Darren Dreger dropped a significant trade rumour on Saturday morning: Mason McTavish was the centerpiece of a potential blockbuster deal that would have sent him from the Anaheim Ducks to the St. Louis Blues.
According to Dreger on the Morning Show with Starr and McKenna, Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko could have been part of that deal coming back the other way.
Dreger also mentioned Pavel Mintyukov and Roger McQueen as possible pieces in the package.
Darren Dreger: There was a big deal I'm told that was down the road...included Mason McTavish going to the Blues, and I believe that Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko could've been part; Pavel Mintyukov, maybe Roger McQueen.
This is not a minor transaction rumour. This is a franchise-altering trade that apparently came close to happening.
Think about what Anaheim would have been doing. Trading a 23-year-old centre on a $7 million cap hit, their supposed cornerstone, for a proven top-line forward in Robert Thomas and a veteran defenceman.
McTavish finished this season with 41 points in 75 games, going minus-15 on a team that allowed 287 goals against. The raw offensive ceiling is real. The surrounding situation has not been kind.
Robert Thomas, meanwhile, posted 64 points in just 64 games for the Blues with a plus-22 rating. That is a 26-year-old operating at genuine top-line level on a cap hit of $8.125 million.
What Anaheim would have given up, and why it still matters
Colton Parayko brings defensive depth and a $6.5 million contract. He is not a franchise piece, but he is steady and experienced on the blue line.
Pavel Mintyukov, the young Russian defenceman, recorded 22 points in 73 regular-season games and went scoreless in 12 playoff appearances, finishing minus-5 in that run.
The deal apparently did not happen. But the fact that it got far enough to involve this many names tells you something about both front offices.
Pat Verbeek and Doug Armstrong were at the table talking about a meaningful exchange of core players and top prospects.
That conversation does not just disappear. It gets filed away until the next window opens.
St. Louis finished at 37-33-12, 86 points, ranked 23rd overall. Anaheim landed at 43-33-6, 92 points. Two organizations moving in different directions, which is exactly the kind of imbalance that makes trades like this worth exploring.
The Ducks were apparently willing to move McTavish. That detail alone will reshape how the summer is read.
Whether the pieces ultimately fit or whether one side walked away over a specific prospect name, the fact that this got serious means neither team should be considered locked on its current roster heading into the offseason.
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Should the Anaheim Ducks still trade Mason McTavish this summer if the right offer comes in?
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