Ducks to Watch During Final Stretch: Mason McTavish

Given his scoring pace, recent streak, and chemistry he has developed with his latest linemates, which we’ll get into next, it’s a reasonable prediction that McTavish will outscore Terry by three points over the final five games to at least tie for the team lead in scoring, if not record enough points to pass him altogether. Hockey players care far more about team success than they do about finishing first in team scoring, but from an outsider’s perspective, the race between these two makes them worth keeping an eye on. 

McTavish Centers the Ducks’ Latest Version of the ‘Kid Line’

Head coach Greg Cronin’s latest experiment with a McTavish-led trio has been a fun one. He has played a significant portion of the second half with Trevor Zegras and the two of them have been their best and most-dynamic selves in part because of their time together. More recently, fellow youngster Sam Colangelo has completed the forward trio and together they have been fast on the puck, possessive and creative when they have it, and opportunistic with their chances. Both McTavish and Zegras have five points in their last five games, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t keep up the pace in the final 10 days of the campaign. 

With such little time left in the season and playoffs out of the question, the focus must continue to be on development and chemistry-building for the young Ducks. Barring offseason moves, there is no reason to believe McTavish, Zegras, and Colangelo won’t enter training camp in a Ducks uniform, so look for them to remain a trio as the season winds down. The more shifts and puck touches they get together, the better. It continues tonight against the Calgary Flames in the penultimate home game of the campaign.

McTavish Leads the Ducks’ Class of Young Free Agents 

Another reason to watch McTavish closely is for the simple fact that he is the leading man in a crucially important offseason for the Ducks, who must figure out a way to retain him and set themselves up to re-sign additional players this and following summers. The worst possible scenario after a much-improved season like 2024-25 was for Anaheim is an offseason that sees the departure of either McTavish or other players that have earned the right to be a featured part of the roster, like Lukas Dostal, Drew Helleson, Isac Lundestrom and Nikita Nesterenko in addition to Colangelo. 

Is it possible to retain all of these players and be in position to re-sign the likes of Leo Carlsson, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, and Zegras, who are part of next season’s free agent class? Yes. Is it likely? No. McTavish, however, is the most pressing storyline for now. He was drafted by the Ducks to be, at worst, part of a future one-two tandem at the center position, or at best, th number-one center. He is a player with the talent of a skilled forward and the size to wear teams down. He can win faceoffs and is an asset on the power play. He has 25-plus goal, 70-plus point potential written all over him and teams need players like that down the middle. 

General manager Pat Verbeek likely already has an idea on where he wants to take negotiations for McTavish’s next contract, as does McTavish’s camp. He probably ends up in a bridge-contract situation similar to Zegras, given he’s only 22 and hasn’t yet earned the $7-plus million contract a lot of young players are getting these days. Despite that, he sure is making a strong push with his second-half play. Watch him the rest of the way to see how he finishes.

McTavish Starting to Deliver on Potential

McTavish has been chosen as the Ducks’ breakout candidate for a couple seasons now. This year, he reduced his discipline issues and eventually found a stride to deliver the best second half of any Ducks skater. Count on him to finish the campaign in a similar fashion and head into an important offseason ready to be even better in 2025-26.