Maple Leafs could watch Tampa Bay cash in on a prospect Toronto chose not to sign

Toronto spent the 225th pick on Nathan Mayes. Two years later, Tampa Bay gets to evaluate the 6-foot-4 defenceman without spending a draft asset.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Tampa Bay Lightning had secured their Prospect Showcase roster ahead of the short-three day event, and while there are names like Sam O'Reilly, Dylan Duke, and Noah Steen all vying to showcase their talent, there's a former Maple Leafs strewn amongst them.

Nathan Mayes was added as a player to the Lightning's Showcase roster, and will get an opportunity to play himself into a future role with Syracuse - Tampa's AHL affiliate. Mayes, 20, is an aggressive, physical defenceman who loves to hit and plays with an edge. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he's a young yet intimidating presence on the ice.

Toronto's decision on Mayes says more about its crowded defence pipeline than his pro ceiling

But the Maple Leafs decided they weren't going to give him an entry-level deal, and instead let him develop in the WHL with Spokane. Toronto's 225th overall pick in 2024 never really became a factor in the team's plans, and their additions of the likes of Ben Danford, Vinny Borgesi, Hayes Hundley, Ethan MacKenzie and Ryan Bilecki pushed him out of the pipeline.

It's not to say that Mayes couldn't have added something to the Maple Leafs in the future or at least be a shutdown player for the Marlies, but there's already quite a logjam on the backend in the AHL and he never took the next step - and Toronto can only hold onto so many prospects.

With a focus on getting better now and already focusing on other players, Mayes became a casualty of a new regime who decided they wanted to overhaul things top to bottom. It isn't that he couldn't have been good, it's just management treading in a different direction.

Tampa gets a free evaluation after Toronto spent two years developing Mayes

But their loss is Tampa's gain, and the Lightning now get the chance to see if there's a physical, shutdown defender who can contribute at the AHL or NHL level.

There's certainly a lot of potential with Mayes given his size and style, not to mention he does have 59 career points so he's not offensively inept, it's just not his strength.

Mayes isn't simply buried inside a massive open camp, either. Tampa listed only three invitees on its 23-player showcase roster, putting him in a relatively small group of outsiders the organization specifically chose to evaluate.

Much like the Lightning did with Pontus Holmberg, they could very well end up reaping another player from the Maple Leafs without giving up an asset, and benefitting from their decision to let specific players go given they have a harder time finding a fit. Mayes may not immediately be an NHL player, but Tampa is banking on his potential.

Toronto already had the chance to see what Mayes could offer and decided he didn't fit into their future plans, so now it's time for the Lightning to take a look and see if they can create the fit that the Maple Leafs never could. If anything, it gives them a chance to see another young player who they could end up signing later in the future.

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