Critical Maple Leafs Mistake May Have Ruined Shot at Acquiring Noah Dobson

When the New York Islanders traded Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, it shook up the hockey world a bit as it shows the Islanders might be calling it early on this season and are gearing up for a rebuild meanwhile Montreal gets another young upstanding player with a ton of potential.

Toronto was a team who certainly could have used Dobson, and with him being shopped around, there were definitely a couple of ways that Brad Treliving could have acquired him; even making a rash decision such as trading away a player like Ben Danford.

But it feels like that may not have mattered in the end. Montreal traded both of their first-round picks in this year's draft in order to take on Dobson, then sign him to a massive extension, and for a player the caliber of Dobson; it's a necessary price to pay.

Which is why the Maple Leafs had no chance, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Without a first-round pick for the next three years (including this draft) the team is looking pretty frail when it comes to either finding a star or trading for one. They traded their 2026 and 2027 first rounders this season for Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton respectively, and it seriously hindered them.

Were the trades bad? Not necessarily, as Carlo and Laughton are both very solid players who are slowly changing the culture of Toronto, and while they have done a decent job so far; one has to wonder where they might be if they held onto even one of those picks.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and while the Leafs would more than likely enjoy having those picks back, they have to deal with what they have right now, but even then it's not guaranteed.

But the continued need for Toronto to trade away their assets for instant gratification has led them down this path. Yes, fans have been patient; for over 50 years in fact.

Yet, the insistence that Toronto wins now has left them not only with a lack of premium assets, but the chance to move those assets for players who can actually make a difference.

It's the price you pay for success, except for the Maple Leafs: Success is still something that eludes them, regardless of the price they decide to pay for it.