A trade between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks is finally officially complete as the Leafs have locked down a playoff spot.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was extremely busy heading into the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. He came out of it with Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn, Erik Gustafsson, Jake McCabe, and Sam Lafferty.
The latter duo came from the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that netted the rebuilding club Joey Anderson, Pavel Gogolev, a conditional 2025 first round pick, and a 2026 second round pick. The conditions on the first round pick was that it was top-10 protected, otherwise it would then convert to a 2026 first rounder.
That in it of itself is a very important nugget of information because the Maple Leafs sent their 2026 first round pick to the Boston Bruins at this year’s trade deadline when they acquired Brandon Carlo as well as their 2027 first round pick to Philadelphia for Scott Laughton.
Fortunately, the conditions were never really in doubt because the odds of the Maple Leafs having a top-10 pick was astronomical, but crazier things have happened.
Looking back on the deal, some might believe the Blackhawks came out on top due to the first round pick but McCabe has been a stalwart on the Leafs backend and he’s stabilized a position of need with his defensive prowess, penalty killing acumen, shot blocking, and overall physicality.
The veteran defenseman was also under contract until the end of the 2024-25 season with a minimal $2 million dollar AAV after Chicago retained 50% of his contract. He then signed a 5-year extension earlier in the year worth $22.57 million, further proving his worth and the value of the deadline trade.
While it’s never easy losing a first round pick, the Maple Leafs are expecting to make a deep run this year and that could have the pick land anywhere in the mid-to-late 20s. For parts of 3 seasons and then a 5-year contract extension, the price of a first and second round pick was certainly worth the gamble.
In the regular season, McCabe has 56 points in 160 games, has averaged almost 21 minutes a night, has registered 300 blocked shots and 378 hits and has shown that same level of intensity during the post-season. Expect more of the same this year and beyond from the 31-year-old.
