Blues acquire Mason McTavish: Instant reaction and analysis

Rather than pour on to what is already a strong prospect pool enhanced by their selections of Tynan Lawrence and Maddox Dagenais, the Blues bring in the former third overall selection in McTavish (2021), using picks acquired from trades involving a pair of 34-year-olds from the previous era; Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk. The young center is already locked up for the foreseeable future, as the Blues take on McTavish’s $7M cap hit which runs through 2030-31. On the other hand, already among the teams most rich in cap room, Anaheim now jumps up to over $44M in space set to be players on virtually any top free agent as well as the trade market.

Drafted to be a major piece in their rebuild, the 6-foot-1 lefty has stalled out as a Duck, never truly breaking out over the past several seasons while averaging 44 points in a season across his last four. Scoring 17 goals to go along with 24 helpers in 75 games this past year, he was surpassed by brilliant 21-year-old Leo Carlsson.  Demand for centers is as high as ever, and even if McTavish maxes out as a middle-six pivot, short of his initial upside, it’s a worthy gamble for the Blues to take. Needing to improve his foot speed and defensive capabilities for any hope at a large NHL role in the future, McTavish already wasn’t in the best standing, and he didn’t fit into first-year head coach Joel Quenneville‘s system, being scratched at times.

Already acquiring Connor McMichael from Washington in the Kyrou deal, St. Louis has revamped their center core behind Robert Thomas, seeking out two motivated players who have viable NHL experience to this point. Trade rumors continue to surround the 26-year-old star, but assuming they continue to be unmoved by trade offers and he is still with the team next fall, the Blues have turned the page smoothly from Schenn.

Just a few years ago, Anaheim fans would be terrified at the prospect of him, along with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale all being shipped out already. Yet even if it hasn’t gone exactly to plan, the Ducks are in a great place, where a trade return entirely based on draft capital doesn’t have major implications for their roster. Finding a change of scenery for their former top prospect and simply getting out of his contract is a win in and of itself. Outside of Carlsson, their center ice corps are held down by Mikael Granlund as well as Ryan Poehling, both of whom have been nice fits with the team.

Even after they’ll handle business for restricted free agents Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim will continue to be a team to watch as rarely do playoff teams march into the summer with so much financial flexibility. As for the Blues, despite recent transactions, their roster still features a number of big ticket veterans. If all goes to plan, McTavish will be a breakout contender as a viable second-line center, with the team setting the stage for a season which feasibly could bounce back into dark horse playoff contention.