St. Louis Blues turn acquired NY Islanders pick into Mason McTavish on draft night

When the New York Islanders traded for Brayden Schenn at last season's trade deadline, the move immediately divided the fanbase.

Supporters saw a proven leader, Stanley Cup champion and reliable two-way center who could help stabilize the roster. Critics saw something else: a veteran player acquired at the expense of future assets for a team that ultimately missed the playoffs for a second straight season.

On Friday night, those critics got another talking point.

The St. Louis Blues, who dealt Schenn to the Islanders, turned one of the pieces acquired in that trade into 23-year-old center Mason McTavish after pulling off a draft-night blockbuster with the Anaheim Ducks.

Shortly after acquiring Schenn, Darche doubled down on that philosophy by extending Jean-Gabriel Pageau for three more seasons. Between Bo Horvat, Schenn, Mathew Barzal, Cal Ritchie and Pageau, the Islanders now have one of the deeper center groups in the Eastern Conference.

The problem, at least from the perspective of Darche's critics, is that Schenn and Pageau represent certainty, while a player like McTavish represents possibility.

At just 23 years old and entering the first season of a six-year contract carrying a $7 million cap hit, McTavish still has considerable upside. Despite a difficult season in Anaheim, where he fell out of favor with coach Joel Quenneville and saw his production dip to 41 points in 75 games, he remains the type of player teams spend years trying to acquire: a young, physical, top-six center entering his prime.

More importantly, he fits the timeline of the Islanders' emerging core.

Imagine a future featuring Matthew Schaefer, Ritchie and a player like McTavish growing together over the next decade. That's the vision some Islanders fans hoped Darche might pursue when he took over. Instead, Darche chose experience over youth and competitiveness over a teardown.

Whether that proves to be the right decision won't be determined this summer. But as the Blues turned Brayden Schenn into Mason McTavish on draft night, it became impossible not to wonder what another path might have looked like on Long Island.

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