Jared McCann was part of the Maple Leafs but never played a game after being selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, and still feels like the team owes him a bit.
When the Maple Leafs acquired Jared McCann on July 17, 2021 they ended up getting themselves a pretty solid piece to the lineup and it only cost Filip Hallander and a seventh-round pick. However, the team seemed to forget about the 2021 Expansion Draft happening days later.
On July 21, the Kraken - a brand new team - selected McCann from the Maple Leafs as he was not protected, instead the team wanted to keep defenceman Justin Holl instead. That decision has haunted them ever since considering Holl is nowhere near the team now, and McCann is a perennial 20+ goal scorer who has a 40-goal season under his belt.
Jared McCann never played for Toronto but it still cost the team to bring him in
Now in 2026, McCann is still a member of the Kraken and just came off his third-straight 20-goal season, but took time out of his summer to appear on TSN's First Up ahead of Zach Hyman's charity golf tournament. It was there the former Maple Leaf took a humorous pot-shot at his old team.
When the topic came up of McCann's acquisition and subsequent departure days later, the Kraken forward cracked a joke about how things moved so quick - he's still waiting for some blue and white threads:
Kyle (Dubas) called me like 15 minutes later, told me, 'we're going to figure out the expansion draft'. It turned out kind of different that way, and I went to Seattle pretty quickly. So yeah, I'm still waiting for my jersey.
McCann clearly holds no ill will towards the team and wanted to keep things light. Dubas had a game plan for McCann he didn't implement though there's no real indication as to what made either him or the Maple Leafs change their minds.
But we can't overlook the fact that Toronto spent two assets to bring him in then lost him for nothing when they could have protected him but chose the safer option and ensuring their defence wasn't left shorthanded.
McCann became the exact player the Maple Leafs have desperately been searching for
But it's a little ironic that Toronto has spent the last several years trying to replace McCann when they had him in the first place. Dubas made some pretty solid moves as GM but McCann is one that he could chalk up as a failure.
It's the same instance as when Toronto traded Mason Marchment to the Panthers for 31 games of Denis Malgin (who is no longer in the NHL) and he turned into a 20-goal scorer.
The Maple Leafs have tried to replace his offensive potential with players who haven't really fit. Max Domi had one good year, Alex Kerfoot wasn't the type of player he was in Colorado, and Bobby McMann had yet to become the player he is today - and he's no longer with the team either (ironically, thriving in Seattle with McCann).
They did so again this past summer when they added Jack Roslovic. He's a versatile player who can play the wing and centre, has multiple 20-goal seasons, and is familiar with Auston Matthews. But he also cost them $4M per year and not nearly as consistent as McCann who only makes $5M per season.
Toronto gave up their shot at what McCann could be because their defence needed a bit more protection against the expansion draft. The team was seemingly comfortable with the Core Four and the offensive side and McCann was the casualty, but it led to Toronto trying to replace what they had all along.
Do you think Toronto regrets trading Jared McCann five years later?
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