By Jeremy Rutherford and Joe Smith
July 9, 2026 6:00 am CDT
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Another coach on Anaheim’s staff when McTavish played with the Ducks was assistant Craig Johnson.
Johnson, 54, was drafted by the Blues in the second round (No. 33 overall) in the 1990 NHL draft, but in 1996 was part of a trade with the L.A. Kings that sent Wayne Gretzky to St. Louis. After a 10-year playing career, Johnson joined Dallas Eakins’ coaching staff in Anaheim in 2022, and he remained with the Ducks after Cronin replaced Eakins.
As an assistant, Johnson actually spent more one-on-one time with McTavish than Cronin on the ice and in the video room. He recalls a young player with a willingness to work and learn.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/741898 ... n-johnson/
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“This is probably what I remember the most about him: If we would be working on certain things after practice, he loved to compete,” Johnson said. “Who could hit the right pipe the most? There was always some sort of game going on. He was very competitive and always wanted to know what he could do better — all the things you want in a player.”
In McTavish’s first full NHL season in 2022-23, he had 17 goals and 43 points in 80 games. He ranked third among rookies behind the Seattle Kraken’s Matty Beniers (57 points) and the Arizona Coyotes’ Matias Maccelli (49).
In McTavish’s second season, he had 19 goals and 42 points in 64 games. He missed the final six games of the regular season with a sprained knee, so while he had two fewer goals and one less point than the previous season, he played in 16 fewer games, so his per-game totals were both higher.
And he was producing on a Ducks team that finished dead last in the NHL standings in 2022-23 (58 points) and third-last in 2023-24 (59 points).
“He was drafted to be one of the young core players so that when the Ducks got better, he would be one of the key pieces in that,” Johnson said. “I look at what he had to go through, and he went through it with positivity. He was never negative. He was never like, ‘Our team stinks.’ He showed up, he wanted to play, and he wanted to be part of the solution.”
Johnson spent hours with McTavish working on his faceoffs, which improved from a 42.3 percent win rate as a rookie to 51.7 percent in his second season.
“We would drop a lot of pucks, and he worked on getting that faceoff percentage up,” Johnson remembers.
The two did a lot of work, too, on McTavish’s forechecking. They prepared for various teams, such as the Carolina Hurricanes, who may give you more time on a cutback, or the Vegas Golden Knights, who may not give you as much space. After games, they watched video and analyzed each of his puck touches.
“When he gets the puck down low, did he head-check? Who’s open? Does he make a good decision with it?” Johnson said. “Were they good passes? Were they flat? Were they on the tape? Did you put your teammate in a better position?
“He has really good vision, and he’s getting better with his puck protection, too. There’s puck protection where you’re moving your feet, and there’s protection when you’re being pushed up against the boards. So, little things like that.”
In general, McTavish has good vision, according to Johnson. In his four full seasons in Anaheim, he had 103 total assists; 71 of those came five-on-five, and 44 of those were primary helpers.
“He’s very good with — it would be (called) a hook pass,” Johnson said. “He’s able to hook it through triangles, hook it around guys. Off the rush, he’ll find guys. He has that ability to find the second layer of players coming in, too.”
The vast majority of criticism of McTavish has been centered on his lack of foot speed. According to NHL Edge stats, his max skating speed was 21.85 mph in 2025-26, which ranked in the bottom 50th percentile in the league. He had just 29 bursts of 20 mph or greater, which also ranked in the bottom 50th percentile.
Johnson didn’t deny the notion, but had a counterpoint.
“You don’t have to be extremely fast, but you have to have change of speed,” Johnson said. “He just has to keep developing that pace. As he continues to get older and get stronger and redefine his skating, he’s going to play with more pace and more energy.”
The other focus on McTavish has been his play in his own end. He was on the ice for 45 five-on-five goals for last season and 58 against, which was the most against of any Ducks forward.
“He’s not bad in the defensive zone, he is getting better at it, and he’ll keep getting better as he gets more experience,” Johnson said. “He’s big, he’s strong and he has a really good stick, so he just has to use those physical tools to help him in the defensive end.”
The Blues made the move for McTavish with the mindset that he would be their No. 2 center, and the idea of a slower player who has struggled defensively is concerning to many fans.
Johnson, however, says not to worry.
“I think he’s going to be a big-time center for the Blues,” Johnson said. “He wants to be an elite player in the league. He’s going to gain his confidence in the game. Monty is such a good coach, and I think playing for Monty is going to be good for Mason. I have faith in his ability to watch video and learn from his mistakes.”
There will be one other motivating factor for McTavish: the trade.
McTavish and former Ducks teammate Trevor Zegras used to be among the last ones on the ice in Anaheim, and after an inconsistent stretch early in Zegras’ career, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2025. At 24, he had a career-high 26 goals and 67 points in 81 games in his first season with the Flyers in 2025-26.
“When you go to a new team, you want to prove yourself,” Johnson said. “You want to show what type of player you are, and you also want to show the Ducks, ‘Hey, you guys made a mistake getting rid of me.’ I think Mason has a lot to prove, and he’s a player that’s going to work hard to prove that.”
In McTavish’s first full NHL season in 2022-23, he had 17 goals and 43 points in 80 games. He ranked third among rookies behind the Seattle Kraken’s Matty Beniers (57 points) and the Arizona Coyotes’ Matias Maccelli (49).
In McTavish’s second season, he had 19 goals and 42 points in 64 games. He missed the final six games of the regular season with a sprained knee, so while he had two fewer goals and one less point than the previous season, he played in 16 fewer games, so his per-game totals were both higher.
And he was producing on a Ducks team that finished dead last in the NHL standings in 2022-23 (58 points) and third-last in 2023-24 (59 points).
“He was drafted to be one of the young core players so that when the Ducks got better, he would be one of the key pieces in that,” Johnson said. “I look at what he had to go through, and he went through it with positivity. He was never negative. He was never like, ‘Our team stinks.’ He showed up, he wanted to play, and he wanted to be part of the solution.”
Johnson spent hours with McTavish working on his faceoffs, which improved from a 42.3 percent win rate as a rookie to 51.7 percent in his second season.
“We would drop a lot of pucks, and he worked on getting that faceoff percentage up,” Johnson remembers.
The two did a lot of work, too, on McTavish’s forechecking. They prepared for various teams, such as the Carolina Hurricanes, who may give you more time on a cutback, or the Vegas Golden Knights, who may not give you as much space. After games, they watched video and analyzed each of his puck touches.
“When he gets the puck down low, did he head-check? Who’s open? Does he make a good decision with it?” Johnson said. “Were they good passes? Were they flat? Were they on the tape? Did you put your teammate in a better position?
“He has really good vision, and he’s getting better with his puck protection, too. There’s puck protection where you’re moving your feet, and there’s protection when you’re being pushed up against the boards. So, little things like that.”
In general, McTavish has good vision, according to Johnson. In his four full seasons in Anaheim, he had 103 total assists; 71 of those came five-on-five, and 44 of those were primary helpers.
“He’s very good with — it would be (called) a hook pass,” Johnson said. “He’s able to hook it through triangles, hook it around guys. Off the rush, he’ll find guys. He has that ability to find the second layer of players coming in, too.”
The vast majority of criticism of McTavish has been centered on his lack of foot speed. According to NHL Edge stats, his max skating speed was 21.85 mph in 2025-26, which ranked in the bottom 50th percentile in the league. He had just 29 bursts of 20 mph or greater, which also ranked in the bottom 50th percentile.
Johnson didn’t deny the notion, but had a counterpoint.
“You don’t have to be extremely fast, but you have to have change of speed,” Johnson said. “He just has to keep developing that pace. As he continues to get older and get stronger and redefine his skating, he’s going to play with more pace and more energy.”
The other focus on McTavish has been his play in his own end. He was on the ice for 45 five-on-five goals for last season and 58 against, which was the most against of any Ducks forward.
“He’s not bad in the defensive zone, he is getting better at it, and he’ll keep getting better as he gets more experience,” Johnson said. “He’s big, he’s strong and he has a really good stick, so he just has to use those physical tools to help him in the defensive end.”
The Blues made the move for McTavish with the mindset that he would be their No. 2 center, and the idea of a slower player who has struggled defensively is concerning to many fans.
Johnson, however, says not to worry.
“I think he’s going to be a big-time center for the Blues,” Johnson said. “He wants to be an elite player in the league. He’s going to gain his confidence in the game. Monty is such a good coach, and I think playing for Monty is going to be good for Mason. I have faith in his ability to watch video and learn from his mistakes.”
There will be one other motivating factor for McTavish: the trade.
McTavish and former Ducks teammate Trevor Zegras used to be among the last ones on the ice in Anaheim, and after an inconsistent stretch early in Zegras’ career, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2025. At 24, he had a career-high 26 goals and 67 points in 81 games in his first season with the Flyers in 2025-26.
“When you go to a new team, you want to prove yourself,” Johnson said. “You want to show what type of player you are, and you also want to show the Ducks, ‘Hey, you guys made a mistake getting rid of me.’ I think Mason has a lot to prove, and he’s a player that’s going to work hard to prove that.”