In the greediest years of the Shanahan and Dubas partnership there was a lot of talk about how the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to build a team that was sustainably good for the better part of two decades like the Detroit Red Wings of the Yzerman/Fedorov/Lidstrom era. A big part of that was the Leafs were going to make sure not to hastily trade away draft picks for short term solutions and that there would be a commitment to ensuring that pending unrestricted free agents were dealt with in a timely fashion. All of that seemed to fall by the wayside after the first couple of swings and misses in the playoffs.

Arguably the Leafs have now gone through five consecutive playoffs of living for the moment and having little to show for it. Talented free agents have walked for nothing, and the prospect pool is as shallow as the days of Stuart Percy and Tyler Biggs. Going all-in takes a toll as the buy-in gets higher each time. At some point, the Leafs need to begin hedging their bets and setting themselves up for future years while still maintaining a highly competitive roster in the moment. While this practice makes sense, the 2025 draft might not be the time to implement it.

The Leafs enter the 2025 draft in a decent enough situation. Having a first would be nice, but in a draft where the high end talent isn’t there, having seven total picks starting with a late 2nd rounder isn’t terrible. There is the opportunity to acquire two players within the top 100 picks and the lack of a late first round pick shouldn’t hold Toronto back.

What is more valuable might be the five late round picks which both the Toronto scouting staff as well as their new boss, Mark Leach, have a history of unearthing talent that the Leafs can develop. Toronto will enter the draft with one of the lowest-ranked prospect pools, but similar to other top organizations that consistently draft late and trade picks, they always still manage to have a player or two ready to make the jump to the NHL and contribute.

The Leafs, to their credit, seem to remember that while Lidstrom and Yzerman were high picks, the Red Wings long term success also included unearthing Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in the final rounds of the draft. Toronto has a good handle on how to strike a healthy balance of constructive draft gambles and creating a pipeline of role players who could fill out the bottom of the Leafs roster on reasonable deals at some point. There also seems to be a growing respect for the goaltending pipeline and how that can fit into the later rounds.

If you look at the current state of the Leafs, having Easton Cowan potentially knocking on the NHL’s door, having Danford and Chadwick as promising defensive prospects, and some players that could fit a need at the Leafs bottom pairing next season in Niemela and Villeneuve, the draft is meeting the needs of an organization that wasn’t going to be accumulating lottery pick talent anyway.

Last year the Detroit Red Wings traded Jake Walman and a 2nd round pick to the Sharks for future considerations. The Canucks trade Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty, and 2nd round pick to the Blackhawks for a 4th round pick. Those two examples are examples of how the Leafs can potentially add their draft picks by weaponizing their cap space. The year prior saw a similar move where the Kings paid the Flyers to take on Sean Walker (and Cal Petersson).

While that aspect of building out the Leafs roster comes with tremendous appeal this summer, the other area to consider for rounding out the roster is by considering moving the Leafs’ 2025 2nd and 3rd round picks for players who could help now.

Over the past two Junes, leading into the draft, players such as Andrew Mangiapane, Alexandre Texier, Reilly Smith, Damon Severson, and Sean Durzi have been dealt for 2nd round picks or later. While some have worked out better than others, all represent an opportunity to add to the roster prior to free agency, and all represented an opportunity to avoid the long term contract commitments that come with unrestricted free agents and that is something that should hold some value for the Maple Leafs.

With a number of teams already up against the salary cap and others having specific targets in free agency there is good reason for the Leafs to put their 2nd and 3rd round picks in play, or at least one of the two. It might feel like the continuation of “draft schmaft” but the potential for getting a 40-point producer for a 2nd round pick in trade when the maximum number of 40-point scorers that sit in unrestricted free agency (pre-buyouts and RFA qualifying offers) is 16.

It would be foolish to assume that a GM like Brad Treliving that has famously stated that “everything must be on the table” isn’t looking at path when his salary cap bank account has $25,000,000 in it. He’s also going to be very aware that Toronto only has three more guaranteed years of Auston Matthews and the competitive window that goes along with that. Playing around with trading at the draft allows the Leafs to prioritize the now, while not taking a significant step back for the future either, and depending on what kind of deals are out there, potentially improving their outlook there as well.

Whether it is bundling picks to trade up, becoming a salary dump depot, or using their best picks to address needs prior to free agency the Leafs need to be active. Showing up and simply making their picks sends the wrong message from the front office about their commitment to change, and if they truly want to change the Leafs’ DNA, it should probably start at the top.