The draft is over. Finally. The NHL needs to find a way to fix this. Four hours of the first round is unbearable television, and Sportsnet only made it worse with their bottom-tier panel.

I can appreciate that the draft is still very much a niche thing and most people are satisfied to read a recap after the fact (I know I’ve been much happier when taking this approach), but this seems like another area where loyal NHL fans are punished, and the sport continues to put its resources towards casual fans. That’s business, but business kind of sucks. And as a loyal NHL fan, all I’m asking for is not to be subjected to a weekend of Sam Cosentino.

Here are some Toronto Maple Leafs thoughts:

Credit where credit is due, John Chayka and company did well with the draft. Maybe not a home run, but a standup double. Gavin McKenna was a free space, and the Leafs didn’t overthink it by trading down for a defenceman or talking themselves into a positional need as a priority. They went for talent, and that will always serve you best.

They avoided the draft day excitement of adding a second first-round pick for someone like Matthew Knies, and that also needs to be considered a win. Dealing a talented young player for a lottery ticket, no matter how good the odds would have been a bad call.

Addressing the blueline by committee made sense as well. Alexander Bilecki, Ethan McKenzie, and Mans Gudmundsson all fit the profile of what the Leafs are looking for and could thrive with help from the Maple Leafs player development department.

Adding a couple more goaltenders makes sense with Hildeby and Akhtyamov on the verge of graduating. Cashing out on Brandon Carlo to have the cap space available for July 1st is more appealing than waiting to see what could unfold.

Chayka’s draft might not have lived up to the fireworks some were expecting from the Maple Leafs, but it was another situation where Chayka executed moves that might not be mindblowing, but they are defensible. That’s a step up over Brad Treliving.

Speaking of Brad Treliving, let’s take a look at the Brandon Carlo trades.

The Brad Treliving trade for Brandon Carlo was, at best, something where you could say he was willing to pay any price to find the Leafs a top-four defenceman. That ignores the fact that Carlo was closer to a fifth defenceman than a fourth on the depth chart, and most of Carlo’s reputation was based on him being the right fit for playing with Hampus Lindholm.

The price was always too high. Fraser Minten’s breakout season and the Leafs falling out of the playoffs made a bad trade worse. If the Carlo trade was the only reason that Treliving was fired, it would still be justifiable.

Fast forward to the present, and John Chayka did perfectly fine in getting two third-round picks for one remaining season of Brandon Carlo. There was no salary retained, and a struggling defenceman won’t be taking up a spot in the lineup with everyone crossing their fingers hoping that Jim Hiller could fix him.

The move pushes the Leafs back up to around $25,000,000 in cap space. If Chayka is going to be aggressive, that cap space is an even better asset than the picks.

At present the Maple Leafs blueline consists of:

That’s a little different but far from the overhaul required. Brandon Carlo’s departure seems to put extra emphasis on the importance of a health Chris Tanev.

The Leafs have cap space and another vacant spot on the right side of the blueline, so that’s an interesting development in a world where Rasmus Andersson is available. That is the easiest and most straightforward suggestion.

The Leafs still have plenty of needs. Another centre capable of fitting in their top nine, particularly one that makes it a competition for who takes the second line role. The Leafs are looking at overhauling their goaltending, and it’s far from certain that Stolarz and Hildeby will be the tandem next season. That could get expensive.

Players like Sergei Bobrovsky, Elias Pettersson, and Zach Werenski will come up a lot as next steps for the Maple Leafs, with the latter two being dream scenarios.

What is far more likely to unfold is an attempt to get better by committee. A lot of smaller moves in the coming days seem more likely. If that’s the case, the hope would be that John Chayka and company aren’t rushing into anything. Let other teams overspend and instead pick from what’s left or take on salary dumps in a fashion similar to what Chayka was used to doing in Arizona. Even one-year arbitration award deals for Nick Robertson and Matias Maccelli might not be bad safety nets for Toronto.

The previously mentioned Robertson and Maccelli, along with Anthony Stolarz and Morgan Rielly, are still very likely to be in play. For bigger fish, it’s likely the field opens up even further for who could be available. An encouraging draft might have the organization open to dealing their high picks from next June’s draft as well. A competitive Leafs team is possible on paper in the coming days, but it is still by no means an easy assignment and will require a couple of big gambles and tough decisions.

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