The Los Angeles Kings signed core piece Quinton Byfield to a five-year contract extension. With Mason McTavish in a similar situation next summer, will Byfield's deal have any ramifications?
The Los Angeles Kings signed core piece Quinton Byfield to a five-year contract extension. With Mason McTavish in a similar situation next summer, will Byfield's deal have any ramifications?
Mason McTavish is one of three Ducks players on their roster currently eligible for a contract extension (Frank Vatrano, Lukas Dostal).
Players are eligible to sign extensions on July 1 or later the year before their current contract expires.
McTavish (3rd overall in 2021) will enter the final year of his three-year entry-level deal in 2024-25 and has already established himself as a foundational piece of the Anaheim Ducks in the present and future. He will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2025 and will not have arbitration rights.
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“Yeah, we’re looking at all that stuff. It’s on the radar," Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek stated when asked about potential extensions for players whose contracts are set to expire next summer. "We go through our process with the timing of it all. It’ll certainly be something that we look at.”
The Los Angeles Kings signed Quinton Byfield (2nd overall in 2020) to a five-year contract with an AAV of $6.25 million, likely to be used as a measuring stick for players in similar situations. Byfield's contract will expire the first year he's eligible for unrestricted free agency. If it were to expire a year sooner or a year later, the AAV likely would have been greater.
While McTavish's trajectory has been markedly different from Byfield's, their draft pedigree and significance to the future of their respective organizations are similar.
McTavish has scored 88 points in 153 career NHL games and has been listed mostly at the center position in a "middle-six" role. Byfield has produced 88 points in 179 games to this point in his career, primarily listed on the wing alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe in a "top-six" role.
Byfield will make the transition to center in the upcoming 2024-25 season, where he'll look to continue his progression from a production standpoint while maintaining 200-foot effectiveness.
McTavish increased his production from .54 points per game in his rookie season of 2022-23 to .66 points per game in 2023-24 and his ATOI (average time on ice) increased from 15:22 to 16:17 per game. He also saw his face-off percentage increase from 42.3% to 51.7%.
McTavish is a high-motor player who pressures the puck over every inch of the 200-foot ice surface. He forces retrieving defensemen into mistakes below the goal line and can capitalize with a game-changing finishing ability. He thrives in board battles and doesn't quit on plays.
Due to his aggression on the forecheck, he often had to assume a role higher in the defensive zone when the puck went the other way, leaving his most common linemates like Frank Vatrano or Ryan Strome to assume traditional center responsibilities. Perhaps a shift in priority to operating lower in the defensive zone will increase McTavish's defensive impact moving forward, an area in which he's struggled.
McTavish was also among the NHL leaders in minor penalties taken in 2023-24 with 36, another area he'll likely look to improve upon in 2024-25.
He was one of several Ducks forced from a significant amount of games in 2023-24, missing a total of 18 due to various injuries, including a sprained MCL which forced him from the Ducks final six games.
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Pat Verbeek and assistant general manager Jeff Solomon have earned themselves reputations as tough negotiators when it comes to contract extensions for restricted free agents. Troy Terry signed his seven-year contract extension the day of his scheduled arbitration hearing while Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras saw their negotiations extend well into the 2023 training camp.
McTavish is one of the more competitive players on the Ducks roster. He's made noteworthy strides in his development during his young NHL career and will look to continue doing so moving forward. It could be in the Ducks best interest to sign him to an extension sooner than later to save long-term money.
If he continues to make strides offensively and can provide a more stable 200-foot presence, McTavish could be due a substantial contract extension after the 2024-25 season.