The Toronto Maple Leafs have some work to do.
Not to make the playoffs, though. To keep their own draft pick.
You see, the Maple Leafs only keep their 2026 first-round pick if it’s in the top-five of the draft.
And they’ll have to tank nice and firmly to make it down to that point on the draft board.
“There’s the dilemma with their first-round pick this season, which they will only be able to use if it is a top-five pick,” Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell wrote on Tuesday. “Do they tank to guarantee getting that pick, or do they try to make the playoffs to not worry about it at all?”
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It’ll be tough for the Maple Leafs to make the playoffs, and even tougher for them to make the postseason and make noise once they’re there.
It’d be easier to sell off some veteran pieces and fall further down the standings.
It’s really an organizational dilemma, because the Maple Leafs don’t generally view themselves as sellers. Even though they haven’t had big success in recent years, they generally go for it, because that’s what marquee franchises do.
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Most of Toronto’s roster would be available in a trade for the right price. It’ll be more a matter of figuring out the approach.
“The biggest challenge will be walking the line between selling enough players to acquire adequate assets and leaving enough players to field a good enough team to compete again next season,” Maxwell writes.
It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on Toronto before the March 6 NHL trade deadline. They’ll be busy one way or the other.
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