Ducks' McTavish Has Serious Interest From 1 Team, 2 Teams Keeping Tabs

Mason McTavish is still one of the only players without a contract for this coming season and the two sides don't seem to be all that close. His future with the Anaheim Ducks is in question as the team has Leo Carlsson, but also just drafted Roger McQueen 10th overall.

McTavish is not a player the Ducks can just trade and not expect a big hole to fill. He finished with the most goals (22) and the second most points (52) on the Ducks last season as a 22-year-old and is without a doubt a top-6 center. That is a role that has been hard to come by this offseason and won't get any easier for teams to find moving forward, which explains all of the interest. That is one reason, but another is the kind of player McTavish is as well.

James Murphy reported that the Detroit Red Wings "are one team showing serious interest," with the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes also "keeping tabs."

These are three teams that it should shock nobody they are looking to find a top-6 center. All three teams have their number one center in Dylan Larkin, Nick Suzuki, and Sebastian Aho, but McTavish is already a very good second line center.

The Red Wings have to do something, and if getting a center that is potentially available is the way to make the big summer splash, then it isn't a bad move. 21-year-old Marco Kasper is currently Detroit's second line center and it is his spot, but who knows how much the Ducks will demand for McTavish. I'm not too sure whether the Red Wings would be willing to part with Kasper in that deal as the Ducks don't want to get worse by losing McTavish.

The Canadiens and Hurricanes make a lot more sense. Montreal has a regularly injured Kirby Dach slotted as the second line center and he probably won't be healthy for opening night. They are ready to start pushing deeper into playoffs after their first appearance in a while, so McTavish would be the game-changer who would help with that quickly.

The Hurricanes want to upgrade their second line center spot with Jesperi Kotkaniemi currently holding it down. He hasn't turned out to be the player they were hoping for and he likely needs a change in scenery as he still has time to break out and turn his career around because he's young. The Hurricanes need a replacement before moving him so they're not left without options. McTavish is that clear upgrade and who says they are done adding big with only Nikolaj Ehlers.