The Boston Bruins have an unquestionable need to upgrade both offensively and defensively for next season, an even longer 84-game regular season.
Already, dozens of names have been tossed around in trade talks, chatter, and potential free agency fits have been named for the Bruins.
Some make a lot of sense, including the likes of Robert Thomas, Darren Raddysh and Rasmus Andersson.
Others, however, do not make much sense at all.
One of the more popular names to emerge in recent weeks has been Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish.
McTavish simply is not a good idea for the Bruins to go after.
McTavish, 23, has shown some flashes offensively in his time with the Ducks, but his overall game, especially defensively, show gigantic red flags.
Those red flags are enough that the Ducks healthy scratched McTavish at points throughout this past season, and multiple games in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, despite his six points in 10 games.
Usually, when a team does that to a player who has posted four straight 40+ point seasons, it garners a lot of attention.
Naturally, with the Bruins looking to add an impact center, people began speculating Boston as a fit for the player.
However, the fit just is not there beyond the surface level.
The Bruins value elite two-way play as a top center. They value reliability. The Bruins would not be getting that in McTavish. They'd be acquiring a major project, with the only upside being similar offense to Elias Lindholm, while sacrificing major defensive ability to get there.
Lindholm, despite receiving harsh criticism at times, at least is a strong systemic fit for Head Coach Marco Sturm's demanding defensive system.
McTavish struggled mightily each year with the Ducks defensively, in less challenging defensive systems than what Sturm runs.
Then, after all the hockey reasons, here comes the money part of the equation. The Bruins need to be prudent with their money, even in an exploding salary environment.
That's especially true if Boston wants to be a player in the potential Raddysh or Andersson sweepstakes on July 1.
McTavish just wrapped up year one of a monster six-year, $42 million contract that has McTavish signed until 2031.
Boston would be going all-in on a large $7 million AAV bet that McTavish could become a reliable player.
The rumored cost of acquisition will be steep too, likely a first-round pick, a roster player, and a top prospect.
It's not a price the Bruins should pay, even if they get desperate.
They're better off giving Fraser Minten and James Hagens long runways and a clear path to a top-nine role before clogging up the middle with a slightly older question mark.
