ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and incoming general manager Alexander Steen may have found another high-end, early-20s player for their new core.The Blues are one of two teams involved in trade talks with the Anaheim Ducks regarding forward Mason McTavish, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, who cited a league source granted anonymity so they could speak about a negotiation that’s not public. The New York Rangers are reportedly the other team.This makes a lot of sense for the Blues.They have been steadfast in their pursuit of players between 23 and 26 years old, bringing in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers two years ago to help accelerate a retool featuring many promising draft picks.McTavish, 23, was the No. 3 pick in 2021. He’s a 6-foot-1, 219-pound left-shot center who can also play the wing. In 304 NHL games, he has 77 goals and 181 points. Across 75 games last season, he had 17 goals and 41 points.The Ducks finished third in the Pacific Division with 92 points in 2025-26, reaching the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. During the season, however, as The Athletic’s Eric Stephens wrote, veteran Mikael Granlund took over what appeared to be McTavish’s spot as the second-line center. That move pushed McTavish to the left wing.McTavish, who was in the first season of a six-year, $42 million contract, was a healthy scratch under coach Joel Quenneville in the regular season and in the postseason.