The Devils do not need another fourth-line veteran who hits people, plays nine minutes, and gets described as a culture guy. They need something much harder to find: a young top-six forward who can play through contact, get to the inside of the ice, and still produce.

Mason McTavish fits that description. He is not perfect, which is probably the only reason this conversation is even possible. If he were already a clean 80-point power center with no pace questions, Anaheim would not answer the phone. But the profile is exactly what New Jersey keeps missing. He has size, skill, edge, center/wing flexibility, net-front instincts, and enough offensive upside to be more than just a playoff-style add.

There is enough smoke to at least wonder if Anaheim would listen. McTavish's contract negotiation dragged into camp before he signed a six-year, $42 million deal. He did not report with the rest of the team, and Pat Verbeek called the absence "disappointing" while the Ducks were trying to install Joel Quenneville's system. Then came the playoffs. McTavish was a healthy scratch for two straight games in the second round against Vegas before returning for Game 4. The Ducks were willing to sit a 23-year-old core forward in a real playoff series. Anaheim also has the kind of young forward depth that makes a hard decision possible. Leo Carlsson had a 67-point season at age 21. Cutter Gauthier scored 41 goals and led the team with 69 points. Beckett Sennecke is another major young piece. McTavish is still part of that core, but he is not the only forward Anaheim can build around.

New Jersey already has the fun part of the roster. Jack Hughes can break a game open by himself. Jesper Bratt is one of the best transition wingers in the league. Nico Hischier is an elite two-way center. Timo Meier gives them power and shot volume in the right situation. Luke Hughes is already a major offensive piece from the blue line. The skill is obvious, but when games get tighter, the Devils can be pushed to the outside. The puck moves around the perimeter, Jack has to create something absurd, and Nico ends up carrying too much of the hard-minute burden himself.

McTavish addresses that directly. Put him with Nico and Timo and suddenly the Devils have a second line that makes sense in June. Nico handles the defensive details. Timo attacks downhill. McTavish gives them another interior player who can win pucks, get to the slot, finish around the net, and make that line heavier without making it slow. Plus, he can slot in at center for Jack's inevitable 20-game sabbatical.

There is also the Simon Nemec part of this. Nemec may still become very good. He is young, right-handed, skilled, and has the pedigree teams love. Moving him would be scary. But the Devils have created a real right-side problem. Dougie Hamilton is still there. Brett Pesce is locked in. Johnathan Kovacevic has a role and a contract that woulbe hard to move. Seamus Casey needs a path. Nemec needs a new contract and actual minutes. At some point, New Jersey has to decide whether every good defense asset is sacred, or whether one of them should be turned into the kind of forward they do not have.

A Nemec-for-McTavish framework makes sense for that reason. Anaheim does not have to do it. McTavish is young, signed long-term, and exactly the sort of player most GMs want in the playoffs. But if there is any real hesitation in Anaheim about his pace, his fit, or his role, New Jersey should be aggressive. Nemec alone might not be enough. Maybe it takes a second-round pick. Maybe it takes Lenni Hämeenaho as the extra piece. There is a point where the price becomes too high, but McTavish is worth pushing on because he solves multiple problems at once.

He gives Nico a heavier running mate. He lets Timo play the kind of game where he is most useful. He adds another interior option on the power play. He reduces the pressure on Jack's line to be the entire offense every night. He also gives the Devils a little more edge without turning them into a fake tough-guy team.

The risk is real. Maybe McTavish tops out as a 55-point power winger who is good but not special. Maybe Nemec rebounds somewhere else and becomes a top-pair defenseman. That would hurt. But there is risk in doing nothing too. There is risk in keeping the RHD logjam, paying Nemec before he fully proves it, and hoping the forward group eventually finds the playoff balance it has been missing.

McTavish is not just a fun trade-board name. He is the type of player the Devils keep saying they need but rarely actually acquire: young, heavy, skilled, controllable, and useful in the part of the ice where playoff games usually get decided. If New Jersey can turn a crowded defensive asset into that, they should make the call.

Bratt / Jack / Brown

McTavish / Nico / Timo

Gritsyuk / Glass / Mercer

Tsyplakov / Bjugstad / Noesen

Luke / Pesce

Siegenthaler / Dougie

Dillon / Kovacevic

Markstrom / Allen