Re-Drafting Toronto Maple Leafs History: 2014 NHL Entry Draft

The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the start of a rebuild for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Having just hired Brendan Shanahan as the President and Alternate Governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team was about to head into their first true rebuild in team history.

The Leafs had never truly believed in a rebuild. When the team had a high draft pick, it wasn’t on purpose, as their number-one objective was always to win.

However, now that Shanahan was in charge, the idea of a rebuild was something that this team desperately needed, as not only was the team on the ice performing poorly, but their coaching and management was sub-par as well.

After finishing the 2013-14 regular season in a nose-dive, it was surprising to see Randy Carlyle return as the head coach for 2014-15, although his stay didn’t last long.

The Leafs were actually on their way to another playoff spot before finishing the last two months of hockey with a 6-14-1 record, which sent them into the NHL Draft Lottery.

This decline was the best thing that ever could have happened to this team because if they would have magically found their way into another playoff appearance, the likes of Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf could very well have still been on today’s roster, and the Leafs wouldn’t have been able to draft the player they did in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Speaking of which, thanks to the Leafs failing to make the playoffs, they found themselves with the eighth overall draft pick where they selected William Nylander.

Although there was a lot of debate over Nylander’s contract prior to the 2019-20 season, he’s proved that he’s worth every penny, if not more, and is one of the best young players in the NHL.

Let’s now re-draft the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

#1. Florida Panthers

Actual: Aaron Ekblad

Re-Draft: Leon Draisaitl

Ekblad is a great NHL defenseman, but the Florida Panthers sure wish they had this pick back.

The Edmonton Oilers have the best two centers in the NHL with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but the Florida Panthers could have matched that with Aleksander Barkov and Draisaitl had they originally drafted the 6-foot-2 player from Germany.

When you score 50 goals and 105 points in a season, it’s hard to think that you’d be the second best player on your team, but that’s where Draisaitl was after the 2018-19 season thanks to McDavid.

However, with McDavid injured for seven games this season, Draisaitl showed that he can be the best player on Edmonton and best player in the NHL, when he scored 43 goals and had 110 points, en route to most likely winning his first career Hart Trophy later this summer.

With 422 points in 422 career games, Draisaitl has over 40 more points than the next player in his draft class and over 150 more points than third place in his draft class.

You can maybe only say this about the second pick in this re-draft, but Draisaitl already looks to be a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

#2. Buffalo Sabres

Actual: Sam Reinhart

Re-Draft: David Pastrnak

As the original 25th overall selection in this draft, the Boston Bruins’ scouting department deserves an A+ for selecting Pasternak with that pick.

Similar to Florida before, the Buffalo Sabres didn’t draft terribly by selecting Sam Reinhart here, but the fact that they missed out on Draisaitl and Pastrnak shows you why they’re a bottom NHL franchise.

Pastrnak leads tghis draft class with 180 goals in 390 career games, but it’s his last four seasons where he’s done most of his work scoring the following each year: 34 goals, 35 goals, 38 goals, 48 goals.

Although Auston Matthews or Alex Ovechkin may have passed him if they played out the full 82-game schedule, with the season ending abruptly, Pasternak joined Ovechkin as the winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy this year as well.

Like many 24-year-old’s in the NHL, Pasternak has continued to improve steadily each year and should continue to contend for Rocket Richard Trophy’s year after year.

#3. Edmonton Oilers

Actual: Leon Draisaitl

Re-Draft: Brayden Point

With the third pick in the NHL Entry Re-Draft, the Edmonton Oilers still get to select a centre who played junior in the WHL, except he’s four inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter.

Although the Oilers miss out on drafting the future Art Ross winner and potential Hart Trophy winner, they still are getting a great consolation prize in Brayden Point.

Point is another example of how great the Tampa Bay Lightning’s scouting department has been over the past decade. Point was originally the 79th overall selection in this draft, so his stock has risen more than anyone else in this re-draft and it makes sense why.

Point had a break-out season on the President’s Trophy winning 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning team when he scored 41 goals and had 92 points.

Although his point totals dropped a little this year, Point will most likely continue to be reliable 30-goal scorer in the NHL and will be a key piece towards Tampa Bay’s success.

#4. Calgary Flames

Actual: Sam Bennett

Re-Draft: Dylan Larkin

Remember when Sam Bennett couldn’t do a single pull-up during the NHL Combine heading into this draft?

I know that shouldn’t mean much as you never have to do a pull-up during an NHL game, but I feel like that should have been a red-flag for Calgary.

Although these players are only 17 and 18-years-old when they’re displaying their fitness levels during the Combine, a pull-up is pretty easy and the fact that he couldn’t even pull his body weight up once, would at least make me question whether or not I’d want to pick this player with the fourth overall pick.

The Flames didn’t seem to care, as they went with Bennett anyways, although they’re definitely regretting this pick now. Bennett is a steady NHLer, but he’s at best a third-line player, compared to the player on the board they should be selecting: Dylan Larkin.

Larkin is a natural-born leader and will most likely be the next captain of the Detroit Red Wings. His best season came in the 2018-19 campaign when he scored 32 goals and had 73 points, and he’s been the leading scorer on a dreadful Red Wings team for the past three seasons.

Larkin could have been a great young addition beside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, but instead they had to settle with Bennett.

#5. New York Islanders

Actual: Michael Dal Colle

Re-Draft: Aaron Ekblad

The New York Islanders join the Carolina Hurricanes as teams that really regret their first round pick in the top-10 of this draft.

Dal Colle has played 85 NHL games with the Islanders and has been a semi-regular NHL player this year, but he’s not a top-five talent in this draft.

Ekblad on the other hand, who was the original number-one overall selection in this draft, falls to number-five and could have been a great addition the blue-line for the Islanders. The Islanders are already a defensive-minded team led by Barry Trotz, but adding Ekblad could have made them even stronger.

Ekblad already has five seasons of double-digit goals and his best offensive season came this year when he exceeded 40 points for the first time, scoring 41 points in only 67 games.

He’s yet to have that huge breakout season, but at only 24-years-old, there’s no doubt that a monster offensive season is coming for the young defenseman soon.

#6. Vancouver Canucks

Actual: Jake Virtanen

Re-Draft: William Nylander

Thank goodness this isn’t how the real NHL Draft went because Toronto Maple Leafs fans wouldn’t have been able to argue about Nylander’s contract and call him overrated one day and underrated the next, if he was selected to the Canucks.

After scoring 45 goals and 100 points in his draft year, scouts fell in love with Jake Virtanen. However, his game hasn’t transitioned to the professional ranks as the Canucks hoped, and he’s yet to have a 20-goal season in the NHL.

Nylander on the other hand has been exceptional. If you take away the 2018-19 gong-show, Nylander has been a great young player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially this year.

Having only played 68 games, Nylander scored 31 goals while adding 59 points. Second only to Auston Matthews in goals, Nylander has been a perfect second-line winger alongside John Tavares and has allowed the Leafs to go with Matthews and Mitch Marner up-front to balance out the line-up.

Depending on how his career progresses, Nylander could be an even higher pick if we do another re-draft in a few years.

#7. Carolina Hurricanes

Actual: Haydn Fleury

Re-Draft: Viktor Arvidsson

If you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, the name Viktor Arvidsson may not be a familiar one for you.

First, there’s not a lot of Nashville Predators talk in Toronto and secondly, the names like Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen or Roman Josi are all going to come up in conversation before Arvidsson if you’re ever talking about the Predators.

Well, Arvidsson’s name should be talked about more often because he’s a goal-scoring machine.

Prior to this season, Arvidsson led the Predators in goal-scoring for three consecutive seasons. With 117 career goals, Arvidsson ranks third among his draft class in goals.

Originally drafted 112th overall in this draft, the Predators drafted incredibly well in 2014, not only stealing Arvidsson late but getting a solid player in Kevin Fiala with the 11th overall selection.

#8. Toronto Maple Leafs

Actual: William Nylander

Re-Draft: Nikolaj Ehlers

When the Toronto Maple TTLeafs were leading up to this selection, I remember there being a huge debate around William Nylander and Nikolaj Ehlers. Both players were in most rankings between 7-9 and it felt like the Leafs would select either one of these players.

Back-and-forth for weeks, I was on the fence and ultimately thought that the Leafs should select Ehlers. Although Nylander is probably the right choice after the fact, it’s crazy to see how similar these players have been.

William Nylander:

• 2016-17 Season: 81 games, 22 goals, 39 points
• 2017-18 Season: 82 games, 20 goals, 61 points
• 2018-2019 Season: 54 games, 7 goals, 27 points
• 2019-2020 Season: 68 games, 31 goals, 59 points

Nikolaj Ehlers:

• 2016-17 Season: 82 games, 25 goals, 64 points
• 2017-18 Season: 82 games, 29 goals, 60 points
• 2018-2019 Season: 62 games, 21 goals, 37 points
• 2019-2020 Season: 71 games, 25 goals, 58 points

Nylander’s point totals have been a little less than Ehlers, but Nylander’s last season showed us that his career path may be a higher than Ehlers.

Either way, the Leafs would have selected a very similar player to Nylander in Ehlers with this re-draft and the team would most likely be in the same situation, no better or worse, then they are today.

#9. Winnipeg Jets

Actual: Nikolaj Ehlers

Re-Draft: Sam Reinhart

The Jets just miss out on their original pick of Ehlers in this re-draft, but instead they get to select the original number-two pick in this draft, Sam Reinhart.

Reinhart has been a very steady pick for the Buffalo Sabres, but with being the second-overall selection, I think everyone has expected a little more from him. Although that’s not particularly fair, Reinhart going ninth overall is a better spot for him.

Reinhart has already racked up four seasons of 20-plus goals, and is fifth in goal-scoring for this draft-class.

He’s a solid second-line centre when your number-one centre is Jack Eichel but it’s unsure what to expect from Reinhart moving forward. It doesn’t feel like he’ll have a 35-40 goal season, where players ahead of him like Nylander and Ehlers may have, but a consistent career of 25-30 goals and 65-75 points seems like the career for Reinhart, which isn’t bad at all.

The Jets did a great job with their pick in the original draft and still luck out with another solid selection in this re-draft.

#10. Anaheim Ducks

Actual: Nick Ritchie

Re-Draft: Kevin Fiala

Similar to Viktor Arvidsson, Kevin Fiala may not be a player that would stick out from the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

However, Fiala already has four double-digit goal seasons, including two years where he’s scored 20 or more goals.

After being traded at the Trade Deadline in February 2019 from Nashville to Minnesota, Fiala has been a great scoring help for the Wild, on a team that struggles to score goals.

Fiala led the Wild in scoring this year with 54 points, including 23 goals, which was only second to Zach Parise.

He may not be a recognizable name, but currently playing on Minnesota Wild team that has little offense, Fiala could be the Wild’s NHL All-Star selection for the next few years.