Toronto Maple Leafs Should Have Traded Down in the Draft

Trading down is what the Leafs should have done

The Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t even supposed to have a pick in the first round of the 2020 NHL draft. They traded their first round pick (top 10 protected) to the Carolina Hurricanes to get rid of Patrick Marleau and the $6.25 million attached to him in the final year of his deal.

They almost got their pick back as they were oh, so close to winning the second lottery for the first overall pick or to rephrase it, the rights to select Alexis Lafrienere. If you looked really closely, the ball with the Leafs logo on it was almost the one that popped up.

Kyle Dubas then shopped Kasperi Kapanen to multiple teams with the intention of getting back into the draft by acquiring the a first round pick for him. Multiple teams were interested and inquired about the speedy Kapnanen but when the asking price was at least a first round pick, most shied away.

Then came the Pittsburgh Penguins calling who gave their first round pick (15th overall), a prospect in Filip Hallander and an additional two players for Kapanen and two others. This got the Toronto Maple Leafs back into the first round which was ultimately Dubas’ wish.

Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Have Traded Down

Leading up to draft day, there were many mock drafts having the Leafs selecting different players. Some had them selecting centre Dawson Mercer, others had them selecting someone to play on the blue line but they ultimately went with Rodion Amirov.

No mock drafts had the Leafs selecting  Amirov. Nhl.com writers had him going in the 18-21 range and others didn’t have him going in the top 15. Yet, the Leafs determined that he was the best player on the board and ultimately, the best choice for the future of the franchise.  This shouldn’t be seen as unusual, because the Leafs do not follow  traditional NHL thinkinig, they never have and they probably never will under their current regime.

If this is the player that Dubas and the front office really wanted though, they should have traded down to get him.

The three teams behind the Leafs in the draft, their longtime rival in the Montreal Canadiens, the Chicago Blackhawks and the New Jersey Devils were unlikely to select Amirov if he fell to them. Those three teams needed help on the blue line which was seen by the Habs selecting Kaiden Guhle.

By trading down with lets say the Devils, the Leafs would be able to move three picks back in the draft while gaining additional assets, most likely future draft picks. They could have even traded back with the New York Rangers at 19 who were also unlikely to take Amiorv after taking Lafrienere, a forward, with the first pick.

Even in the chance that Amirov was taken by the Habs, Blackhawks, Devils or Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs would still be able to end up with a good prospect as even Dubas himself said, it’s a deep draft.

They got Amirov though. He only got two points in 20 games in the KHL but he’s only 19 years old and very skinny. He won’t contribute to the Leafs for another two or three years but when he does, he could be very good as he was compared to Artemi Panarin, although that might be a bit of a stretch.