Photo credit: Steven Ellis – Daily Faceoff
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has a chance to truly restock his draft capital if he plays his cards right and manages to sell high on all his trade pieces.
While they have a three-game winning streak coming out of the Olympics, there are still a few games left until the trade deadline and if the Maple Leafs don’t end up going on a tear, their postseason hopes may be over.
Toronto could be in the market to make a deal….or four
If that ends up being the case, the Maple Leafs are going to be sellers and in doing so, have a few interesting pieces that could end up bringing back quite a good haul after all’s said and done.
In fact, the team could very well walk away with four first-round picks if they play their cards right.
Toronto has four pieces they could dangle to contenders who could feasibly earn them a first-round pick in return: Bobby McMann, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Scott Laughton, and Brandon Carlo.
Breaking down Toronto’s four potential first-round assets
Let’s take a look at each candidate and see how they can bring in those coveted draft assets.
Toronto is treating McMann as a top trade asset and for good reason. He’s on pace to hit 20+ goals for the second straight year, he’s got breakneck speed, loves to hit, has shown to have top-six potential and all of this at under $1.5-million.
That is an incredible amount of value for a contender and while McMann is a late bloomer, there’s no denying that his impact is for now and the next couple of years.
A team like Colorado, Edmonton, and Minnesota can all offer 2027 first-rounders meanwhile a dark horse candidate like the Anaheim Ducks might be willing to dangle their 2026 first-rounder especially with such a wide-open playoff race.
With no guarantees that McMann can continue this pace, it’s best to sell high on him and if the Maple Leafs can turn one and a half seasons of solid play into multiple draft picks then Toronto owes him a big thank you on the way out.
Enjoying a career resurgence, if you would have mentioned even three months ago that Ekman-Larsson could potentially pull a first-rounder you may have been laughed out of the room.
But he looks a decade younger out there, is still showing top-level offensive talent at 34, is a much tougher and better defender than he gets credit for — and he’s a Cup winner. Not to mention he could be coming back with Olympic gold in a couple weeks too.
While he isn’t the #1 defenceman he once was, he is a very solid top-four option who can run the power-play and has a clutch factor that flies under the radar.
A team who needs a proven winner on the backend who can move the puck will be salivating at the fact they can get Ekman-Larsson for under $4-million who still has time left on his deal.
Dallas for instance is a club who doesn’t have a ton of offense on the blueline and bringing in OEL would make him their second-best puck mover behind Miro Heiskanen.
Much like McMann, he might be able to bring in a 2027 first and if the Maple Leafs decide to retain a bit on his salary — it’s a very good possibility he does.
Laughton is a player who might not initially look like he can give you a first-round pick, but it’s what he brings as a collective that makes him worthy of one.
He won’t give you those eye-popping offensive numbers like McMann or Ekman-Larsson but his no-nonsense, gritty style of play mixed with above average defense and elite face-off skills make him a very valuable commodity.
He was dealt for a first rounder and Nikita Grebenkin, and while the jury is still out on the latter it seems for now that Toronto won the trade. If they can recoup that asset on top of another pick that would be essentially Laughton and a first-plus for Grebenkin and a first.
That’s not a bad consolation when you break it down and the 1-for-1 pick swap a year later essentially nullifies what Toronto lost.
For teams who are looking for a bottom-six grinder who can add some much needed penalty killing help, face-off work, and is going to give you 110% every time he steps out there — Laughton is their guy but he might cost more than expected.
Finally we come to the weakest chance of the bunch. Nothing against Carlo, but his time in Toronto has not necessarily warranted a first-rounder and seeing that Fraser Minten and draft pick Vlashek Blanar has been lighting it up overseas — it’s a bust for sure.
But he isn’t a bad defenceman and has shown to be a solid shutdown defender when healthy.
He’s 28, a right-handed shot, a huge presence, blocks shots, is a smart defender, and has plenty of playoff experience. A perfectly suitable top-four option, a team like Edmonton would love to get their hands on him.
A package involving Carlo and McMann could very well bring back a first, a couple other picks and perhaps a prospect like Isaac Howard. If that’s the haul that Toronto can get for a season and a half of each guy — that’s arguably a steal.
So there you have it. Is it guaranteed that the Maple Leafs get four first-round picks out their assets? Let’s be honest, it’s absolutely not.
But there’s a world out there where players like McMann and Ekman-Larsson can bring in first round picks on their own, and a combination of salary retention, desperate teams and a lot of luck; the team can turn a handful of assets into a boatload of picks.
We may very well see a much different Maple Leafs team come the trade deadline, but it may very well be worth it if they come away with a litany of new picks they could use this summer to either find their future or make a splash to buy it now.
Previously on Hockey Patrol