The St. Louis Blues are building early-season momentum, and Mason McTavish is right at the center of it.
After a 6-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis sits at 5-4-1 and is one game back of the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Through the first 10 games of the season, the offseason blockbuster acquisition has given the Blues exactly what they hoped for and then some: six goals and 10 points, along with a heavy, relentless game that has jolted the forward group.
McTavish has brought a clear edge to the lineup. At 23 years old, he uses his 219-pound frame to keep pressure on opposing defensemen and has quickly become an offensive spark plug. He has fit well on the second line with Connor McMichael and Jonatan Berggren, giving that group a jolt of pace, grit and purpose.
A lot of his impact has come in the ugly areas of the ice. McTavish has gone to the net front, battled for position and made life miserable for defenders.
Against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he created five high-danger scoring chances by working around the crease. In Ottawa, he put six shots on goal, scored twice and added an assist, including one point on the power play.
He has also been steady at the faceoff dot, winning more than 60 percent of his draws in both Chicago and Nashville, then 75 percent against Winnipeg. Those wins have helped St. Louis start with the puck in better spots and allowed McTavish to lean into the physical style that grinds down opponents as the night goes on.
What stands out is that his value goes beyond the box score. McTavish’s forechecking has helped the Blues dig pucks out along the boards and create space for linemates.
He can set up McMichael, the other half of the "McDouble", or finish a scoring chance himself, as he did against Vegas. Either way, he brings the same aggressive tone every shift.
The Blues also have him locked in through the 2030-31 season, giving the franchise five seasons at $7 million. For now, though, the bigger point is that this does not look like a short burst of production.
McTavish is creating shots, winning possession battles and driving play every night, and that kind of effort fits the relentless identity St. Louis has been trying to build.
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For St. Louis, the decision is less about whether Dvorsky still has a future and more about where that future gets best served right now. A move to the AHL is very much on the table if the Blues decide he needs more time to round out his game, and that would naturally ripple through the roster as the club considers how to fill the opening. However it plays out, this is the kind of call that can shape both a young player's path and the team's depth chart in the short term. [Read more 🡒]