It was a contentious offseason last summer for the Anaheim Ducks and one of their young core players, Mason McTavish. The 23-year-old center was a restricted free agent, and engaged in a holdout from training camp as the Ducks just weren’t convinced they wanted to hand out the kind of massive contract that the player was looking for.Â
In the end, they settled on a six-year, $7 million AAV deal. But McTavish hasn’t quite lived up to his end of the bargain this season with just 13 goals and 32 points in 61 games. Now, after a 12-game stretch in which he’s recorded just two assists, McTavish was a healthy scratch for the first time this season in Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.Â
And there’s nobody around Orange County who believes it wasn’t deserved. A wake-up call was needed.Â
Mason McTavish has not had the kind of leap players usually make in their fourth NHL season. He’s gone from center, to wing, to now healthy scratch. He’s shown he can be more than this with his physicality and finishing, but the lack of footspeed in Q’s system has stood out.
— Félix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) March 15, 2026
 McTavish had been bumped to the third line, and then shifted to the wing recently, but nothing has seemed to get him going. He’s not getting the volume of shots on net that he needs, and even his face-off dot effectiveness has dropped considerably over this tough stretch.Â
Ducks podcaster Felix Sicard also notes that his lack of speed afoot has held him back in new coach Joel Quenneville’s system.
Perhaps watching from the press box will spark him. We’ll see if he’s back in the lineup for the Ducks’ next game on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.Â
Last season, McTavish had career highs with 22 goals and 52 points in 76 games and 16:53 average time on ice.
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