McTavish Unclear On Future Role With Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks and Mason McTavish have yet to come to an agreement on his next contract. The 22-year-old is an RFA and not only led the Ducks in goals last season with 22, but finished second in points (52) behind only Troy Terry.

McTavish has already proven that he is a top-6 center and could be a long-term core piece for the Ducks, but his role was a bit unclear last season despite his impact on the team. The feeling is that Leo Carlsson is more favoured in Anaheim as he is the top line center, even with less experience, and now Mikael Granlund has signed for three years to join another veteran center on the market in Ryan Strome.

Strome took away from some ice time that McTavish should've received last season, and even if Strome is a regular third line player, that still leaves Granlund, who has proven to be very effective over the past couple of seasons especially.

The top-9 of the Ducks is filled with talent and with players who could all serve in top-6 roles, so there will be season-long battles for roles and playing time. This doesn't help McTavish in clarifying his role. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that "It seems to be hesitancy on the player's side based on just the uncertainty of what his role is. His name has been out there. They've had talks with other teams."

While Carlsson, Granlund, and Strome will keep McTavish ice time per game lower than it should be, that's not the only threat for his role in the future. Roger McQueen was just drafted 10th overall, but if McTavish signs a longer term deal, they will overlap soon enough. McTavish should be above the 16:53 of ice time per game he had last season, but there's worry that his power-play minutes will drop with seven forwards and two defensemen now on the roster all having played over two minutes per game on the power play last season. McTavish deserves a top-6 role and a spot on the top power play. Anything less and there's reason for him to question his role.