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3 Reasons Why Toronto Maple Leafs Don’t Need Their First-Round Pick

By Stephen Nixon

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 27: William Nylander is selected eighth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center on June 27, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 27: William Nylander is selected eighth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center on June 27, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 23: Patrick Marleau #12 of the Toronto Maple Leaf. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 23: Patrick Marleau #12 of the Toronto Maple Leaf. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

#2. The Leafs Got Rid of the Patrick Marleau Contract

Kyle Dubas found himself in a tough situation when he was named general manager of the Leafs in May, 2018.

Marleau had signed a three-year deal with the previous regime and at $6.25 million per season, there was no way the team could afford to keep him in that final year of the contract.

His game was diminishing and although he was a great leader and beloved by the Leafs, in order to keep Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Mitch Marner, Marleau had to leave.

So what did the Leafs do to get rid of him?

Well, they shipped him to the Carolina Hurricanes with a first-round pick. Dubas was criticized for including a first-round pick with this trade, but at the same time, what was he supposed to do?

I’m sure he talked to every single team in the NHL trying to find a better deal, but there were only so many teams that had the cap-space to do this trade.

With a willing partner, the Hurricanes drove a hard-bargain by asking for a first-round pick, but it was in the Leafs best interest to do so. A first-round pick is valuable, but the Leafs made it top-10 protected to at least give them a chance at the first-overall pick, had they actually won it.

If Dubas had not made the pick top-10 protected, it would have been another Phil Kessel situation and the trade could have been abysmal. However, they needed to get rid of Marleau and a 13th overall pick to do so isn’t the end of the world.

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