Verbeek: Ducks open to trading No. 10 pick

Pat Verbeek has been arguably the NHL's busiest general manager so far this offseason, but that doesn't mean he's done.

The Anaheim Ducks GM said Monday that he's open to the idea of trading the No. 10 pick in Friday's draft.

"Yes, I am looking at that as well," he said. "Certainly. I think there's a lot of teams looking at that and that kind of stuff. Certainly you can go after a player that's probably in his prime right now and be able to add to the group. So there's certainly some of that stuff we're exploring."

The Ducks are well-stocked with young talent throughout the organization. They've made six first-round picks over the last four years, including three top-three selections. It's no secret that Verbeek is eager to snap Anaheim's seven-year playoff drought after the team improved by 21 points last season.

Verbeek pulled off a notable swap on Monday, sending Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers for Ryan Poehling and a pair of draft picks. He also acquired Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers earlier in June and hired Joel Quenneville as the team's new head coach in May.

The Ducks currently have $36 million in cap space, which could make them big players in free agency. Mason McTavish is their only notable pending restricted free agent.

"I'm looking at everything," Verbeek said. "Obviously, there's free agency, but there's trade(s). I'm exploring trades. It's why I explored with Kreider. Sometimes trades can be a little easier than even free agents, so I'm looking at everything."

Verbeek has been Anaheim's GM since February 2022.

The Chicago Blackhawks have also reportedly made the No. 3 selection available.