BOLD MOVE? Mason McTavish Offer Sheet Talk + Boston Bruins’ Winter Schedule Outlook

BOLD MOVE? Mason McTavish Offer Sheet Talk + Boston Bruins’ Winter Schedule Outlook

While the Boston Bruins may be contemplating an offer sheet for Mason McTavish, what we know for sure is that the January and February schedule this season is going to be pretty unique. You’re Locked On Bruins, your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. What is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast. I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke to B. Today is Monday, July 21st. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Boston Bruins your first listen every day. Part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day. And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get $150 in bonus bets if your first $ five bet wins. Today on the podcast, we are going to discuss the potential of the Boston Bruins pursuing Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks via offer sheet. We’re also going to continue our look at the season schedule. Every day will remember, we’ve already looked at October, November, December. last week. Today we’re going to take a look at January and February and especially in February. It’s a pretty unique looking schedule this year. Before we get into all that, a quick reminder. You can find the podcast on social media, locked NHL Bruins. You can find me, my hockey thoughts and dad jokes at Ian C McLaren. I’m a lifelong Boston Bruins fan and I’ve been covering this team for various outlets for about 20 years now. Offer sheets in the NHL are kind of like Bigfoot sightings, right? You hear about them, you talk about them, but rarely do you actually see one. Last summer, though, something shifted and maybe it opens the door for a bold move by the Boston Bruins this off season. Let’s rewind quickly here. For years, the offer sheet mechanism felt like an empty threat. Montreal went after Sebastian Aaho. Carolina matched. Carolina retaliated. An offer cheated. Yesper. Excuse me. Yes. Berry caught Ken Yi. It worked kind of. They got the player, but he hasn’t really turned out to be the kind of guy they expected after he was drafted what, third overall by the Canadians. Since then, it was pretty quiet until last summer, of course, when the St. Louis Blues sent two offer sheets last summer and actually landed Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers. And those two players didn’t just show up, they helped the Blues turn things around and become a playoff team this past season under the toutelage of, of course, Jim Montgomery, who jumped aboard mid-season. Suddenly, teams were reminded if you have cap space and draft capital, the offer sheet is a legitimate tool to force a GM’s hand. Which brings us to Mason McTavish, drafted 21st overall in 2020. Um, he actually that might be a bit low. Mason McTavish, when exactly was he drafted? He’s 22 years old. He was drafted third overall in 2021. My apologies there. And last season had 22 goals, 30 assists for 52 points in 76 games. Career totals 229 games played, 60 goals, 80 assists for 140 points. He’s a lefthand shot center and again still just 22 years old. Now, the Ducks have already moved on from Trevor Zegris, trading him to the Philadelphia Flyers. Maybe they’re ready to shake things up a little bit. What’s stopping them from doing the same with McTavish? They do have a ton of cap space, which means they can likely match any mid-range offer. So, if you’re going to make it interesting, it has to be an offer with some weight at least. $7 million per year. At that level, Anaheim maybe has to stop and think from a Bruins perspective. Right now, they lack that young costcontrolled center with top six upside. you can maybe put Casey Middlestat in that uh position, but he’s a bit older and doesn’t quite have the same upside as a guy like McTavish, seeing as again he’s already what 27 and we kind of know exactly what he is. He’s 26. He’s going to be 27. 81 goals in 438 career NHL games, 236 points. He does have um a 59 point season to his name, 57 point season, dropped last year to 40 points between the two teams, Colorado and uh Boston. But what McTavish brings you is age, size. is a pretty good sized center and a lot more upside. Um while Sturm and Sweeney are relying heavily on veterans like Elias Lindholm, Tanner Jano coming in to help David Poshnock who’s the set core of your offense. still major question marks down the middle and kind of like what we discussed with the Marco Rossy uh debate earlier in the off seasonason. McTavish is the kind of player you don’t have to wait three years to develop like you’re going to have to with James Hagens. Maybe he has some rough edges. Skating isn’t necessarily elite, but sometimes a change of scenery and a new system, better structure can unlock those next steps. Maybe the Ducks are hoping that happens under Joel Quinnville, but um the Bruins might be willing to take that risk. Now, what would it cost? When you look at the Puckedia website and look at comp compensation, somewhere between 4.68 7.02 million would cost you a first and third round pick. Between 7.02 and 9.36 million is first, second, and third. And anything above 9.36 would be two firsts, a second, and a third. Over 11.7 is four first round picks. So, the Bruins say you come in at around 7.02, a first, second, and third. Now, the Bruins do possess all of their picks this upcoming season, but they don’t really have the cap space at the moment. Only $2 million in cap space. So, A, they would have to shift out some cap space, and B, they would have to risk giving Anaheim potentially a another lottery pick. The only reason I’m bringing this up is because it was mentioned in the Athletic by Shaina Goldman as uh the Bruins being one of the eligible teams for whom it could be worth throwing this dart this summer. The Canadians, Bruins, Flames, and Red Wings were the four teams mentioned. Uh, he does have a little Dylan Stro in him. Shaina Goldman said a late bloomer who needs the right opportunity. Dylan Stro of course being a guy that I was big on the Bruins pursuing when he was available pre-W Washington. But for the Bruins, a, they don’t have the cap space at the moment, and B, you risk giving up pretty valuable draft picks. The Bruins finished last in the East last summer, or sorry, last season. You would expect that by adding a Mason McTavish, you would be much improved and back into playoff contention. But there’s still the risk there that things don’t work out and you end up sending worst case scenario Anaheim the pick that would land Gavin McKenna. So not only is the salary cap prohibitive, but it’s also kind of risky giving up those potentially high draft picks. Of course, hopefully the Bruins are a playoff team once again, not in the draft lottery, but you just never know, especially after a down season like you just had. Mason McTavish. You put him on the top line or the second line. Uh perhaps they would trade a guy like Casey Middlestat in order to open up that cap space. Maybe they work out a sign and trade with the Anaheim Ducks where they send Middlestat and a pick or two to Anaheim in exchange for McTavish. probably the only way it would work out in order to clear up that cap space. And if you’re going to sign him at like $7 million, so that could be a workaround there for the Bruins and the Ducks. Is he worth pursuing? 100%. Third overall pick not too long ago, only 22 years old. he fits into the retool as a guy who can help now and grow into his prime alongside Postron and company. Um, is it going to happen? I don’t know. The Bruins seem kind of done for the offseason. Uh, but it’s certainly a possibility. Bringing it up because Shaina mentioned the Bruins in that article, so I thought it was worth discussing here. What we do know for sure is the Bruins have a bunch of games coming up in January, not so much in February. And we’ll touch on those two months here in the Bruins schedule as the podcast continues. All right, let’s say you’re a business owner and you just realize that you need to hire someone ASAP. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Well, it’s actually pretty easy. All you have to do is use Indeed. When it comes to hiring, Indeed is actually all you need. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other sites. Indeed’s sponsored jobs put your post at the top of the page and help you reach the right candidates faster. I’ve been in that spot where a company I worked for needed to hire right away. The pressure was on. Every day without the right person was a setback. And that’s exactly where Indeed’s sponsored jobs came in handy. They made sure our post was seen by the right candidates immediately. Now you can spend up your hiring process with a $75 sponsored job credit. Just go to indeed.com/lockedon right now. Support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on Locked on Boston Bruins. Terms and conditions apply, but if you’re hiring, Indeed is all you need. Thanks again for making Locked On Boston Bruins part of your daily routine. It’s available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day and everydayers will know that last week we began a look at the 202526 schedule to see how the Bruins might fare, what challenges lie ahead. So far through uh October, November, December, I have the Bruins penciled in for a record around 1822 and one. But in January, there’s a real stretch here where the Bruins could make up some ground and have a pretty successful month. Now, the year begins in the middle of a road trip. They had already played Buffalo, Calgary, Edmonton to end 2025. To begin 2026, they will go to Vancouver and Seattle, both of which are pretty winnable games in my books. Then they’ll come home for a fivegame home stand, which is tied for the longest this season with again five pretty winnable games. Calgary, New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Seattle Kraken. From there, they will go to Chicago and Dallas for a mini road trip before coming home to take on the Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadians. They will play the New York Rangers once again, followed by uh home games against the Nashville Predators and the Philadelphia Flyers. So, that’s what their January looks like. And to me, that’s looking pretty good. If you add it all up, that is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 14 games, nine at home, five on the road, and one fivegame home stand. After a tough first half, like I said, projected around 18 22 and one after December, January offers the Bruins a chance to stabilize. And that fivegame home stand is going to be a pretty winnable stretch and games in which the Bruins can really make up some ground. Uh Calgary, who knows what they’re going to be like this season. Uh I don’t see them as a powerhouse in the West by any stretch. The New York Rangers, yeah, they have new head coach in Mike Sullivan, but uh they’ve lost some key players. Chris Krider’s gone, Kandre Miller’s gone. Um Mika Zabanagad, Arti Paneran still top level, but not as good as they once were. I can see the Rangers struggling again. Same with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Red Wings, I don’t know if they’ve done enough to challenge Ottawa Montreal for those playoff spots. Seattle was uh right there with the Bruins for draft picks this upcoming season as well after finishing near the bottom of the West. Then you have Chicago. So right there, the first like handful of games, like eight, nine games this season are all pretty winnable for the Boston Bruins. And by the season, I mean to begin 2026. Uh Dallas, Vegas, that’s a bit of a gauntlet later in the month. Montreal is going to be much better this season even than they were last year. I think they’re going to be a team that continues to improve and grow after adding Noah Dobson. Uh but then you end with New York, Nashville, Philadelphia, all three of the most disappointing teams last season. Now, I’m going to be super generous to the Bruins here and pencil them in for 10 wins out of these 14 games. I think Dallas, Vegas, Montreal could be losses. Probably one of the first two games uh against Vancouver or Seattle seeing as at the end of a road trip. Uh maybe they don’t sweep that fivegame home stand. Maybe they don’t beat uh Chicago or end with wins against New York, Nashville, Philadelphia. But I’m going to be generous and give them 10 wins. So that would make them 28 26 and one following the month of January, putting them in position to challenge for a wild card spot. Yes, maybe I’m being overly generous here. Maybe I’m um giving the Bruins the benefit of the doubt, but this could be a make or break month. If the Bruins can go, let’s say even 86 or better, they’ll be around 500 within striking distance of a wild card. And with all those home games in the month of January, the Bruins will really need to take advantage of uh of that schedule, especially against it’s one thing to have a um home stand against like top competition, but these are very winnable games. Uh, yes, you have to be much better than 500 to make the playoffs in today’s NHL, but uh if the Bruins are at or above 500, they could be at least more competitive down the stretch and not entering sell mode as they did this past season. Now, that’s a look at January. February is going to be very unique, very different, and we’ll touch on that here as the podcast continues. Summer sports are in full swing, and whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. You’re already following the action. Why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. It’s easy to use, fast to pay out, and makes even regular season games feel like mustwatch events. Whether you’re placing a same game parlay or watching a bet ride into the ninth inning, FanDuel makes it feel like you’re part of the action. If you’re new to FanDuel, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. All right, the month of February for the Boston Bruins features only four regular season games. And similar to last year where we had a break for the four nations faceoff, February will have a even lengthier break, 3 weeks for the Winter Olympics in Italy, which NHL players will be participating in. Now, before that happens, they have two pretty big games on the schedule. won against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, home of the NFL’s Buccaneers. It will be Boston’s uh sixth regular season outdoor game, but their first ever stadium series appearance. We all know the Winter Classic is the marquee outdoor game for the NHL year in and year out. The Bruins have played several of those. They also played that regular season game Lake Tahoe a few years ago. This time they’ll be on the road playing the Tampa Bay Lightning, a division rivalry that’s uh has not quite gained the same luster as Boston Florida or Boston Toronto, but still a pretty big potential momentum game for the Bruins after what we hope will be a successful January if they can keep things going against Tampa in this game on a national stage, then could be something special. It’s going to be a warmer climate, obviously, a unique Florida backdrop. Hopefully, they’ll get some special jerseys, which will be yet to be unveiled, obviously, but an emotional setting, open air, night game, maybe some rain or wind factors. Uh, still a very big game for the Boston Bruins and it’ll be cool to see them on the big stage playing outdoors. Right before the break, they will stay in Florida to take on the Panthers on Wednesday, February 4th. That of course will be a huge game. Not only because of the fact you want to go into the break with some positive momentum, but it will be the second of three games between the Bruins and the Panthers this year. They would have already played in Boston. Brad Marshon’s return as a member of the Panthers, health permitting, and then the Bruins will play two more games in Florida. Uh, and this is the first of those two games in Florida. Following that, there will be no games for three weeks. And the Bruins, we know, will have some players going to the Olympics. There’s already been a few that have been named to their respective teams. Uh, defenseman Charlie Makavoy will represent the United States. David Posnock, Pavl Zaka will play for Czecha. Quite likely that Jeremy Swayman will be added as a goalie for USA. Uh Elias Lindholm, perhaps Hampus Lindholm as well could play for team Sweden. There may be some others in the organization, but the Bruins could have a pretty heavy presence at the Winter Olympics despite their down season last year. Uh so that could kill any momentum that they build in January. Uh how will these players return? Will they be banged up? We remember how the I wouldn’t say the Makavoy injury derailed Boston season, but it certainly didn’t help. And we know that it had a pretty mental toll on him as well. It could be a blessing though if they are able to go over there, perform for their respective countries, get some positive confidence, come back and think we want to be doing everything we can to be in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. um they’ll need to hit the ground running after the break and it could be, you know, there’s some discussion about whether some trades will be made early this season so that players um could get that extra time to get acclimated in their new cities, a three-week break, meet their teammates, get some uh time in with the coaches, etc. or teams wait until after the break in terms of and if guys are going in terms of seeing whether guys get injured and or cold their stock rises or falls based on the Olympic break. It’s going to be a test for coaching preparation, roster depth. Teams could treat it like a mini training camp and come out sharper. Uh will Marco Stern be able to keep his guys locked in? That’s going to be a big challenge for the Bruins this season. Of course, we’re going to take a deeper look at the Olympics when the time comes. We’re going to have full coverage, but that 3-week break could be uh either a positive or a negative depending on health and confidence gain there. The Bruins will come out of the break with two pretty winnable games, one against Columbus and one against Philadelphia. So, while the two games prior to the break could be challenging, the Bruins could make it out of February with at least a 500 record, say they lose those two games in Florida, but come out, beat Columbus, beat Philadelphia, and that would set up the stretch run, which will take place through March and April. Uh, and we’ll touch on that later this week here on the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast. Tomorrow, hoping to have a guest on. We’re going to be daily this week, taking some days off next week. Uh, but be sure to keep it locked in to Locked On Boston Bruins for all the latest on the black and gold. Thank you for making Locked On Bruins your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the Locked On NHL podcast. No offseason around here. We’re bringing you the daily leaguewide stories that matter most with local coverage you love from Locked On. find Lockdown NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and we will talk to you again here on the next episode of Locked On Boston Bruins.

In this episode of Locked on Boston Bruins, host Ian McLaren explores the potential of the Bruins pursuing Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks via offer sheet. He analyzes the implications, costs, and feasibility of such a move, considering the Bruins’ cap space and draft picks. McLaren also delves into the unique January and February schedule for the upcoming season, highlighting a crucial stretch in January where the Bruins could make up ground. He discusses the impact of the Winter Olympics break in February and its potential effects on the team’s momentum and player performance.

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