NHL Trade Rumors: Ducks Dealing Mason McTavish This Offseason

The Anaheim Ducks will be a team to watch this offseason as general manager Pat Verbeek is open for business. The Ducks smashed expectations this season, but that won't slow Verbeek down at all this summer as he looks to upgrade his roster.

There's one player who is expected to be involved in any big move and that's Mason McTavish. The 23-year-old forward just started a long-term extension with the team that pays him $7 million AAV through the 2031 season, but it's become obvious throughout the course of the year that McTavish isn't in their long term plans.

The two-way forward was made a healthy scratch throughout the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, and only appeared in 10 of the Ducks 12 playoff games, scoring one. McTavish scored 17 goals and 41 points in 75 games during the regular season and has 60-75 point potential in his game.

The versatile forward doesn't have trade protection on his deal for several seasons, so there's no doubt Verbeek is going to have his name involved in conversations to see what kind of ransom teams are willing to ante up to. Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin has McTavish near the top of his offseason trade board:

Year 1 of his seven-year contract…healthy scratched for more games than not this postseason. If there was a tier above 1, I’d place McTavish there. The negotiations leading up to his extension last September were rocky to begin with, and now the Ducks have mothballed a $7-million player. They’ll be selling low, but plenty of teams would have interest in his upside, and GM Pat Verbeek simply can’t be paying anyone this much to sit in the press box this often.

Where does McTavish end up? Let us know in the comments.

Photo credit:  Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images