Is Anyone Willing to Roll the Dice on Mason McTavish?

With offer sheets becoming a more realistic threat in today’s NHL, teams have removed several of this year’s candidates — Matthew Knies, Evan Bouchard, Will Cuylle, JJ Peterka, Noah Dobson, and K’Andre Miller — off the board. one name to watch is Mason McTavish out of Anaheim. One name to keep an eye on is Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish.

As Shayna Goldman of The Athletic points out, McTavish is one of the few offer sheet-eligible players this summer who could be worth a gamble.

Will a Team Take a Big Risk Knowing Anaheim Is In a Strong Position?

Goldman notes that Anaheim is in a much different position than the Edmonton Oilers were last year. Edmonton lost Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg because they’d spent to the cap and didn’t have the resources to match. The Ducks have ample cap space and can easily match a mid-level offer for McTavish.

That means any team hoping to make things interesting would have to swing big — think north of a $7 million AAV — to force Ducks GM Pat Verbeek into a tough decision. That’s a risk, given that McTavish hasn’t proven himself at the NHL level. This is not like the Blues giving Holloway $2.29 million. This is a significant investment.

There is a chance it works out to be a bargain if a long-term deal is part of the offer sheet and McTavish grows into that contract as the salary cap increases. A team would have to be extremely confident that’s what he’ll do.

The Ducks Would Have to Think About That High a Number

Despite having the cap flexibility, the Ducks may hesitate to commit long-term to McTavish. He hasn’t quite solidified himself as a true top-six center, and Goldman rightly points out that the Ducks’ forward could go the other way. She points to a lack of progression by Max Domi and Casey Mittelstadt as cautionary stories.

Anaheim moved on from Trevor Zegras, and losing McTavish would be a setback. Still, matching a high offer sheet and locking up another young forward at a high price is risky for them too. They also don’t necessarily need the compensation package that comes from not matching.

Teams like Montreal, Boston, Calgary, and Detroit all have the motivation and potential opportunity to take a swing. Will they?

Rolling the dice on McTavish might not be a sure thing, but as Goldman hints, sometimes that’s exactly the kind of bet a bold front office needs to make.

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