Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka insists that there are holes in his roster that need to be filled.

The Maple Leafs seem to improve on paper, especially with the addition of defenseman Darren Raddysh, as well as drafting Gavin McKenna first overall in the 2026 NHL draft.

Nonetheless, there are still opportunities for enhancement in terms of Toronto's roster, and after McKenna was officially introduced as a member of the Maple Leafs, an idea sparked.

The first overall pick revealed that he received a text message from Patrick Kane after he was drafted. It was a particularly neat moment for McKenna because not only is that an idol of his, but one player whom he's modelled part of his game after.

"He's who I grew up watching," McKenna said after he was drafted. "I don't know if it was all the YouTube highlights that kind of made me play like him. But, yeah, he's someone I always watched, and just how creative he was and how smart he was. Someone that's just, I don't know, he kind of rubbed off on me, I guess."

With all the talk about Kane, a future Hall of Famer, the veteran right winger is available on the free-agent market this summer. 

So, would the three-time Stanley Cup champion, Conn Smythe Trophy winner and Hart Trophy winner make a good fit with Toronto?

There's no doubt that he'd have an impact with some of the young players on the Leafs, specifically McKenna, as well as 21-year-old Easton Cowan. In that sense alone, he'd be a great veteran leader who knows how to be successful in the NHL.

To add to the leadership that the 37-year-old Kane would bring to the roster, he's still a talented and effective player.

In his third season with the Detroit Red Wings this past year, Kane finished fifth on the team in scoring, putting up 16 goals and 57 points in 67 games. His 0.85 points-per-game average was an improvement from the 2024-25 season.

The potential addition of Kane would give the Maple Leafs a top-six forward group that could look something like this:

Gavin McKenna - Auston Matthews - Patrick Kane

Matthew Knies - John Tavares - William Nylander

That should allow the Maple Leafs to compete for a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Not to mention, there will still be scoring depth in the bottom six with the likes of Cowan, Nick Robertson and Matias Maccelli (if the latter two are re-signed).

Ultimately, with the talent and youth to support Kane in case his age begins to show, the only issue that could present itself is who wears the No. 88 between him and Nylander.

It should be noted that Kane coming in would add another left-handed shooter to Toronto's forward group, a group that only has one right-handed player on the projected roster.

However, the longtime member of the Chicago Blackhawks didn't cost a whole lot against the salary cap on his previous contract. Kane signed a one-year contract at $3 million with the Red Wings. He signed three one-year deals during his tenure with Detroit.

His cap hit last season was lower than that of players like Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Max Domi. Furthermore, ignoring the players with expiring contracts, a $3-million cap hit for Kane would rank 13th on Toronto's main roster.

See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.