Prior to puck drop tonight in Montreal, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reported that Mason McTavish is a healthy scratch, with Troy Terry returning from injury and John Carlson making his highly anticipated debut.
The center has just two points in his last 12 games, with 32 total on the year in 61 games. In a season defined by the breakout of several young stars in Anaheim, such has not been the case for McTavish. The 2021 third overall pick’s offensive output has stalled out of late, hovering around the 40-50 range, not necessarily glaring but disappointing nonetheless. This season his possession metrics at five-on-five are actually a career best at 52.2%, although the center is starting nearly 59% of his shifts in the offensive zone, a notable uptick from years past.
With his trust slipping under head coach Joel Quenneville, McTavish has lost his role down the middle, dipping below 16 minutes a night for the first time since the beginning stages of his career.
Simple resets like this happen often, and the 23-year-old is likely just in a slump for the time being, but no player making $7MM per year through 2030-31 should be spending time in the press box. After his restricted free agency dragged out into the fall, there was some speculation McTavish could be moving on. That ended in late September as the Ducks locked him up and voiced their beliefs that he would grow into a top player for the franchise.
Even if just for tonight, the Ducks feel like they have the best chance to win and take another step toward the playoffs without the 6’1″ forward in the mix. It’s a headline management would not expect back before the campaign started, but a lot has changed for the Ducks since then.
Meanwhile, Terry is a welcome addition back into the forward group not having played since February 25. The 28-year-old still ranks fifth in team scoring with 45 points in 46 games, particularly impressive considering that his counterparts have skated in as many as 20 more contests.
Finally, with Radko Gudas out as a result of a controversial five-game suspension, Carlson makes his Ducks debut, more news Anaheim fans would find hard to believe just a few months ago. The 36-year-old is debuting alongside Olen Zellweger, wearing a new uniform after 1,143 regular season games with the Capitals. Carlson had been dealing with a lower-body injury, his final game with Washington ending unceremoniously against Nashville on February 5 due to the ailment.
It’s hard to imagine McTavish will be out of the lineup for long, but he’ll need to turn the page soon to avoid any trade speculation this summer. With a top scorer back into the lineup, and an elite defensemen joining the team, there’s much reason to be excited for the weeks ahead and hopefully the center will find his groove accordingly.
Image Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images