While there have been plenty of moves already this offseason, one player who has been expected to be traded but hasn't yet is the Anaheim Ducks' Mason McTavish. The former first-round pick seemingly has fallen out of favor after being a healthy scratch twice in the playoffs, but certainly has plenty of upside to generate interest around the league.
The fit seems almost too perfect for the Montreal Canadiens and what they are looking for with another center right behind Nick Suzuki for their second line. Frank Seravalli tends to agree and recently listed the Canadiens, as well as the Minnesota Wild, as 'great fits' for the third overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft.
"I look at Montreal, and I look at Minnesota. Those are two teams that really stand out to me for Mason McTavish, that both of them have assets, both of them have players that they could send back where there might not be a massive drop off in Anaheim's lineup next year."
Seravalli talked about the fact that the Ducks have some players in line for big contracts, like Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier, who are restricted free agents this summer. It remains to be seen what type of deals they might get, but they are going to be big, and it makes sense for the Ducks to want to move McTavish and his $7 million AAV to help manage their salary cap.
Frank Seravalli mentions Kirby Dach as a potential part of the Canadiens' trade package for Mason McTavish
In the clip, Seravalli mentions Kirby Dach as a player that the Ducks might be interested in, and from the Canadiens' perspective, it should be a no-brainer to include him. Dach is a restricted free agent as long as the Canadiens extend him a qualifying offer, but that offer is $4 million.
The Canadiens might not have the cap space to be able to offer Dach that qualifying offer. However, the Ducks certainly could with over $38 million, and then it gives them a season to decide whether or not they want to extend him long-term.
It wouldn't be a one-for-one trade, but if the Canadiens can add McTavish while moving Dach, and maybe other pieces like their first-round pick, that should be a trade package they are interested in offering.
McTavish is coming off a down season and being a healthy scratch in the playoffs should be a major red flag that any team, but at only 23 years old, there is plenty of upside to believe he could bounce back in a new environment. For the Canadiens, it makes more sense to take a risk on McTavish bouncing back instead of Elias Pettersson, who has a bigger contract and is five years older than the Ducks' center.
With the NHL Draft right around the corner, the rest of the NHL doesn't seem to be waiting to make trades and the Canadiens can't wait much longer if McTavish is the player they are after.
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