The Chicago Blackhawks traded away Sam Lafferty, Jake McCabe (50% retained salary), and a couple fifths to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Joey Anderson, Pavel Gogolev, a 2026 second round pick and a 2025 first round pick. Well, that first rounder could be a really valuable piece if everything falls in place.
Of course, 2025 is two years away, but it's nice to secure draft capital early. Having six first rounders over the next three years is really special, and opens up a lot of possibilities. But the 2025 pick the Leafs gave us should be talked about more often.
Toronto is making the playoffs this year, hands down. However, we could see things start to slip downhill for them, as literally all their contracts expire around the same time. Some notable names being John Tavares, Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner, Ryan O'Reilly, and William Nylander. The only player being locked up long-term as of now is defenseman Morgan Reily - at $7,500,000 a season. All of them combined will be very expensive, and Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, if still there, will be forced to make those tough decisions.
Kyle Davidson is practically banking on the Leafs downfall. That pick will be just around the right time as things start to crumble. Toronto has no draft capital as well, which could be bad for the future. It is worth a mention that this pick is top 10 protected, but the mess isn't going to clean itself up one year out. Of course, Davidson could just trade that pick if the opportunity represents itself, but if I were him, I would keep the pick and see what happens.
