TORONTO — Still firmly in their contention window but in urgent search of a refreshed DNA, the Toronto Maple Leafs roll into a hectic draft weekend facing great challenge.
GM Brad Treliving already dealt away his first-round pick (for depth forward Scott Laughton) to serve the now, then watched his top pick (Florida’s) slide to the very end of Round 2 once his eliminators won the Stanley Cup.
Toronto’s pool of picks and prospects is shallow, but that’s a problem for Future Brad.
The immediate off-season concern is patching the big roster hole up front left by No. 1 free agent target Mitch Marner (and, possibly, John Tavares as well) while keeping pace with an improving Atlantic Division.
That means laying groundwork for UFA targets and exploring trade options, particularly middle-six centres and edgy wingers with scoring touch.
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Draft-wise, 2025 signals the reign of new director of amateur scouting Mark Leach, lured from Dallas after 11 years busy stocking the Stars’ shelves.
Leach only has six picks, however, the highest arriving at 64th overall.
Time to spin some magic.
“He’s very detailed,” Treliving said of his handpicked draft guru. “Mark is very knowledgeable when you get into the top 90; Mark knows those players really well, and he really includes and pushes the area scouts for their involvement — and gives them a lot of responsibility — as the draft moves on.
“I have really enjoyed the year with him. Now, sometimes, I have to give myself a wide berth around Mark. We’ll meet, he’ll leave, and then I’ll trade one of his draft picks. That makes him really excited.”
Truth is, as one of the more veteran playoff teams, the Maple Leafs are still more likely to shed picks to help the current cause than load up on no-brainer choices.
We won’t know if Leach has hit gold until years down the road.
“If you look back, he has a hell of a draft record,” Treliving said. “I joke about (trading) the picks there, but he puts value in every pick.
“Whether it is a pick in the fourth or seventh round — whatever you’ve got — his feeling is that there are players to be found in every round. His history has shown that.”
Draft picks: 2nd round (via FLA), 3rd round (via COL), 5th round (via PIT), 5th round (own), 6th round (own), 7th round (own)
Potential Round 2 options
Charlie Trethewey: The six-foot-one, 200-pound defenceman sharpened his game as the season progressed. Viewed as a secondary point producer, the U.S. National Team Development Program graduate projects to be a shutdown type who can pitch in on the penalty kill. The right shot’s physical edge complements his size, strength, and smooth skating. Tretheway brings attributes that appeal to Treliving.
Peyton Kettles: Improving with each season spent in the WHL, the six-foot-five, 190-pound Swift Current Broncos blue liner prioritizes defending and executes a meat-and-potatoes game well. Kettles’ straight-line bursts are quick, but scouts note that his edgework and small-area play have room for improvement. With great reach and fearless blocking shots on the PK, the righty projects to be a solid third-pairing D-man.
Alex Huang: Another right-shot defenceman (notice a theme here?), the six-foot, 170-pound Chicoutimi Sagueneens star turned heads for Team Canada at the U18s. Capable of quarterbacking a power play, triggering transition offence, and leaping up in the rush, Huang put up a tidy 40 points in 64 QMJHL games this season. Even better: He still takes care of his own end (plus-11).
Last year’s top pick
When fans hear whom the 31st overall choice of 2024 is modelling his game after, it should be music to Leafs Nation’s ears.
Getting a taste of NHL camp before captaining the Oshawa Generals in 2024-25, Ben Danford says he’s been trying to channel his inner Chris Tanev.
“He is someone who blocks a lot of shots, plays the right way, has a really good first pass,” the prospect explained to Leafs Morning Take.
“That was someone going through the draft process last year that I kind of looked up to and saw comparisons in our game on what maybe I could be at the next level. For him to be in Toronto now, and for me to get to meet him at training camp, he’s really cool and a down-to-earth guy, and I hope to learn some stuff off him hopefully soon.”
In other words, the right-shot Danford prioritizes hard, smart defending. He brings a fearlessness to his shifts and leadership to the room — and was named the 2025 Bobby Orr Defenceman of the Year as a result.
One not-so-Tanev-like element Danford wields, though, is his size — which he used to crush a few poor OHLers in open ice this season, his third in juniors.
Danford chipped in a career-high five goals and added 20 assists in the regular season before the Generals went on another deep playoff run, only to lose out to fellow Leafs first-rounder Easton Cowan’s London Knights in the OHL championship.
The pride of Madoc, Ont., will be a longshot to crack Toronto’s 2025-26 roster, but we’re curious to see how his man-strength game translates against minor-league pros soon.
One bold prediction
Treliving is light on trade chips and challenged by too many roster players with trade protection, so the bold prediction would be figuring out a trade that addresses Toronto’s great need for centre.
Pie in the sky: Treliving swings a deal to bring Nazem Kadri home from Calgary, and Craig Conroy embraces the Gavin McKenna tank. Or Treliving plucks one of William Karlsson or Tomas Hertl out of Vegas, as the Golden Knights clear cap space for a run at Mitch Marner.
More realistic: The Leafs trade the last pick of Round 2 for a couple more in Round 3 to give Leach a few more precious lottery tickets.
