In a recent article for ESPN, Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton, and Greg Wyshynski made some trade proposals for the 2026 NHL off-season. The Montreal Canadiens were one of the teams mentioned, as ESPN had them land Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish in a big swap. 

Shilton proposed that the Canadiens should trade defenseman David Reinbacher, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Ducks in exchange for McTavish. 

This would be a high price for the Canadiens to pay to land McTavish. Reinbacher is a former top-five pick with good upside, so trading him, along with a second-round pick and fourth-round pick, would come with some risk for the Habs. However, at the same time, landing a young center like McTavish could be worth taking that gamble.

McTavish has shown at times at the NHL level that he can be a true top-six center. During the 2024-25 season with the Ducks, he set career highs with 22 goals, 30 assists, and 52 points in 76 games. While his numbers did drop this past season (17 goals and 41 points in 75 games), he is a bounce-back candidate to watch next season. In fact, at just 23 years old, it is possible that the 2021 third-overall pick has not hit his ceiling yet. 

However, if McTavish continued to put up offensive seasons like he did in 2025-26 with Anaheim, he would be an expensive addition for the Canadiens. This is because he has a $7 million cap hit through the 2030-31 season. Due to this, the Canadiens would need him to bounce back if they landed him for this deal to look like a win for them.

While this is the case, McTavish could be the kind of young center that the Canadiens consider taking a gamble on this off-season. This year's free agency market will not provide the Canadiens with an answer for their second-line center problem, and McTavish is one of the top centers on the trade market right now.