Mason McTavish off to St. Louis
The 2026 NHL Draft is making headlines as trades are picking up yet again in the first round. While it took some time, the Anaheim Ducks have traded center Mason McTavish to the St. Louis Blues for the 15th and 29th overall picks in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Anaheim trades Mason McTavish to St. Louis for picks 15 and 29.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 27, 2026
We know the Blues and Ducks have been talking since Thursday night. It was between the Blues and the New York Rangers, and Ducks GM Pat Verbeek took the better of the two offers as the Rangers, which we will get to later, gave away one of their trade pieces for Pavel Dorofeyev.
The Blues and Rangers Make Offers for Mason McTavish
McTavish is a perfect second-line center that many teams were looking to get. There are those who are concerned about his foot speed and defensive involvement, forgetting that he missed all of last season’s training camp due to a contract holdout. There is an expectation that he bounces back as Jeremy Swayman did in Boston.
Some rumours about Mason McTavish potentially being on the move (MTL?). He’s still young and has some promising small-area skill, but his lack of footspeed, defensive involvement, and limited time with the puck are all red flags. pic.twitter.com/S0JkIhcij5
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 13, 2026
Mark Stone, Alex Ovechkin, and Does Mason McTavish Have a Future with the Ducks?
However, some teams were unwilling to overpay for that player, including the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens.
RE: Mason McTavish.
There is league-wide interest (MIN, OTT, PHI, etc), but the price remains high on him despite some pretty big questions marks.
The Habs do have some level of interest, and likely would pursue if Pat Verbeek lowered his price.
No interest in overpaying.
— Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) June 25, 2026
McTavish has five years left at $7 million a season. That is two years in a row that players with contract disputes have been traded by Verbeek and the Ducks. The others were Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Clearly, Verbeek wants his type of guy in Anaheim. With the 15th overall selection, they selected Nikita Klepov. This deal had to happen if and only if this player was available.
Pavel Dorofeyev heading to broadway
As previously mentioned, the New York Rangers were in trade talks with the Anaheim Ducks; however, GM Chris Drury pivoted and traded restricted free agent Pavel Dorofeyev. As part of the trade, the Rangers have the 26th overall pick in 2026 (Originally the Dallas Stars), a 3rd round pick (92nd overall) in 2026, and a top-10-protected first-round pick in 2028.
To NYR:Dorofeyev
To LV:2026 1st (Originally Dallas)2026 3rd (92)2028 Top-10 protected first
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 26, 2026
NHL Rumors: Edmonton Oilers, and the Vegas Golden Knights
As part of the deal, the New York Rangers gave Dorofeyev a seven-year, $77 million deal with an annual average value of $11 million.
Confirming Dorofeyev extension with Rangers is 7 years x $11M AAV
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 27, 2026
That is a good chunk of change for a player who put up back-to-back 30-goal seasons. He had 35 goals two seasons ago and 37 goals last season.
Pavel Dorofeyev, acquired by NYR, is a top line sniper with a sick shot, sparkling off-puck hockey I.Q., and an underrated defensive conscience. Not a puck dominant player but makes the most of his touches. pic.twitter.com/ID0lze5OTZ
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 26, 2026
Vegas had a cap crunch, and GM Kelly McCrimmon was not going to pay Dorofeyev the amount he got from the Rangers. The Golden Knights still have cap issues, as they still need to pay Rasmus Andersson. Will they make any other moves?
J.J. Peterka on the Move Again
Things got started before the NHL Draft when the Utah Mammoth traded JJ Peterka to the Boston Bruins for the 23rd overall pick in 2026 and a 2028 first-round pick (top 10 protected) that the Bruins got from the Florida Panthers in the Brad Marchand trade.
Peterka to Boston in exchange for a pair of first round picks https://t.co/gxwgsyg7xS
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2026
NHL Trade: Buffalo Sabres Trade JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth
Picks going to Utah from Boston:2026 1st2028 Fla 1st (top 10 protected)
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2026
Remember last, the Mammoth acquired Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres for Michael Kesselring (now in San Jose) and Josh Doan. Peterka never fit in Utah after signing a five-year, $38.5 million deal with a $7.7 million AAV. He has four years left and gets to play under head coach Marco Sturm.
Let’s see if a change of scenery does Peterka some good.
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