It’s clear that if the Calgary Flames want to become a better team, they need more talent down the middle.

Steps have already been taken to address that, beginning with the acquisition of Morgan Frost this past season and continuing with a centre-heavy draft class that included Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter and Theo Stockselius.

While the prospects are exciting, they’re not in a position to provide immediate help. Reschny and Potter will play in the NCAA next season, and Stockselius isn’t quite ready to make the jump to the pros. With a weak free-agent market, if the Flames hope to improve this coming season, it will likely have to happen via trade.

For general manager Craig Conroy, the blueprint has been clear: acquire young, skilled players with size — and most importantly, players who want to be in Calgary. Among the rumoured targets, a couple names fit that mould. Marco Rossi has been on the radar for some time, but a new name has entered the conversation in recent weeks: Mason McTavish.

The Anaheim Ducks forward is a 22-year-old, left-shot centre heading into his fourth full NHL season. McTavish being available on the trade market might be a surprise, considering his age and the fact he’s already proven himself at the NHL level. But it’s believed he may be unhappy with the direction Anaheim is going.

Anaheim traded Jamie Drysdale last season, recently moved Trevor Zegras, and has now added Mikael Granlund on a three-year deal. Their first-round pick, Roger McQueen, is also expected to play a significant role soon. With so many pieces in flux, McTavish’s role may soon begin to be reduced — and that could open the door for the need of a fresh start elsewhere as he looks to fulfill a larger role.

McTavish has been a steady contributor at centre for the Ducks over his first three full seasons. He posted 42 and 43 points in his first two years and had his best season yet in 2024–25 with a career-high 52 points, including 22 goals and 30 assists.

Beyond his consistent offensive production, McTavish has shown noticeable growth in his defensive game, making him on his way to becoming a well-rounded player.

While the numbers aren’t jaw-dropping, they’re still impressive for a 22-year-old playing around 16 minutes a night on the league’s 24th-ranked team.

Although he has yet to appear in the Stanley Cup playoffs — the ultimate proving ground — McTavish has excelled on big stages early in his career. Many remember his dramatic, game-saving stop against Finland in the gold medal game at the 2022 World Juniors. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Olympics.

While the World Juniors and a NHL player-less Olympic tournament aren’t exactly comparable to NHL playoff intensity, we’ve seen McTavish rise to the moment. There’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t do the same in a playoff run.

As it stands, Calgary’s depth down the middle includes Nazem Kadri, Morgan Frost, Mikael Backlund and Justin Kirkland. While Connor Zary and Yegor Sharangovich are listed as centres, they’ve primarily been deployed on the wing, so we’ll leave them out for now.

That quartet is solid, but likely not strong enough to power a deep playoff run.

Backlund, 36, is aging and entering the final year of his contract. As a beloved veteran, the odds of him remaining in Calgary long-term aren’t great.

Kadri has publicly stated he wants to stay, but his name continues to surface in trade rumours, and it’s unclear how long he’ll remain a Flame.

Frost has two years to show what he’s capable of after signing an extension recently, and there’s hope Kirkland can return to the form he showed in a brief stint with the team before a season-ending knee injury.

The recurring theme among these four is that none currently represents a long-term solution. Kadri is the only one signed beyond two years — and there’s no guarantee he’ll still be in Calgary to finish out his deal. That’s not an ideal foundation if the Flames are aiming to build lasting success.

Adding a player like McTavish could make a major difference for the Flames. He’d immediately step into the top six and log significant minutes at even strength, on the power play, and likely the penalty kill as well.

His arrival would give head coach Ryan Huska plenty of lineup options. McTavish could centre a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zary, or play between Matt Coronato and one of Joel Farabee or Yegor Sharangovich.

McTavish excels at doing the dirty work — battling along the boards, grinding in front of the net and applying pressure on the forecheck. Pairing him with natural shooters like Coronato or Sharangovich could be a strong match. Let the shooters shoot, and McTavish clean up the rebounds.

Imagine a one-two punch of Kadri and McTavish down the middle. Or even a one-two-three combo of Kadri, McTavish and Reschny in two years. That’s a much brighter picture than what the Flames have had for some time.

Acquiring a young, established centre like McTavish wouldn’t be cheap. Calgary would almost certainly have to part with both current and future assets.

The conversation would likely start with one of the Flames’ two 2026 first-round picks. The question becomes: do they offer their own pick or the unprotected pick acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights? Calgary’s pick may hold more value, given the expectation that they’ll finish lower in the standings than Vegas.

As for prospects, Sam Honzek could make sense going the other way. The 2023 first-rounder got a taste of NHL action last season. While his production hasn’t popped yet, he remains a promising young centre — and a change of scenery could benefit him.

Anaheim would probably want an NHL-ready player as part of the return, too. You can safely assume they’d ask about Connor Zary. As Robert Munnich recently noted, the Flames need to be wary of repeating their mistake with Sam Bennett. It may be too early to give up on Zary — but he could be the key piece needed to make this deal happen.

Perhaps Conroy could pivot the conversation to players like Sharangovich (with retained salary) or Farabee. But if that’s the route, Calgary might have to include an additional pick — possibly one of its two third-rounders in 2026 or a future selection in 2027.

To summarize, two potential trade packages for McTavish could look like:

It’s possible this is off-base, but generally speaking, that’s the kind of return Anaheim would likely be after.

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