Toronto Maple Leafs in Full Tank Mode

The Toronto Maple Leafs have now lost seven in a row following Saturday night’s shellacking at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The loss on its own was bad enough, but it could be part of the team’s post-Trade Deadline strategy.

Toronto management, led by GM Brad Treliving, knew the Leafs didn’t have enough gas in the tank to make a solid playoff push. But the way Toronto has dropped its last seven games signals that the team isn’t even trying anymore. While that could be a sign of head coach Craig Berube losing the room, it might also be a focus on tanking for one season in hopes of retooling and turning things around the next season.

The biggest issue with the Maple Leafs’ tanking is the ownership of their 2026 first-round pick. Toronto sent that pick to the Boston Bruins in the Brandon Carlo deal at last year’s NHL trade deadline. However, the pick is top-five protected. So, if the Leafs can find a way to tank in the standings, they might get some help from the draft lottery and end up with their own pick in the top five.

If the Leafs end up with a top-five protected pick, they will have a shot at drafting a really good young prospect. Landing the presumptive number-one overall selection, Gavin McKenna is unlikely. However, there are several great players to choose from between picks two and five.

Toronto’s 2026 Tank is Reminiscent of 2016 Tank

Back in 2016, the Maple Leafs tanked and won the draft lottery for the top-overall pick in that year’s draft. The Leafs used that pick to select Auston Matthews. It seems that this year’s NHL trade deadline strategy is reminiscent of that tank a decade ago. The Leafs sold off what they could to recoup as many picks as possible.

Acquiring numerous picks might also be part of a strategy to move up in the 2026 NHL Draft. It’s not uncommon for a team to trade two or even three picks to move up higher in the draft. This usually happens when a team wants a certain player but feels that he won’t be available by the time it’s their turn to pick.

Toronto will need a positive outcome from the NHL Draft Lottery. As it stands, the Maple Leafs are slated to pick seventh overall. That spot comes with a 6.5% chance of landing the top overall pick. However, there might still be a reason for Leafs Nation to be hopeful.

Maple Leafs Could Strike Gold like the New York Islanders

Heading into the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, the New York Islanders had the 10th overall pick. While they didn’t tank at last year’s NHL trade deadline, they were hopeful of getting a decent pick. Instead, they stunned the entire hockey world by winning the NHL Draft Lottery. They moved from 10th overall to first overall. That led to them selecting Matthew Schaefer, and put the Islanders back on the map.

It’s a roadmap that the Leafs could hope to follow. While winning the chance at selecting the top-overall pick might be a little too much, moving up a couple of spots into the top five would guarantee that Toronto gets to keep its pick and select a player who could become a franchise cornerstone.

Boston would then get Toronto’s 2027 first-round pick, which will be unprotected. This would then force the Philadelphia Flyers to wait until 2028 to get the first-round pick they acquired from Toronto in the Scott Laughton trade. Toronto will still own the Colorado Avalanche’s first-round pick in 2027 (Nicolas Roy trade).

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