The Maple Leafs do not have any second-round picks until 2027 and dealing a first-round pick for just one rental player is a tricky proposition.
The Maple Leafs do not have any second-round picks until 2027 and dealing a first-round pick for just one rental player is a tricky proposition.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are open to trading away their first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to improve their club, but simply trading it away for one rental player like Calgary Flames defenseman Christ Tanev may not be enough.
On the latest episode of the '32 Thoughts' podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, the pair discussed where the Maple Leafs are at when it comes to improving their club before the March 8 NHL Trade deadline.
Friedman noted that the Leafs don't have a lot of high-level draft picks to trade away, nothing that Toronto has their 2024 and 2026 first-round picks in the first two rounds between now and the end of the 2026 NHL Draft.
"Ultimately they are prepared to do it, But what they are trying to figure out is if they could use it to pack a bit more of a punch than just a first-round pick for a rental," Friedman said. "For example, when they were trying to get Tanev and (Nikita) Zadorov from Calgary, I believe the first-round pick was there. They were prepared to do it to get two players and see if they could sign them.
"It wouldn't surprise me at all in trying to get Tanev from Calgary, the Leafs are thinking 'Hey, can we get a second player with this?' Is it (Noah) Hanifan? or is it (Jacob) Markstrom or is it someone else? I don't necessarily think Calgary is going to do that. The Canucks tried to see if they could get (Elias) Lindholm and Tanev from Calgary and they were like 'No we can do more if we split it up'. So I'm not sure it's going to work. But that's the kind of thing I think Toronto is trying.
Friedman also pointed out that many experts scouting the draft feel there is a significant drop-off in talent beyond the top 20 and the Leafs do not want to trade prospects Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, or everyday rookie Matthew Knies.
All of the three above-mentioned players were taken in the first two rounds of their respective draft years.
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