Toronto Maple Leafs Should Consider Trading Down at Draft

As much as it would be nice to see the Toronto Maple Leafs head onto the stage on Day 1 of the NHL Entry Draft, they should trade down.

Their 25th overall late first round pick could very easily be shifted by Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager, Kyle Dubas.

In fact, the Leafs dealt that very pick in 2018, when they traded down from 25th to 29th and in turn netted themselves a bonus pick in the third round that year.

Of course, that move in 2018 saw them pick Ramsus Sandin at 29th and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev with the later pick at 76th.

Why Would the Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Down This Year?

Simply speaking, the Toronto Maple Leafs would be savvy to deal this year’s 25th overall pick because they only have the three draft picks total available to them.

Additionally, with the impacts of the pandemic on the development of this year’s draft class, there are very likely to be some steals to be had beyond the first round.

You only need look to the smart drafting of Kyle Dubas and his team last summer and realise that not having a pick in the first round needn’t be a problem; Matthew Knies certainly looks likely to have been a second round steal.

In fact, when you look at first round picks in the Kyle Dubas era; you’re looking at the likes of Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin and Rodion Amirov; all decent picks.

But equally in the same span, the likes of Sean Durzi, Nicholas Robertson and most recently Matthew Knies have all been pick-ups in the second round.

It certainly leads to some thinking that trading down and gaining an extra pick (to total four picks overall) wouldn’t necessarily be the worst option.

Perhaps the most obvious trade partner is one that Kyle Dubas has dealt with recently, the Arizona Coyotes. They have 3 first round picks and 4 second round picks, so certainly may have scope to deal their picks.

Trading with them would potentially see Arizona drafting four times in the first round while still picking twice more in the second or drafting 3 times in each of the first two rounds; you can definitely pitch some value there if you’re the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Assuming Arizona have their eyes on a specific target, the Toronto Maple Leafs might well be able to take their 32nd and 45th pick, a trade-down of 7 places while still remaining in the first round (the last pick).

When it came to the Rasmus Sandin trade-down, the Leafs moved down 4 places from 25th to 29th and it worked out.

Trading down could prove a very savvy move, but it relies on the Toronto Maple Leafs convincing the Arizona Coyotes to answer their calls, yet again.