Grading Blues’ Trade for Mason McTavish

The St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks pulled off a trade on the first day of the 2026 NHL Draft. The Blues acquired forward Mason McTavish from the Ducks in exchange for two first-round picks in the draft, picks 15 and 29. The Ducks selected Nikita Klepov with the 15th overall selection, and traded the 29th and 117th pick to the Vegas Golden Knights for pick 28, where they selected Marcus Nordmark.

Mason McTavish is headed to St. Louis!

DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/dt4qBuNgQB https://t.co/dt4qBuNgQB #stlblues

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 27, 2026

The immediate fan response from both sides was that the Ducks came away as winners in this deal, while the Blues were taking a huge gamble on a player who struggled to find his footing this season.

McTavish, who is 23 years old, scored 17 goals and added 24 assists for 41 points through 75 games this season. Throughout his career, he has scored 77 goals and added 104 assists for 181 points through 304 games, which comes out to a 0.60 points-per-game average.

In this article, we are going to take a quick look at some grades for both the Blues and Ducks, seeing how both teams did, and who came out on top.

Ducks Land Two First-Round Picks

The Ducks come out as the immediate winners of this deal. McTavish did not have a solid 2025-26 campaign, and it seemed inevitable that he was going to fall out of order with the Ducks and that a trade was coming.

Regardless of what any fan was using to make their decision on him, it was clear that McTavish has struggled recently.

Mason McTavish, acquired by STL, is a big developing forward with a solid net-front physical tool-kit but poor skating. Has some small-area skill including underrated playmaking, but has really struggled defensively and hasn't been able to make a big impact with the puck. pic.twitter.com/C26tqXaugl

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 27, 2026

At the end of the day, the fact the Ducks were able to move a player that wasn’t in their plans for next season and was struggling immensely, while being able to clear up cap space to spend more money this offseason in hopes of improving their team for a deeper playoff run is tidy work, especially for two first-round picks in a strong draft class.

Ducks Grade: A+

Blues Taking Huge Risk on McTavish

The Blues are taking a huge risk by taking on McTavish for two first-round picks, but, there are some positives.

McTavish is a young player who needed a fresh start, and has the potential to find his confidence again with a new team. The problem is the amount of risk associated with a move like this. It makes a little more sense for the Blues, who already had more first-round picks and could afford to trade them, but it’s still a questionable use of assets.

The other nice thing is that the Blues still have a good amount of cap space left over to make other moves and continue filling out their roster, so McTavish’s $7 million cap hit shouldn’t affect their overall plans for the remainder of the offseason.

Still, they should’ve used their cap space elsewhere. McTavish is not a player that takes a contending team over the hump and into championship favorite territory, and this move shows a bit of desperation from the Blues, who do need to add scoring in their top-six forward group, but there were stronger options out there.

McTavish should be given a larger role, which should help him bounce back at both ends. If he is able to find his confidence and become a solid contributor for the Blues, but for now, this deal looks like an absolute steal for the Ducks, and an overpay for the Blues.

Blues Grade: D+

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