Canucks: Why massive Mason McTavish hype is about future playoff potential
When Joel Quenneville guided the Chicago Blackhawks to their third Stanley Cup championship in a six-year span in 2015, his centre of attention was Jonathan Toews.
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At age 26, his 'Captain Serious' moniker fit like a glove because of drive, desire and delivery. Toews was 21 when the Blackhawks claimed their first crown in 2010, nearly the same age as another pivot who has become talk of the league this summer.
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Mason McTavish, 22, is a proud, productive and stubborn restricted free agent with the Anaheim Ducks, whose heavy and direct game at junior and international levels projects well for the NHL postseason. He led the Ducks last season with 22 goals, and his 52 points with the 24th-ranked club, and 30th-rated offence, were as credible as his team leading 50.7 per cent face-off efficiency.
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McTavish has potential to become a reliable 30-goal producer and tough to play against. However, he has yet to reach contract-extension terms and that has sent suitors into a summer tizzy of what it would take to pry him away — everything from offer sheets to multiple players and draft picks.
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The Vancouver Canucks would salivate at potential of adding the 6-foot-1, 219-pound McTavish to help solve their riddle in the middle. But at what cost? Probably a roster player, prime prospect, and pair of high draft picks. AFP Analytics has McTavish receiving a six-year, $40.6-million US deal that would carry a $6.67 million in annual average value.
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McTavish's competitiveness was evident in advance of the 2021 NHL Draft. After 42 points in (29-13) in 57 OHL games with Peterborough Petes in 2019-20 — followed by COVID suspension of OHL games the next season — he was loaned to Olten EHC of the second division Swiss pro league. He responded with 11 points (9-2) in 13 outings.
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'I love to get to the dirty areas to score goals,' he told this reporter prior to the 2021 draft, where he was selected third overall behind defenceman Owen Power and centre Matty Beniers. 'I'm not one to shy away from playoff-style hockey. Just watching the NHL playoffs, those big-bodied guys really pay off.
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'I love to compete against anybody and I don't really back down from anyone. I just want to be hard to play against and you don't want them to say: 'Oh, he was easy to play against.' Or, 'He was fun to play against.' I don't like to make it easy on guys.'
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