Kent Hughes looking to swing big by placing skilled young player on the market

The Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens are still in discussions, per reports circulating Monday, but Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has not moved on his asking price for the 23-year-old center.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators are also involved. Four teams chasing one player means the price is not coming down anytime soon.

McTavish put up 41 points in 75 regular-season games in 2025-26 on a $7 million cap hit. That is solid production but not elite returns at that salary, and Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has shown no interest in overpaying for adequate.

Montreal listing Kirby Dach as available - with three teams reportedly interested - is not a footnote to the McTavish story.

It is the actual story.

Dach appeared in 37 regular-season games in 2025-26 and posted 15 points. His four-year deal with the Canadiens expired at the end of this season, making him a restricted free agent heading into the summer.

Hughes can move him now, while his trade value is at a peak after a deep Montreal playoff run that ended in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The cap room and center slot Dach's departure opens is what gives Hughes room for a bigger swing.

That bigger swing may be Jason Robertson, whose name surfaced in the same report.

Robertson put up 96 points in 82 regular-season games for the Dallas Stars in 2025-26.

Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill rarely parts with elite offensive pieces. Complicated situations in the NHL have a way of resolving fast once the NHL Draft clears.

Hughes is not listing Kirby Dach to land Mason McTavish. He is clearing the runway for something else entirely, and the Robertson whispers suggest that something may already have a name.