Another notable name may be hitting the trade market this summer.
The Anaheim Ducks are thought to have made forward Mason McTavish available after a disappointing 2025-26 season saw him unable to improve on the 52 points (22g, 30a) he recorded the year prior. News of McTavish potentially being on his way out of Anaheim comes from hockey insider Pierre LeBrun, who made a recent guest appearance on TSN 690’s Melnick in the Afternoon.
“The short story is that he was chasing his year from the get-go by missing camp, right?” LeBrun said. “He had the contract stalemate, took forever to sign, and from that point on, the Ducks feel like he was chasing and never found his game. It’s really just a year to forget. I really think there’s a chance he gets moved.
“I think teams are obviously intrigued, given where he was drafted and his pedigree, but also concerned because they’re wondering what’s happened here. They want to know why the Ducks are taking so many calls on him.”
McTavish recorded 41 points (17g, 24a) in 75 games during the 2025-26 campaign. The 23-year-old pivot is signed through the next five seasons at a $7 million cap hit, inking the deal with Anaheim less than two weeks before they opened their regular season.
After starting the season down the middle, McTavish was hampered by inconsistency and eventually lost Anaheim’s second-line center role to the more veteran Mikael Granlund. Head coach Joel Quenneville then even made the former third overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft a healthy scratch for two games in Anaheim’s second-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The major concerns with McTavish are his lack of progress on the defensive side of the puck and his lack of foot speed, both of which limit his effectiveness at his natural center position. Even with those concerns, the Canadian pivot is still seen as a valuable piece by the Ducks, and they’ll likely only let him go in a trade where they believe they’re acquiring an upgrade.
“If we were to critique Mason, it’s probably just more consistency from night to night,” general manager Pat Verbeek told The Athletic’s Eric Stephens. “And I think if you asked him, that would be his response as well. Which ultimately would lead to more ice time, which would mean never getting healthy scratched.
“There’s lots of pressures when new contracts come out on younger players, and so sometimes that can affect them in a negative way. Whether the pressure is putting too much pressure on themselves — and I think that happens, that happens a lot, and it’s very common — next year there’s nothing to worry about as far as contract. He can play a more free game on the ice and not worry about the pressure.”
There are a couple of intriguing options potentially available this offseason that could pique the interest of the Ducks to involve McTavish in a deal. Dylan Larkin has requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings, and the St. Louis Blues have been fielding interest on star center Robert Thomas.
