Senators Interested In Mason McTavish
The Ottawa Senators will have a busy summer ahead, one way or another. After expressing interest in building out the blue-line, and padding their goalie depth, general manager Steve Staios has also made it clear that Ottawa needs another top-six forward per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Garrioch names Anaheim Ducks youngster Mason McTavish as the current name on Ottawa’s radar, though Seattle Kraken center Jared McCann and St. Louis Blues’ winger Jordan Kyrou could also fit the bill.
Staios has the rare experience of having traded for McTavish once before. He acquired the burly forward for the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs in a 2022 trade with the Peterborough Petes. McTavish had put together a season of dominance in the year leading up to the trade – earning a top-three selection in the 2021 NHL Draft on the back of a Covid-shortened season, but strong performance, in Switzerland’s second-tier pro league. He made his NHL and AHL debuts at the very start of the 2021-22 season, then closed the year as the star of Staios’ OHL championship-winning Bulldogs.
Since then, McTavish has put up four consecutive seasons of at least 40 points in the NHL. He hit a career-high 22 goals and 52 points – the most goals and second-most points on the Ducks – in the 2024-25 season, but fell back to 41 points in 75 games this year. Even with up-and-down success, and a fluctuating lineup role, McTavish has still shined as a young professional. He earned Anaheim’s alternate captaincy in 2023 and has carried the letter through two more seasons since. McTavish was also the captain of Team Canada at his sole appearances in the 2021 U18 Men’s World Championship and 2022 World Junior Championship.
There seems to be some certainty that McTavish can hold down a middle-six role in the lineup. His upside could be far higher, having broken the 20-goal ceiling once before his 23rd birthday. Garrioch also points out McTavish’s career-long 48.6 faceoff percentage, which peaked with a 51.7 percent in the 2023-24 season. That added tool could give Ottawa some interesting flexibility with Dylan Cozens‘ role as second-line center – while also padding the forward depth chart as a whole.
The cost of that certainty could be high, especially if Ottawa hopes to find it in a recent, top-three draft pick. The Senators’ don’t have a wealth of talent, or assets, to work with – but they do have two first-round picks and four third-round picks over the next two classes. That includes the 32nd-overall pick this season – a spot that’s locked in after Ottawa’s pick was revoked, then regranted, following a trade scandal. Ottawa could build an impressive package if they send that selection, additional draft capital, and a rising prospect like Blake Montgomery the other way.
John Carlson’s Next Contract Will Be Particularly Pricey
It’s not very often that 36-year-old players will get a raise on their next contract but that could very well be the case for defenseman John Carlson. In a column for The Athletic earlier this week, Pierre LeBrun reported that before Washington moved Carlson to Anaheim at the trade deadline, the two sides were in talks about a two-year extension worth $9MM per season.
That would represent a $1MM raise on the $8MM he made over each of the last eight years. But it would be a well-earned increase. Between the Capitals and Ducks this season, Carlson recorded 14 goals and 46 assists despite missing 11 games due to injury. His 60 points were his highest since the 2021-22 campaign. On top of that, he showed that he can still handle logging heavy minutes as he averaged more than 23 minutes per night during the regular season and over 24 minutes per contest in the postseason.
In essence, Carlson played like a legitimate top-pairing defenseman, so $9MM on the surface would seem reasonable. On the other hand, he’ll turn 37 in January and at some point, he’s going to slow down and his minutes will have to become more managed. If he drops to more of a second-pairing player, that price tag becomes particularly high, even in this market, one that is going to yield some inflated salaries this summer.
In recent years, we’ve seen teams try to sign players to above-market short-term contracts, knowing that they will have some short-term cap flexibility to absorb the extra cost. Carolina’s two-year, $15MM deal to Dmitry Orlov three summers ago is a good example of that. But it’s something that isn’t going to necessarily be appealing to most free agents which is why not many of those deals have been signed overall; most prefer the longer-term security. Given Carlson’s age, it becomes more palatable and it looks like he could very well be getting one of those now.
While the overall depth in this summer’s UFA class isn’t particularly deep overall, there is some depth among right-shot defenders. Carlson is joined by Darren Raddysh, Jacob Trouba, Rasmus Andersson, and even Brent Burns as players who should at least be able to handle top-four minutes. This potential price point for Carlson should be particularly appealing for most of the others on that list (aside from Burns, who is likely heading for another one-year deal).
Considering the extension didn’t get finalized with the Capitals, it stands to reason that Carlson’s camp believes he could do better on the open market. With that in mind, it seems likely that he’ll be viewing that two-year offer as the floor in negotiations for his next contract. We’ll see over the next month if that contract will be coming from the Ducks who would like to keep him around or if he’ll opt to test the UFA market where LeBrun believes several Eastern teams are likely to make an offer.
Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.
Prospect Notes: Bakke Olsen, Masse, Lacelle
Norwegian forward Eskild Bakke Olsen is catching NHL attention at the 2026 World Championship. He has begun to garner interest from NHL clubs, Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis told Norwegian news outlet Nitten. Bakke Olsen is currently tied for second on Team Norway in tournament scoring with five points in seven games. He signed a three-year contract with the SHL’s Linkoping HC ahead of the 2025-26 season. That will mean any NHL move prior to 2028 will require a buyout.
Bakke Olsen, 24, grew up through Norway’s youth hockey ranks and debuted in the country’s top pro league in 2020. He moved to Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan three years later and quickly stood out. He led BIK Karlskoga in scoring with 37 points in 49 games of the 2023-24 season, then held onto his title with 53 points in 48 games of the 2024-25 season. Those performances earned Bakke Olsen a promotion to the SHL last season. He made good work of it, with 32 points in 51 games of his first season with Linkoping – the second-most scoring on the team.
The playmaking center will try to continue his climb up the hockey world with another strong SHL season, or a move to North American pros, on the other side of the World Championship.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The University of Massachusetts has confirmed the addition of Anaheim Ducks prospect Maxim Masse. The reigning QMJHL scoring champion will be one of college hockey’s top recruits after notching 51 goals and 102 points in 63 games of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens season. At 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, Masse brings a rare mix of size and scoring ability. He has grown to top prospect status since his third-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and should continue to demand a top lineup role with the MinuteMen. But already 20 years old, Masse will also face questions of if he can turn pro before his fast-moving development begins to slow down.
- 2026 NHL Draft goalie prospect William Lacelle has decided to continue his career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha next season. He will help the Mavericks make up for the graduation of captain Simon Latkoczy following his move to the ECHL. Lacelle is garnering mid-round attention after splitting his season between the Rimouski Oceanic and Baliville-Boisbriand Armada. He finished the year with a .917 save percentage and 27-15-2 record between the two squads. Lacelle added a .909 save percentage and 10-5-0 record in 15 playoff games with the Armada. He will compete with Omaha’s 2025-26 backup Dawson Cowan for starting minutes next season. Cowan recorded a .901 save percentage and four wins in 12 starts this season.
Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks
Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We start our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Ducks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Leo Carlsson – Let’s start with a big one. The second overall pick in 2023 showed plenty of promise in his first two seasons but took a big jump forward in 2025-26. He finished second on the team in scoring with 29 goals and 38 assists in just 70 games. He saw some shorthanded ice time. He upped his faceoff success rate. Basically, he took steps toward being the two-way top-line center the Ducks thought they’d be getting when they picked him. Now, he’s about to be paid like he is that player. A long-term deal would probably run the Ducks past the $11MM per season mark which would set the new benchmark for Anaheim’s forwards. A bridge deal, meanwhile, would keep the cost lower in the short term but even that could land in the $8MM range per year. GM Pat Verbeek has held a firm line in talks with core youngsters before. This could very well be another of those negotiations.
F Cutter Gauthier – That last sentence may wind up applying here as well. Gauthier led the Ducks offensively this season, notching 41 goals along with 28 helpers to finish two points up on Carlsson for the team lead. He even averaged a point per game in the playoffs while playing through a back injury. Wingers don’t often get the type of premium money that centers do and it should be noted that, unlike Carlsson, he isn’t eligible for an offer sheet after only playing once in the first year of his contract. Still, a long-term deal could approach the $9MM territory while a bridge pact would likely check in around the $6.5MM range. Carlsson is the headliner but Gauthier’s next deal is going to be a significant one as well.
D Pavel Mintyukov – The young blueliner hasn’t had quite the impact Anaheim hoped when they made him a top-ten pick back in 2022. An offensive dynamo in junior, the production hasn’t quite materialized in the NHL yet as he put up 28 points in his rookie year in 2023-24 and hasn’t returned to that mark since, notching 22 this season. Meanwhile, a lack of playing time earlier in the year had him believed to be amenable to a trade. With that in mind, there’s a solid case to make that a short-term bridge contract would make more sense for both sides, allowing for more time for him to make his case for a higher spot on the depth chart and improve his production. The price tag for that type of deal should check in around the $3.5MM mark.
D Olen Zellweger – There are some parallels to Mintyukov here. While he wasn’t a lottery pick, he was still a prolific producer in junior who has yet to establish himself offensively in the NHL and even spent a lot of time in the playoffs as a healthy scratch. Zellweger had 22 points in 76 games this season but saw his ATOI drop by nearly two minutes a night. He could also find himself in trade speculation this summer if Verbeek wants to reshape the back end a bit. Accordingly, a bridge deal makes a lot of sense here too. With Zellweger not having as much of a track record as Mintyukov, a short-term agreement should check in a little lower compared to his counterpart.
Other RFAs: D Jeremie Biakabutuka, G Vyacheslav Buteyets, G Calle Clang, D Tyson Hinds, F/D Ian Moore, F Jan Mysak, F Sasha Pastujov, F Jaxsen Wiebe
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D John Carlson – The Ducks were the surprising winners of the Carlson sweepstakes, adding him at the trade deadline to aid their playoff run. He wound up averaging nearly a point per game down the stretch at over 24 minutes per night of playing time. The production dipped in the playoffs to six assists in a dozen contests but he again was over the 24-minute mark. While he’s 36, Carlson has shown that he can still be a top-pairing player, at least for now. How quickly the potential drop-off could be will always be a concern for players his age but with the UFA market not being particularly deep, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him land a price tag in the $7MM range while getting two or three years on the contract. With demand for right-shot impact blueliners set to be quite high, he’s in great shape heading to free agency.
D Radko Gudas – The three-year deal he received in 2023 ultimately worked out pretty well for both sides. Gudas got to play a more prominent role than he was accustomed to early although he slowed down a fair bit this year and was banged up at the end of the season. It’s certainly possible that Anaheim could look to bring back their captain but it would have to be with the understanding that he’d be more of a sixth defender moving forward. Turning 36 next month with his rugged style of play, he’ll be a little more hard-pressed to command a multi-year deal although he is eligible for incentives in a one-year pact. After making $4MM per season on this last contract, there’s a good chance that ticks down by at least a million this summer.
D Jacob Trouba – Acquired in a cap-clearing move from the Rangers last season, the change of scenery worked out nicely for the veteran, especially this year. Head coach Joel Quenneville elevated Trouba’s role and he made the most of it, putting up his best offensive numbers since the 2021-22 campaign while the last time he played more than his 22:30 ATOI was back when he was in Winnipeg. Now, was this a late-career resurgence or a one-time blip? That’s a key question heading into free agency but again, given the limited right-shot impact options available, teams are likely to be offering contracts that suggest they believe this year is repeatable. The 32-year-old probably won’t hit the $8MM mark again but something in the $6MM to $7MM range on a multi-year pact could very well happen.
F Jeffrey Viel – Score one for stick-to-itiveness. A regular in the minors until this season, Viel got a chance to play more regularly following an early-season trade from Boston. The 29-year-old got to play above the fourth line at times, a rarity for someone who was basically on the roster in case a fight was needed. He then impressed in the playoffs with four points in 12 games while still averaging more than four hits per game. It’s unlikely that he’s going to command a huge deal this summer but doubling his $775K current price tag isn’t unfathomable either. At a minimum, he should have much more financial stability after bouncing around on two-way pacts for a lot of his pro career.
Other UFAs: F Jansen Harkins, F Ross Johnston, G Petr Mrazek
Projected Cap Space
The Ducks enter the offseason with a little over $40MM in cap space. Their RFA class should easily take up more than half of that number, assuming that they can work out long-term agreements with Carlsson and Gauthier. Beyond that, they will have a fair bit of flexibility to work with although Verbeek will be dealing with re-signing or replacing the right side of his back end. When all is said and done spending-wise, they may not be too far off the Upper Limit.
Photos courtesy of John Jones (Carlsson) and Perry Nelson (Carlson)-Imagn Images. Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
Carlsson Declines Worlds Invite
- Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Ducks center Leo Carlsson have declined invitations to play for Sweden at the Worlds, reports Hockey Sverige’s Uffe Bodin (Twitter link). Both players were eliminated in the second round and the Swedes were holding two spots open on their roster in case they could entice one of them to go. Instead, they’ve since registered former San Jose defenseman Tim Heed to fill out their roster for the tournament.
Ducks Issue Multiple Injury Updates
As is typically the case, once teams are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, many player injuries get revealed. That is the case for the Anaheim Ducks, who shared updates regarding six players according to a team announcement.
The highest-profile injury is that of forward Troy Terry, who has been dealing with chronic hip impingement and will undergo surgery at an undetermined date. Although he’s remained relatively healthy since the 2020-21 campaign, Terry missed 21 games for the Ducks this season, though it was defined as an upper-body injury at the time.
Regardless, despite the injury requiring surgery, it didn’t seem to impact Terry in the postseason. Anaheim regularly relied on Terry, who played the right wing of the Ducks’ first forward unit, and he finished with three goals and 11 points in 12 games. It wasn’t enough to get the team to the Western Conference Final, nor was it enough to lead the team in scoring, but Terry had a solid playoff debut based on the circumstances.
Additionally, the team confirmed Cutter Gauthier‘s vetebrae fracture from earlier in the season. The Ducks didn’t confirm when the injury took place, though its believed to have stemmed from Anaheim’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 30th. Impressively, even while dealing with that, Gauthier registered seven goals and 16 points in 15 games since, including the postseason.
Meanwhile, Anaheim shared that center Ryan Poehling was dealing with a concussion after being hit by Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb in Game 5 of Round Two, resulting in a one-game suspension for the latter. Additionally, the team revealed that Pavel Mintyukov was dealing with an MCL sprain, Radko Gudas an ankle sprain, and Drew Helleson a groin strain. Aside from Terry, all the other injured members have all been cleared from their injuries.
Frank Vatrano Could Become A Cap Casualty This Summer
- Despite having nearly $41MM in cap space heading into the summer, the Anaheim Ducks may come relatively close to the upper limit of the salary cap after inking new contracts with Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, among others. Should they need additional breathing room, Patrick Present of The Hockey News opined that the team could look to move Frank Vatrano, who is making just north of $4.5MM through the 2027-28 campaign. Vatrano, 32, is an obvious trade candidate after a year in which he only totalled nine points, but that could equally make him more difficult to move.
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Gauthier Had Two Broken Vertebrae; No Talks On New Contract Yet
Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier sustained two fractured vertebrae late in the regular season and played through it in the playoffs, reports Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 22-year-old had a great sophomore year, tallying 41 goals and 28 assists in 76 games to lead Anaheim in scoring. Even while playing through the injury in the postseason, Gauthier led the Ducks in scoring there as well, picking up four goals and eight helpers in 12 appearances, a strong end to his year before he reaches restricted free agency this summer.
On that front, Eric Stephens of The Athletic notes that talks on a new contract have yet to start. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has quickly earned a reputation for being a tough negotiator, with several prominent contracts dragging out into training camp in recent years, including this season with Mason McTavish. He also has Leo Carlsson as a prominent pending RFA. Gauthier is someone who Anaheim would likely want to sign to a long-term deal, with AFP Analytics suggesting that a seven-year pact could check in at around $8.5MM per season. We’ll see if this will be something that gets worked out quicker than their recent summer talks.
Mikael Granlund Joins Team Finland
- Now that the Anaheim Ducks’ season has ended, it was expected that a few players could make their way to Switzerland for the IIHF World Championships. One of them has done just that, as it was announced that Mikael Granlund will be joining Team Finland for the remainder of the tournament. Although he didn’t play for his home country last spring, Granlund represented Finland well at the Olympic Games in February, scoring one goal and three points in six games.
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No Progress In Extension Talks Between Anaheim Ducks, Jacob Trouba
A little over a year ago, the Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers in what appeared at the time as a salary dump for the latter. He was embroiled in the worst season of his NHL career, and looked more like a placeholder for the Ducks as their prospects made their way to the NHL ranks.
However, a year later, Trouba has become a fixture on Anaheim’s blue line, helping the Ducks to their first postseason appearance since the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, as much as they would like to keep Trouba, the two sides haven’t gotten close to finalizing a contract extension.
Speaking on The Fan Hockey Show, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “They’ve been negotiating with [Jacob] Trouba on and off, and to this point they haven’t been able to close it.” The 13-year veteran will see his seven-year, $56MM contract expire on July 1st in a few weeks.
Much of that likely has to do with the price point. Trouba and his camp are likely trying to capitalize on a resurgent 2025-26 campaign, and the Ducks may view it as a flash in the pan, though they would still like to retain him at a digestible rate. Essentially, since the 2021-22 campaign, Trouba’s performance had been declining across the board.
This season, however, he made a big comeback. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Trouba scored 10 goals and 35 points in 81 games with a -1 rating, averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time per game. Additionally, he led the team in blocked shots, finished third in hits, and had the sixth-most takeaways on the team.
Diving deeper, his 51.8% CorsiFor at even strength is the second-highest mark of his career, and better than any season he had with the Rangers. Still, heading into his age-32 season, especially with how he plays the game, it’s a fair question from the Ducks if he can keep this up for several more years.
In all seriousness, Anaheim is likely in the driver’s seat in the negotiations, despite Trouba’s impressive season. The team has a solid opportunity this summer to re-work its defensive core for the future, without having a stark drop-off in talent. Trouba is joined by captain Radko Gudas and trade deadline acquisition John Carlson as projected unrestricted free agents this summer. If the Ducks keep only one of the trio, they’ll have a balanced right side of the blue line with Drew Helleson and Tristan Luneau in tow.
According to AFP Analytics, Trouba is projected to land a three-year, $9.25MM contract should he hit the open market this summer. Although he will assuredly earn less than his current $8MM salary, an approximately $3.1MM salary feels remarkably low for the season he just had. If Trouba does make it to the open market, he’ll likely land a deal similar to the extension Adam Larsson signed with the Seattle Kraken last year, a four-year, $21MM ($5.25MM AAV) pact, if not a little bit more.