Mason McTavish, 23, is a heavy center who drives offense. He’s strong along the walls. His compete level is at the top of the charts. McTavish is a very good puck passer who can also finish around the net. He had a career-high 22 goals and 52 points in 2023-24.
The big problem is his skating. McTavish is slow. Like, really, really slow. The straight-line speed is below average, and he takes a while to get going. It hurts him in transition. He lags behind on the backcheck. He’s late to his coverages in the defensive zone. To realize his upside, he needs to improve his skating to some degree and learn to compensate for heavy feet through better positioning and anticipation. Last season, he was, statistically, one of the worst defensive forwards in the NHL.
I do think there are mitigating circumstances that excuse some of his failures. The Ducks, in general, have not been a good defensive team, and McTavish spent a lot of time playing with Beckett Sennecke and Cutter Gauthier, who are two young players finding their way in the NHL and not (at least yet) suitable defensive forwards.
Speaking of those two, Sennecke and Gauthier are good skaters who operate well off the rush. McTavish is not built for that. Maybe he never lives up to his third-overall status, but I think a lot of his problems could go away by playing in a role (and with players) that better suits his style.
The trade value is okay, but both the Bruins and Rangers paid similar prices for more established top-six forwards in JJ Peterka and Pavel Dorofeyev, respectively. I also wonder about McTavish’s fit in St. Louis specifically. The Blues already have a similar young center in Dalibor Dvorský; big and strong, drives offense, but questionable skating.
Do I like McTavish’s odds of panning out better than the combined value of the 15th and 29th overall picks? I do. He’s already a third-line caliber center and, at 23 years old in a different environment, could push into a top-six mold. The Blues do need young NHL-caliber players, so the fit is there as well. But the trade market suggests the Blues should not have had to pay this price.