8:51PM: Mason McTavish is being traded to St. Louis for 15 and 29. (Elliotte Friedman)
Emily Kaplan said on ESPN that the Ducks made this deal with St. Louis contingent on the player that they are going to select at 15.
Kaplan says that the Rangers did not include draft picks in their offer for McTavish.
Adam Rotter: The move for Dorofeyev seemed like it took the Rangers out of the McTavish sweepstakes, especially if the Rangers were planning to include 26. If it was 26 and Braden Schneider was the player then the Rangers probably would have wanted something back, but in the end they made the move for Dorofeyev and McTavish goes to St. Louis. Or maybe Anaheim preferred the St. Louis deal and the Rangers pivoted to Dorofeyev. Either way I think it worked out well for the Rangers, especially if they end up signing Schneider and they should.
6:46PM: Chris Johnston said on TSN that he was told a 35% chance a deal with McTavish, to either the Rangers or Blues, gets done tonight.
6:37PM: Friedman said on NHL Network that “if he isn’t dealt in the first round tonight then it might go off the table.”
5:15PM: Chris Johnston tweets that while the Rangers and Blues are still in the mix, the chances of a deal tonight are “declining” and “there’s no current momentum toward a deal.”
Elliotte Friedman said earlier today that he thought a McTavish trade was going to get done last night.
6:58AM: Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts “I think Pat Verbeek, the GM of the Ducks, is deciding between an offer between the Blues and the Rangers. I think the Blues, one of the key parts of their offer is the 11th overall pick and the Rangers it’s a player, I believe. I don’t want to guess the name of the player, I’m not sure.”
He added, “One of the things that I think at play is that I don’t think the Ducks want picks, I think they want someone who can help them win now, they are in win-now mode. I think one of the things, Verbeek thinks – he takes his time – is if I’m right about the 11th overall pick being the key part of their offer, I don’t think that is something he necessarily wants to keep. If he does take the Blues offer one of the things I think you may see is him saying is “I have the 11th pick, what can I do with it? That is part of this.”
9:35PM: The Rangers and St. Louis Blues are reportedly the two teams that Anaheim is in discussions with about center Mason McTavish. (LeBrun)
It’s believed that Vincent Trocheck is not apart of the Rangers discussions with Anaheim and it’s believed that neither is Alexis Lafreniere. (Walker)
McTavish, 23, was the third overall pick in 2021 and has five more years left on his contract at $7 million per season. He held out and missed the start of training camp last season while waiting to sign his new contract.
He was scratched for two games in March and then again for two games in the Ducks second round series against Vegas.
Last season he had 17 goals and 24 assists in 75 games and one goal and five assists in 10 playoff games.
He has 77 goals and 104 assists in 304 career games.
Adam Rotter: We’ll see what the cost ends up being if the Rangers end up acquiring him but I wouldn’t be shocked if Braden Schneider is included. The Ducks entire right side of their defense isn’t expected to be re-signed and this is the kind of player that you would consider moving Schneider for.
McTavish did have a down season last year but he’s 23-years old and prior to last season he was playing well enough to earn the long-term deal he got from the Ducks. The hope would be that McTavish would find his game in a similar way to the way that a 23-year old Mika Zibanejad did when he was acquired by the Rangers.
If it’s not Schneider then #26 would definitely be involved and it’s possible that both are but if both are then I’d assume the Rangers would be getting at least another pick, maybe Anaheim’s second rounder, back with McTavish. St. Louis has four first round picks including three in the top 16, so they can make a different kind of offer.