St. Louis Blues General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Doug Armstrong has been very busy in his last draft as the head man. He moved Jordan Kyrou to secure a fourth first-round pick, and now it seems that he is once again pushing this franchise into the rumor mill.
Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish has been elevated to one of the highest sought-after players at this NHL Draft/Free Agency period. The New York Rangers have elevated talks to grab him for their own retooling phase, but they are not the only ones.
Enter Armstrong and the Blues, who are now on the upswing from their selling spree.
Hearing it’s the Blues and Rangers that have offers in to Anaheim on Mason McTavish.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2026
Another Center?
This is a bold move for Armstrong, but a smart one. As it stands, with the acquisition of Connor McMichael from Washington, the other three centers are Pius Suter, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Robert Thomas.
Obviously, Thomas is going nowhere, and Dvorsky is somewhat protected, as there is a certain expectation of greatness that may happen with him. Suter is a tricky case, as he is a safe option, but not one that will necessarily push the needle on this retooling franchise.
Grabbing McTavish is a brilliant move, as now there is a four-way battle for three spots behind Thomas. It also gives an incentive for listening to any offers on Suter, should he be the odd man out.
It is important to note that McTavish can also play on the left-side, if need be.
What McTavish could bring?
A 23-year-old who averages in the high 40s to low 50s in points for his first four full seasons in the NHL. McTavish would be a nice addition as he is needing of a fresh start, and what is fresher than a team that is going all-in on the players under the age of 24, 25 years old.
He reached a career high of 95 hits last season, and can contribute well on the power play with six goals with the man-advantage in each of the last two seasons.
The Blues are going to be paying him $7 million AAV through the 2030-31 season, should they choose to take him. He cannot eat up third-line minutes with that kind of salary, so Armstrong is going to have to really be sure he is not leaving a big problem for GM-to-be Alexander Steen.
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