The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in a bit of a mess. That’s the understatement of the year. Fans and the media have dissected all the various angles explaining why the on-ice product has been so bad.
But there’s one major reason that cannot go unnoticed. The Leafs’ poor draft record.
Now, you could argue that years of boneheaded deals, like sending a first-round pick for Nick Foligno, were part of a necessary evil as the Leafs looked to contend (that pick, fortunately, did not work out for Columbus). While that is partially true, the fact is that the organization has not done too good a job of uncovering solid prospects with the picks it did have.
There have been a couple of interesting hits. Matthew Knies has to be the most noticeable one. During the Auston Matthews era, the Maple Leafs have not had too many high draft picks. As such, landing Knies in 2021 at #57 was a fantastic move.
There have been other good hits. Fraser Minten at #38 in 2022 was a good move. While Minten has looked good for the Boston Bruins, he hasn’t exactly been a lights-out NHLer, at least not now.
Nick Robertson was a good pick up at #53 in 2019, with 2018 yielding solid NHLers in Pontus Holmberg, Rasmus Sandin, and Pontus Holmberg. Oh yeah, none of those players are currently with the Maple Leafs.
And that’s where the major issue lies. The Leafs have had a penchant for dumping prospects for veterans, while sending picks out the window with little regard for what they could produce.
Moving forward, the Maple Leafs cannot afford to move out picks and prospects without really thinking about the consequences of moving them. The organization is not really trending towards a rebuild. But you have to think that’s something in the back of the organization’s mind.
That’s why the Leafs must be thinking about focusing on maximizing whatever picks the team has this year and beyond. Also, scouting and player development have to be a major focus moving forward.
Unless the Maple Leafs are really willing to go through another full-on rebuild, the plan has to be to retool/rebuild on the fly. There have been a couple of good, solid picks in recent drafts. So, why not use that success as a springboard?
This season, the organization could have an unexpected benefit from recouping its first-rounder in such a deep draft. As the NHL Draft Lottery comes up this week, there’s no question that paying more attention to player selection and development has to be a major issue.
Let’s just hope that the next front-office administration is willing to spend the time and effort on building a robust prospect pipeline. With the Leafs ranking 29th in The Athletic's prospect pool, there's definitely a sense of urgency brewing.
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