too often.
But McTavish clearly feels a kinship with Zegras and even his other former teammate in Drysdale. Later on, after saying just how much he didn’t want to see another person from his locker room traded to Philadelphia, McTavish mentioned that he spoke with both of his former teammates during his lengthy contract negotiation and they told him just how long it would take and what exactly to expect when trying to sort out a new contract coming out of their entry-level contract with this Ducks front office.
Of course, both Zegras and Drysdale experienced the same thing with Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek as restricted free agents needing a new deal. A lack of communication for months and months and then just getting a deal done days before the regular season started. Back in 2023, with both the current Flyers needing new contracts, they didn’t put pen to paper until the early days of October. And Verbeek just went ahead and went through the same negotiation strategy with McTavish, another young and promising player that might now have their relationship with management slightly soured.
And, well, now those two other players that had to go through that same terrible process are playing for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Are we saying that the same thing will happen here? We’re not not saying it.
