The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded multiple first-round picks over the past few years which has created a less exciting farm system.
If you live in the GTA and can't afford, or can't get access, to a Toronto Maple Leafs game, the Toronto Marlies were a fantastic alternative. Tickets are always affordable for a family of four and you'd typically get to see a few future Leafs in the making. However, if you look at the current roster, it's uninviting.
It wasn't that long ago that the team produced William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Travis Dermott, Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, Mason Marchment, Trevor Moore and Andreas Johnsson for example. There are even more Marlies graduates than that, as the team continued to develop players properly.
One of the main reasons for this was Kyle Dubas. The former GM of the Toronto Marlies turned GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs ran his farm team like a MLB organization. Within the MLB, "A", "AA" and "AAA" are all very important pieces to an organization as you can sometimes see a player play in all three leagues in the same season before making the MLB.
Look at Trey Yesavage with the Toronto Blue Jays, for example. He played in all three leagues and then showed up in September, eventually starting in the World Series. Despite being a playoff team, the Blue Jays had a superstar in the wings, which is unfortunately something the Leafs can't replicate, as there isn't a Marlies player ready to save the season and guide them to a Stanley Cup.
Leafs need to priortize drafting and developing
Five of the top six players on the Marlies in points this year are 25-years-old or older, and the only player who's been called up is Jacob Quillan. The team called him up, only for Craig Berube to barely play him and then scratch him one game later. It wasn't much of a warm welcome, as he'll more than likely be back on the farm next week.
As for the rest of the roster, there isn't a player who's ready to make the leap or that anyone is excited about. Artur Akhtyamov and Dennis Hildeby are the closest thing to being full-time NHLers, but knowing the Leafs, they'll probably trade one of them and stick with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolar
William Villeneuve is someone who may be on the verge of the NHL, but it's already been six years since he was drafted 122nd overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. A 23-year-old right-shot defenseman who scored 40 points in 55 points in the AHL last year seems like a potential fit on this aging blue-line, but they need to give him a chance soon before he loses his confidence.
The 6-foot-4, 210 pound defenseman Noah Chadwick was a top-10 prospect for the Leafs, but he still has a lot to gain before making the leap. As for the rest of the team, the only other name that jumps out is Alex Nylander because of his last name, but he feels like an AHL lifer at this stage of his career.
The Marlies are supposed to be filled with young prospects and potential but in Dubas' absence, they just look like a worse version of the Leafs. The organization needs to restock the cuppboard soon or they're in for a decade of suffering.