Oliver Kapanen is better than Mason McTavish in three areas

Mathis Therrien
Oliver Kapanen is better than Mason McTavish in three areas
Credit: Chris Tanouye/Getty Images

Once again this year, we can expect a busy offseason from Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens, with several issues on the table.

The Habs want to improve immediately ahead of next season, and that involves three potential acquisitions: a second-line center, a top-6 winger, and a right-handed defenseman.

The most pressing need is clearly a second-line center—a need that was already identified last summer but ultimately never addressed.

In fact, it ended up being temporarily filled by the pleasant surprise that turned out to be Oliver Kapanen.

The Finnish center performed well under the circumstances as a rookie, racking up 37 points—including 22 goals—in 82 games as a 22-year-old rookie.

However, things went south late in the season, and especially in the playoffs, which completely reignites the need for a second center heading into the 2026-2027 season.

This means the team needs a clear upgrade over Oliver Kapanen to best complement Ivan Demidov.

One of the names that has come up most frequently in recent months is Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks, though by the latest reports, he might not be as big an upgrade as we think.

McTavish is often a popular name among Montreal Canadiens fans as a potential acquisition this summer, given that he is a 23-year-old center standing 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 219 pounds.

People remember his prowess in junior hockey and with Team Canada Junior, and see him as a talented pest.

But ultimately, when you really analyze the comparison between Kapanen and McTavish—beyond his talent with the puck as a playmaker and his overall offensive contribution—McTavish has nothing more to offer than Kapanen.

In fact, as the Twitter account JFresh explains, based on its advanced statistics model, McTavish is just as ineffective in transition as Kapanen; he's slower and takes more penalties.

Kapanen is therefore better in three areas: he's better defensively, he has better speed, and he's more disciplined.

So all in all, it's clear that McTavish wouldn't solve all of the Habs' problems overnight, if we're to believe this data.

And even though we really like the name—given that he was the third overall pick in 2021—McTavish still hasn't taken a step in the NHL, while his best season is 52 points in 76 games, including 22 goals, the same total as Kapanen in his rookie season.

(Credit: HockeyDB)

Of course, we have to consider the fact that a change of scenery could do McTavish a world of good, as he clearly hasn't found his place with the Ducks

Perhaps by changing teams, McTavish would finally reach his full potential—the one we saw in him when he was drafted third overall in 2021.

But for now, in terms of advanced stats and even general stats, the 23-year-old Ducks center is clearly not a silver bullet.

So it would really be a case of thinking twice before completing a trade for McTavish, which would relegate Kapanen to the third line—unless, of course, he's part of the trade.


In a Nutshell

– That would be incredible.

– And rightly so.

– Well said.

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