John Chayka already knows who the Maple Leafs are taking at the draft and he is not budging

John Chayka met with the media after the Jim Hiller introductory press conference and admitted his first overall pick is already locked in ahead of Friday's draft.

On Thursday afternoon the Toronto Maple Leafs introduced new head coach Jim Hiller to the media in a move that several people have forgotten about amidst all the trade hoopla surrounding Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies; but it's still an important decision nonetheless.

Chayka is confident in his head coach, but Hiller's introduction and questions about his fit weren't the only thing on the Toronto media's mind ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, as it was brought up to Chayka in the middle of discussing Hiller.

John Chayka already has the first overall pick in the bag and is just biding his time until Friday

Chayka was as confident in that answer as he was in Hiller, and mentioned that the Maple Leafs have done their due diligence and they have already decided who they are going to be taking with the first overall pick and it's really just now a matter of time:

We do have our pick and a lot of conviction around it. As soon as the ball dropped everyone was looking at scenarios...you hope to get some luck like that and you're going to want to take advantage. You can change franchises for decades to come.

With that statement in mind, we can safely assume that with all the work and investment the team has done with regard to Gavin McKenna, he's going to be the one they call upon when Toronto takes the stage to kick things off.

It would be a stunning turnaround to switch gears, and though we know that he does like Chase Reid, it's hard to see the team taking anyone other than McKenna, who is looking more and more like a perfect fit each passing day. From his talent to his attitude and philosophy - he's the best of the bunch.

Toronto could surprise everyone and take McKenna and Reid on Friday

But there is still a world where Chayka can have his cake and eat it too. If the team does decide to pul the trigger on a Matthew Knies deal, that could very well involve the fourth overall pick in the draft and at that point it's very likely Reid is available and they can snatch him up.

It's a huge price to pay and there will be other pieces involved but for Chayka, it sounds like he is intrigued by the opportunity to add two young star prospects at the same age and potentially develop them in tandem side by side:

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If he's able to pull that off it would be a stunning coup for Chayka, though a lot of noise around Knies has been just that and there's currently nothing concrete in the works despite the team still listening to offers.

With Chayka confident in his pick already on Friday and the desire to add more, there's a possibility that the Maple Leafs walk out of the draft with not only their franchise cornerstone in McKenna but a franchise-altering defender in Reid.

It's a huge price to pay, but with Toronto not sparing any expense thus far they may be willing to push their chips all-in.

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