Ironic Maple Leafs’ Draft Success: Great Picks, No Patience

The Irony Is that the Maple Leafs Draft Well

And here’s the irony: when Toronto actually keeps its picks, the scouts usually hit. They grabbed Matthew Knies in the second round in 2021 — that looks like a home run. Two years later, Easton Cowan arrived in the first round. He’s already one of the most exciting prospects the team has produced in a decade. The drafting isn’t the issue. The patience is.

That’s why this deadline feels different. Toronto has only three picks in the upcoming draft, which would tie the smallest class in franchise history. For a team that’s thin on NHL-ready prospects. There isn’t much bubbling up from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies; this isn’t where they want to be. If they do become sellers — and that’s increasingly realistic — the goal shouldn’t be to chase magic beans or “change-of-scenery” projects. It should be to restock the shelves and give their scouts more swings.

The Maple Leafs Need More Draft Picks

The truth is simple: the Maple Leafs need quantity right now. Two or three extra picks before the fifth round would go a long way toward rebuilding a pipeline that’s been drained by years of aggressive, go-for-it trades. And those trades didn’t all fail because the ideas were bad. Most of them just didn’t pan out, which is its own kind of pain. The team paid premium prices, and the players struggled. That forced the organization to give up multiple long-term assets for very little short-term gain.

So yes, the Maple Leafs have drafted well. They just haven’t drafted often enough. This deadline is a chance to change that.