The St. Louis Blues continue to reshape their roster, this time pulling off the 2026 NHL Draft’s biggest move.
The Blues landed Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks ahead of the 15th and 29th picks. The price paid seems like a pittance for what the Blues will be getting.
McTavish is a legit top-six center who’s simply fallen on some hard times in Anaheim. The contract negotiations from last summer created a seeming rift between the former third-overall pick and the Ducks.
That situation likely influenced his seemingly down year this season, prompting the deal.
For St. Louis, this deal is a killer. McTavish will add to the Blues’ depth down the middle. But he can also play on the wing. That situation means that McTavish, Connor McMichael, and Dalibor Dvorsky will be competing for the middle two slots at center.
The added depth likely means that one of McTavish or McMichael goes to the wing, with Pius Suter now becoming a trade chip.
This move is fantastic for the Blues, especially since various organizations had been hot on McTavish’s trail. The most notable team going hard after McTavish was the Ottawa Senators. The Sens were believed to be the frontrunners at one point.
But the latest chatter ahead of Friday’s draft stated that Ottawa was out of the running. The Blues, for their part, seemingly came out of nowhere to land the coveted winger. His landing in the Central Division will mean that the Blues are doing their best to keep up with the Joneses.
The Colorado Avalanche have made various moves, with the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild looking to gear up. That situation warrants the Blues to match the Avalanche, who have at least five NHL-caliber centers in their lineup.
With McTavish in the fold, the Blues can match that sort of depth, especially with a high-end top-line pivot like Robert Thomas still on the club.
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