Mason McTavish is the Perfect Second Line Center
Anaheim Should Want To Keep McTavish Over Trading Him Away
The Anaheim Ducks have a talented young center in Mason McTavish, and as NHL training camps approach, the team and the player have yet to agree on a new contract. It is a puzzling dilemma considering Mason McTavish is part of the future of the Anaheim Ducks.
However, now that Marco Rossi has agreed to a three-year, $15 million bridge deal that carries an AAV of $5 million, this could open the door for McTavish and the Ducks to get a new contract done.
Upon examining the two situations involving Rossi and McTavish, we find that they share several similarities. Both are young players on the rise who want more certainty surrounding their roles moving forward. Rossi got that; now McTavish wants his.
And like Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek wants players to earn their money first before receiving a pay raise. Verbeek intends to follow a similar path to Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale with McTavish. Both of those players signed bridge deals. But neither were Pat Verbeek guys, especially Zegras, who might not have been a Joel Quenneville guy either.
However, if McTavish goes down that route, many will say the same thing that he isn’t a Pat Verbeek guy. And the Anaheim Ducks need to avoid that with a player who is their future at the center position.
Right now, it is Leo Carlsson, followed by Mason McTavish, then Ryan Strome. Having Ryan Strome as the second-line center for a team that wants to improve and make the playoffs isn’t an ideal situation. They need McTavish in the lineup to give them more depth.
And the team views McTavish as a second-line center because they traded Trevor Zegras. If Zegras stayed, then McTavish was the third-line center. But McTavish stepped up his play to be that second-line center in Anaheim. Just look at the numbers.
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McTavish set career highs in points (52), goals (22), and assists (30) in 76 games last season for the Ducks. In his career, he has recorded 140 points (60 goals and 80 assists) in 229 games. That's good considering Rossi has 101 points (45 goals and 56 assists) in 185 games.
But again, their roles were different early on, but it’s clear the Ducks value Mason McTavish. However, Verbeek may not value the player as highly in terms of what he will be paid per season. However, the Ducks value him highly on the trade market. Why would Anaheim want to trade him unless they are getting something of equal value or greater in return?
It also comes down to what Anaheim wants in return for McTavish if they were to trade him. Do they want futures like a top prospect and draft picks, or players that can help them get to the playoffs now? From the sounds of it, it might be the latter.
There is also a reason why teams did not offer the Ducks Mason McTavish. Those teams knew the Ducks could match an offer sheet, as Anaheim has over $20 million in cap space. Not to mention the threat of losing a first-round draft pick with Gavin McKenna eligible to be drafted at the 2026 NHL Draft.
In addition, the teams that could offer sheet McTavish did not want to do Pat Verbeek’s job for him in terms of setting a salary. So there are reasons why McTavish has not moved yet. The Ducks also view McTavish as part of the core that will send the Ducks to the playoffs.
When he is on the ice, McTavish makes the right play at the right time when he is out for his shifts. Since being drafted, McTavish has improved his skating and can make defenders feel uneasy on their feet when he comes up the ice as he drives toward the net looking for loose pucks. He grinds along the boards and is a threat with or without the puck, making him the perfect fit for the Anaheim Ducks or any team, for that matter.
This is a player the Anaheim Ducks really, really likes, as Sally Field would say. How much they like Mason McTavish depends on the dollar amount they give him. If Rossi’s qualifying offer is $6 million heading into restricted free agency again, then that will be the starting point for McTavish and his camp.
There is a potential for McTavish to get a qualifying offer of $8 million with an AAV of $6.5-$7 million a season. However, this is a battle that the two sides need to resolve before training camp. Anaheim cannot repeat history with having another young player miss training camp, especially with a new head coach.
But the stage is set for Mason McTavish to get more than Marco Rossi as a second-line center in the NHL.
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