Habs, Rangers and Blues are locked in a battle for one big western piece, and one team is pulling ahead

Pierre LeBrun reports the Blues and Rangers both have offers in to Anaheim on Mason McTavish, putting two clubs in direct competition.

The update is clean. LeBrun says it's St. Louis and New York with offers on the table for the young center.

It also sharpens an earlier report. Frank Seravalli had the Rangers in advanced talks, and now LeBrun adds the Blues as a second team pushing.

Here's the player drawing the bids. McTavish is a 23-year-old center on a $7M deal, coming off 41 points. A controllable pivot in his prime is exactly the kind of asset that sparks a bidding war.

The Rangers' motive is plain. New York finished 29th under Mike Sullivan, and Chris Drury needs a young center to build around.

LeBrun named the two teams in the race.

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Where Montreal fits, and where it doesn't

Montreal belongs in this conversation, with a caveat. The Canadiens were tied to McTavish earlier, and LeBrun himself had them hunting a center, monitoring Vincent Trocheck after getting told no on Bo Horvat and Kirill Marchenko.

But they're not among the teams with offers in. As of this report, it's the Blues and Rangers on the board, not the Habs, so Montreal is a watch, not a bidder right now.

That could change fast, though. A team chasing a center this hard can jump back in, and if the Blues-Rangers race stalls on price, the door cracks open.

The Anaheim side comes down to the return. The Ducks sit 17th, and moving a 23-year-old center only makes sense if one of these offers clears their bar.

Here's my read: a two-team bidding war is the best thing that could happen for Anaheim. The Blues and Rangers pushing each other drives the price up, and McTavish's age and term mean the winner pays a premium.

So this is a real race now, not just interest.

Whether St. Louis or New York lands him, or a third team like Montreal crashes the party, is the thread into Friday. Two offers are in. The deal isn't done.

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