Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an injury in Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. McTavish scored a powerplay goal in the game but was limited to just 8:09 in ice time before being forced out with an upper-body injury. He is expected to miss Anaheim’s season finale on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.
The 2021 third overall pick will finish his first full NHL season with 17 goals and 26 assists in 80 games, solid numbers for a 20-year-old who was tasked to play against top line opponents on a nightly basis. McTavish is among a group of young, skilled, exciting forwards who Anaheim has been able to draft and develop over the past few years. But, with all that youth, there have been growing pains, Anaheim will finish this season out of the playoffs for a fifth straight season and are currently tied for the second worst record in the NHL.
While they do not have a ton of talent at the NHL level, the Ducks boast one of the best farm systems in the entire league. Should they land another top tier prospect in the 2023 entry draft, they might be able to turn the corner on their rebuild sooner than later. And while they did not receive a first round pick for John Klingberg, they still boast plenty of second- and third-round picks for the next two drafts.
Anaheim figures to be busy this summer, as beyond normal draft preparations, they need to work out new contracts for Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Maxime Comtois, and Jamie Drysdale. The Ducks will have a healthy amount of cap space to work with upcoming, as they currently sit $38M under the salary cap for the 2023-24 season.
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