Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs latest trade for Jake McCabe

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a move to shore up their defense by adding veteran blue liner Jake McCabe on Monday. There had been talks and plenty of speculation for quite some time about who the Leafs would acquire before the news broke about the team’s newest player.

McCabe was someone linked to Toronto for weeks. The fact that he adds toughness, shot-blocking, and is primarily out to stop opponents instead of adding offense, made him an appealing trade target. He will ensure things are more difficult for opponents on his own end and uncomfortable for them all over the ice.

So how did general manager Kyle Dubas and the Maple Leafs fair in this exchange? In short, excellent. The trade saw Toronto add McCabe with 50 percent of his salary retained by the Chicago Blackhawks along with forward Sam Lafferty, a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Entry draft, and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2025.

In exchange, Dubas has shipped the Leafs’ first-round draft selection in 2025, which is top ten protected, and a second-round pick in 2026. The Blackhawks are also gaining a pair of forward prospects, Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev.

Toronto Maple Leafs earned a passing grade for the Jake McCabe trade

To fully understand how well Toronto did, it’s important to know what they gave up in Anderson and Gogolev. Anderson has played in the NHL but without having the luxury of logging big minutes or producing offense at a rate to keep him there. However, the 24-year-old has been a serviceable player in the AHL. This season with the Toronto Marlies, he’s contributed 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 30 games.

Anderson may fill the void that Lafferty leaves in the Blackhawks roster for the remainder of the season, but it didn’t appear as though he was on his way to gaining a permanent spot with the Maple Leafs. This trade may actually help Anderson’s career.

Gogolev is further down the depth charts than Anderson. At 23 years old, he has played primarily for the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL this season. He’s done very well there. In 33 games, he’s recorded 21 goals and 27 assists for a total of 48 points. As nice as those statistics look, he too wasn’t coming anywhere near cracking the Leafs’ roster.

Lafferty alone is better than both Anderson and Gogolev. That means, the true price Dubas paid to get McCabe was a first and second-round draft pick. That would be a lot for a rental but that’s not what the Leafs purchased. Lafferty has one more year on his deal. According to CapFriendly, he’ll be earning $1.15 million next season.

With Chicago retaining the maximum allowable salary per the collective agreement, Toronto is only left with a $2 million cap hit on McCabe. He’s locked up for two more years beyond this season. This will be instrumental for Dubas during the offseason as he works to keep his team cap compliant.

McCabe is by far the prize of this trade. This season, he has two goals and 18 assists in 55 games, which is very respectable for a defense-first player. He’s also versatile in that he can play on both the left and right sides of the ice. He should prove to be a useful tool in coach Sheldon Keefe’s chest.

Lafferty may have an opportunity to shine in Toronto as well. The 27-year-old has registered 10 goals and 11 assists in 51 games with the lackluster Blackhawks.

Considering that the Leafs didn’t lose any NHL players from their roster and they gain a useful defenseman on a great contract, this amounts to a big win for Dubas. Overall, this is a B+ trade for the Leafs and a B for Chicago.