Salary Cap Projections Update For Next Season Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2MTgyNzU0MjE1MzM5MTUz/usatsi_20051928.jpg] The arms race in the Eastern Conference just hit a whole other level. The Toronto Maple Leafs became the latest Eastern team to continue their purchasing spree ahead of Friday's trade deadline, acquiring defenseman Jake McCabe and forward Sam Lafferty from the Chicago Blackhawks, along with conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025. Chicago receives a conditional first-round pick in 2025, a second-round pick in 2026, and forwards Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev. As per the terms of the deal, the Blackhawks will retain 50 percent of McCabe's salary for the remainder of his contract, which expires in 2025. The conditional first-round pick headed to Chicago is top-10 protected. It's hard not to look at this as some extremely tidy business from the Maple Leafs as they continue to load up in the devastatingly strong Eastern Conference. In McCabe, Toronto gets a legitimate top-four defenseman, a player who logged roughly 20 minutes per night for the basement-dwelling Blackhawks this season and somehow managed to produce positive results. In 55 games this season, McCabe has racked up two goals and 18 assists for 20 points, also measuring out at a plus-seven in overall plus-minus despite the on-ice dysfunction around him. That stat is particularly important due to its context, as McCabe leaves Chicago as the roster's only defender to have registered a positive result in that category. His partner, Seth Jones, currently sits at a minus-22. Lafferty, on the other hand, is an intriguing depth forward who should add some extra punch and offensive upside to the Maple Leafs' bottom six. In 51 games this season, Lafferty has mustered 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points while averaging roughly 15 minutes in ice time per night. His possession numbers took a serious hit thanks to, once again, Chicago's overall lack of talent and the putrid on-ice puck luck he's been treated to, courtesy of a 0.968 PDO, according to Natural Stat Trick [http://naturalstattrick.com]. With both players being added to a Leafs roster that stands among the best in the NHL, an improvement across the board seems fair to forecast. They didn't come for free, though. The Maple Leafs dealt a first-round pick for the second time this month in order to get McCabe and Lafferty, leaving them with just 15 picks in the next three drafts combined. Only three of them come in the third round or above. Then again, that's the price a win-now team must pay. And with the moves GM Kyle Dubas has made in the lead-up to the trade deadline, the Maple Leafs are in a prime position to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown. And they don't appear to be done, either.
