Toronto traded Bobby McMann as part of a group of deals meant to sell high during a down season, and the Maple Leafs are still trying to fill the hole he left behind.
This past trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided that they were going to sell high on Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Nicolas Roy after they were pushed out of playoff contention and had to recoup whatever assets they gave away in previous deals such as the Laughton trade and Brandon Carlo deal (two firsts and two prospects in Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin).
They traded McMann to the Seattle Kraken for a conditional 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick, which was a smaller return than many expected. He flourished in Seattle with 14 points (10 goals) in only 18 games.
The Kraken must have loved what they saw considering they re-signed him to a six-year, $34.5-million ($5.75-million AAV) extension this summer.
McMann was already the player Toronto needed before being traded away
Besides the fantastic output and belief from the Kraken, McMann has been penciled in by NHL.com as starting on the top line with Matty Beniers in the middle and Jordan Eberle on the right wing.
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That's pretty impressive for a player who only a few months ago was floating between the second and third line in Toronto.
His combination of speed, scoring ability and conditioning makes him a viable first-line threat in Seattle and he'll have a trusted veteran in Eberle to play off of, while he and Beniers can start growing long-term chemistry.
Altogether, McMann, 30, had 29 goals and 46 points between Toronto and Seattle in 2025-26 with 165 hits, a minus-3, and only 42 PIM so it's understandable why the Kraken wanted to lock him up, especially since he's considered a 'late-bloomer' by NHL standards.
Toronto tried their best this past offseason adding players like Jack Roslovic ($4M AAV), Colton Sissons ($4.25M AAV), and Brandon Duhaime ($2.6M AAV) to replace McMann's scoring, speed, and physicality respectively but none can offer everything in one package quite like McMann.
These picks as well don't replace the immediate help that McMann would offer to the lineup, and with Toronto needing a top-six player to round things out, he would have made a perfect complement to William Nylander and John Tavares - where he had success before.
Seattle not only saw intense speed from him (99th percentile in max skating speed) but a legitimate 25-30 goal threat who could elevate Seattle's scoring issues - the team finished 28th in the NHL in goals scored, and McMann will help raise that number this season and as the cap rises, his value should only jump should he continue his production and was betting on himself after Toronto couldn't agree to pay him what he wanted.
McMann knew what his worth was, and cashed in just as the money starts to go up.
Toronto has to prove the picks were better than McMann
This part is a lot more difficult to predict given that the 2027 Draft has yet to occur, with the potential for that pick to be moved in a future deal.
Their 2026 fourth-rounder acquired in the deal though was already used on Latvian goaltender Patriks Plumins (4th round, 114th overall) and was part of Latvia's 2026 U-18 team that made it to the bronze medal game vs. Czechia; Plumins had a 2-3-0 record but a .947 SV% and 1.62 GAA while stopping 142 shots (an average of 28.4 saves per game).
Only once Toronto makes their 2027 pick and Plumins comes into his own will we truly know the verdict of the McMann trade but that's a long time from now, and in the present, the Kraken came away the winners for now, but only time will be the real determining factor.
Do you think Toronto was able to replace Bobby McMann?
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