Will Mason McTavish Fit the Needs of Not Only the Montreal Canadiens
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked about the fit for Mason McTavish with the Montreal Canadiens.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
NHL Rumors: What is the Most Logical Landing Spot for Mason McTavish?
Host: “Would Montreal have what it takes to pry him out of Anaheim, because Dave, all we’ve been talking about this summer is how the Canadians need a second line center, and that guy, just the type of player that he is, he’s the ideal fit for Montreal.”
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, without question, he checks a lot of boxes for the Canadiens. I don’t know, again, I don’t know what, what the Ducks would be looking for if they do explore this seriously based on, from an a young asset pool perspective, prospects and so on, yeah, the Canadiens have a ton of that, and they’ve got, if they wanted to package something up, I’m sure there’s enough there, more than enough that would entice the Ducks to at least take a look.
Now I know back in July, when this started to come out, that the Canadiens hadn’t had discussions at that time with Anaheim. Has that changed over the last six weeks, five, six weeks? It’s entirely possible, but at the beginning of this, they weren’t in that mix. But again, things can certainly change as more words come out, teams want to call in and just check in and do their due diligence.
NHL Rumors: Kyle Connor’s Camp is Not in a Rush to get a Contract Extension Done
And Kent Hughes is like everybody else, he will certainly do that. He’s not afraid to pick up the phone and just see what’s going on. But yes, in terms of the fit and what the Canadiens are looking for, without question, Mason McTavish would fit that bill. But do the Ducks want a package involving young/future assets, are they looking to do something more impactful to enhance and continue the trajectory that they’re on in terms of their rebuild?
That what they need to figure out. And if the Habs are serious in this, that’s what they’re going to have to figure out, too in terms of potentially putting something together that entices the Ducks to make something happen.”
Is Mason McTavish a Second Line Center in the NHL?
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked in the follow-up about how McTavish is viewed around the NHL. Is he a 2c for the teams pursuing him?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Host: “Dave, what kind of player do you think Mason McTavish is at his best?”
Pagnotta: “Well, I think, I think 2C fits. But 2C on and from a potential ceiling perspective. A 2C on a championship type roster. You’re looking at a guy that certainly fits the mold of today’s game. There’s a lot of skill with this player. He has good size and offensively, the skill sets there. Does he plateau at a 70-80, points? Is he a 60-70? I mean, ultimately, a lot of that depends a lot on team structure, style and implementation and things like that.
NHL Rumors: Pittsburgh Penguins, and Possible Landing Sports for Mason McTavish
But from a championship caliber esque team, you’re looking at a guy that can play, if you’re keeping him at center, you’re looking at a guy that’s your prototypical stud 2C on a championship caliber roster. Do the Canadiens view him as that? Do other teams view him as that? I think there are a lot of teams that view him in high regard, but so do the Ducks. So that’s why, we haven’t seen much movement there.
I think they wanted things to kind of cool down after that July 1 time zone kind of kicked in, and just, all right, let’s all calm down. Let’s see where we’re going to go this coming season. Let’s have a quick chat. And this is how we view you, this is how we plan on deploying you and so on and so forth.
It doesn’t sound like that’s cool things down too much in terms of their side and their willingness. But the Ducks again, they control the asset. That’s what he is. They want to wait things out and push things forward. They can do that.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
