- The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports Pat Verbeek is taking calls on Mason McTavish
- Maple Leafs, Blues, and Jets are among the teams that have inquired on the 23-year-old center
- Watch the video of every McTavish goal from his 22-goal 2024-25 campaign below
The Anaheim Ducks aren’t actively shopping Mason McTavish, but Pat Verbeek’s phone has been busy.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported Friday that the Ducks GM is fielding calls on the 23-year-old center, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets all among the teams that have checked in.
Pagnotta talked through the reasoning on Daily Faceoff Live earlier this week:
“I think it’s a combination of just seeing what the market is out there because a lot of young players’ names started popping around this season, and also to fill potentially some other holes on that roster.”
Here’s a refresher on what teams would be paying for — every one of McTavish’s 22 goals from his breakout 2024-25 campaign:
McTavish’s 2025-26 season was a step backward. He put up 17 goals and 24 assists in 75 games after that 52-point breakout the year before. A drawn-out contract dispute kept him out of training camp and the entire preseason last fall, and he was a healthy scratch twice down the stretch and twice in the playoffs.
He eventually signed a seven-year, $42 million extension in September that runs through 2031-32. The deal carries a $6 million AAV and zero trade protection for the early years, which is part of what makes him an actual moveable piece if a real offer lands on Verbeek’s desk.
The fit makes sense everywhere Pagnotta named. Toronto’s new front office is hunting for a young center with term as it figures out what comes next in the top six. St. Louis is built to push deeper after a second-round exit and McTavish is exactly the type of 23-year-old the Blues would slot in behind Robert Thomas. Winnipeg has been searching for a real second-line center for two summers and just got bounced in round two again.
Verbeek isn’t giving him away. But if a contender wants to hand over a young top-six forward and a first, the Ducks GM has every reason to keep answering the phone.
