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3 Different Scenarios For the Toronto Maple Leafs On Draft Night

By Stephen Nixon

Jun 22, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; Rasmus Sandin poses for a photo with team representatives after being selected as the number twenty-nine overall pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 22, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; Rasmus Sandin poses for a photo with team representatives after being selected as the number twenty-nine overall pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Dec 1, 2018; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas addressed the media before the start of the game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: David Berding-USA TODAY Sports /

 #2. Move Up Or Down in Draft

This is the least-likely possibility for the Leafs on Draft night, but it definitely could happen. Toronto has shown over the past few years that they can find diamonds in the rough with later selections (Rasmus Sandin, Nick Robertson), but their core is also made up of high draft picks (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, John Tavares).

Let’s talk about trading up first. If the Leafs were to trade their 15th overall selection and move up in the Draft, there aren’t too many teams to work with. The Anaheim Ducks (6th overall) and Minnesota Wild (9th overall) are the two candidates that seem possible to make a deal with. The Leafs have been rumored to the Ducks in a Josh Manson deal for a while, so maybe swapping picks could be feasible if meant the Leafs took on David Backes contract or something. Although that’s not realistic, it’s possible.

Minnesota needs goaltending so maybe a Freddie Andersen deal could entice the Leafs if it meant trading the 9th overall pick for the 15th overall pick as well to move up. Who knows, but trading up seems incredibly unlikely.

Trading down is way more likely, based on the philosophy of Kyle Dubas. They’ve done this before in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by trading from 25th to 29th and they still got Rasmus Sandin. Based on how stacked this Draft is, the Leafs would be a better situation to trade down and have two more picks, than one. They need to have as many Entry Level Contracts for the next five years, so if they think they can find two NHL quality players high in the first-round or second-round, then it may be worth trading down.

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