Mason McTavish was traded to the St. Louis Blues by the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
The Ducks received the No. 15 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, which they used to select forward Nikita Klepov, as well as the No. 29 pick.
Later in the evening, Anaheim traded the No. 29 pick, along with a fourth-round selection (No. 117) in the 2026 draft, to the Vegas Golden Knights for the No. 28 pick (forward Marcus Nordmark).
"It wasn't an easy decision. I lingered over it for a couple weeks," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. "There were a lot of discussions and that sort of thing, and so it became kind of clear as we got into the draft a little bit. When Klepov was there, that really helped us make the decision. I think that was the primary drive behind it and, at the same time, allowed us to have (roster) flexibility.
"I'm always looking for opportunities. We have to keep looking for ways to improve the team. Sometimes it looks like we're taking a step back, but there's other ways to address needs in our organization for the future."
McTavish had 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 75 games for the Ducks this season, and six points (one goal, five assists) in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The 23-year-old forward has five seasons remaining on a six-year contract he signed with Anaheim on Sept. 27, 2025.
"Pedigree for sure," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said when asked what McTavish adds. "He's a top three overall pick recently, captain of Team Canada in the past. Playoff performer in the OHL. This year was a down year for him, and he understands that. We talked to him, obviously we do our research on this. I know what he's been doing back home, what type of training and how he felt about his season. He's taken that head-on and wants to come back (strong)."
Selected by the Ducks with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, McTavish has 181 points (77 goals, 104 assists) in 304 regular-season games.
The Blues (37-33-12) did not qualify for the playoffs this season, finishing four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card from the Western Conference.
"For a team like St. Louis, it's important to get players that we can grow and build with," Armstrong said. "I think he plays a 200-foot game, he's got a dynamic shot and he's growing. You get to that age of 24, 25 and you have that long runway of that meat of your career, and he's getting close to that meat of his career. We have him under contract and we can grow with him. He's an exciting player for us in an organization that was void at that position of having a lot of depth."
The Ducks (43-33-6) finished third in the Pacific Division, qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2017-18. They lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the second round.
The trade is the second the Ducks made on Friday. They also dealt defenseman Olen Zellweger to the Buffalo Sabres for a second-round pick in the 2026 draft and forward prospect Anton Wahlberg.
NHL.com independent correspondents Lou Korac and Dan Arritt contributed to this report.
