Jared McCann Initially Thought Maple Leafs Might Protect Him From Expansion Draft After Penguins Trade
For a few days, Jared McCann was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs until the Seattle Kraken selected him in the expansion draft days after he was traded from the Penguins.
There were a few days in 2021 when Jared McCann was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. But it didn’t last very long.
After three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the forward was traded on July 17, 2021, to the Leafs for forward Filip Hollander and a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The move occurred just before the cutoff for teams to submit their protection list ahead of the NHL Expansion Draft.
McCann was a guest on Luke Gazdic's Mitts Off podcast a described the bizarre events of the day. He was at a friend's cottage in Grand Bend hanging out by the beach when he received a call from former Penguins GM Ron Hextall informing him of the news.
"I got the call from Hextall just telling me that they weren’t going to protect me in the expansion draft and that they just wanted to get a pick," McCann said. It’s a business. That’s just the way it goes. I didn’t take it personally."
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McCann, who is from Stratford, Ontario, was initially excited about the prospect of playing for the Maple Leafs, but still wasn't sure about his situation.
"For most people being from Ontario, being a Leaf would be awesome," McCann said.
Moments later he received a call from former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and thought it might be a sign that he was staying.
"I was like, relieved, (I thought) he’s going to protect me," McCann thought.
The 6-foot-1 forward played OHL hockey for three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Two of them were under Dubas as GM of the club, so they talked about other things before the conversation went back to business.
"We just went back to hockey and it’s a weird time, 'we’re going to leave you exposed,'" McCann said of the call.
One day later, the NHL revealed the Expansion Draft protection lists and McCann was appreciative of Dubas for telling him straight up about the news and not making left to wait and wonder.
The Seattle Kraken forward was appreciative of Dubas for telling him straight up that he was going to be left exposed.
"When he told me I was exposed I thought that was at least great of him to tell me, that ok we could be in Toronto or could be in Seattle."
McCann also spoke the Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, whom McCann also knew well from his time with the Soo.
Seattle selected McCann from the Maple Leafs over other players left on the board, including Alex Kerfoot (now a member of the Arizona Coyotes).
McCann's NHL career has blossomed since playing out west. Last season the forward had his first 40-goal season of his career and led the team with 70 points. He was limited to just eight games of Seattle's 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs run due to a hit along the boards from Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.
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