History always provides insight to what could happen in the future. In the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs and their approach to the 2020 NHL Draft, that could mean possibly trading down in the first round. The Leafs acquired the 15th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Kasperi Kapanen deal last month, which replaced the pick shipped to Carolina to get rid of the final year of Patrick Marleau’s contract.
Many draft prognosticators believe the 2020 class is fairly deep and of high quality, which could make teams willing to deal established players for a pick in the middle of the first round, but it could also entice clubs drafting in the lower half of the first round to give up additional pick(s) to move up if they have targeted a particular player.
Kyle Dubas traded down in his first draft as Leafs GM, swapping with St. Louis to move from #25 to #29 to get an extra third round pick. The Blues selected German forward Dominik Bokk (who was shipped to Carolina in the Justin Faulk deal last September).
Toronto was rumored to be interested in Soo Greyhounds defenseman Rasmus Sandin in the first, but thought the Swedish blueliner would be there near the bottom of the first. Dubas’ calculated gamble paid off, as the Leafs selected Sandin at #29 and with the extra third selected Peterborough Petes center Semyon Der-Argushintsev.
The Leafs do not possess third round picks in the 2020 and 2021 Drafts (which were included in the Nazem Kadri and Kyle Clifford/Jack Campbell deals) and would have to surrender their 2021 second rounder if Clifford re-signed with the Leafs (but that is looking to be unlikely).
A trade down scenario would make sense for Toronto to recoup some of the draft picks they moved, but that would all depend on what the Leafs are looking for in the draft and who is still on the board at #15. If the club is looking for a future #1 goalie and Russian Yaroslav Askarov is still there, then Dubas may choose to hold on to the pick, but we could see a deal if they like a player that might be there later in the first as they did with Sandin two years ago.
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