Completed trade between Chicago Blackhawks and the Maple Leafs is sadly a home run for Toronto

Kyle Dubas traded for Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for prospect Pavel Gogolev, Joey Anderson (now in the AHL), with two conditional fifth-round picks (2024 & 2025), and a 1st-round pick in 2025, along with a 2nd-round pick in 2026.

The Blackhawks would receive a depth forward, and a player who'd never crack an NHL lineup. He'd play 2 games in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs, and haul off to the KHL soon after.

Joey Anderson played a significant amount of time in the NHL, but would later be pushed down to the AHL in 2023-24 and hasn't returned since.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs, in return, would find a reliable playoff performer in Jake McCabe. He'd been one of the Leafs' best defenseman who can play at both ends of the ice, and has been utilized on special teams during his tenure there.

McCabe is the kind of defenseman old-school coaches love, as a player who can use his physicality to wear down opponents, and then later score a goal or make a play on the ice.

The Leafs have utilized him in 31 playoff games, scoring 7 points (1-6)with 16 PIMs. A verifiable win for Dubas, who's known for building teams who can win, but not finish the job.

While it's unrealistic to think he'd ever reach the heights of Cale Makar, physical defenseman have their place in the league, and he's fit on the Leafs blueline since he arrived.

The Blackhawks would use their 1st-round pick to select Vaclav Nestrasil in 2025, and still have their 2026 2nd-round draft pick.