The man behind the Quinn Hughes trade just became the Maple Leafs most important offseason hire

Judd Brackett is the man who built the Quinn Hughes deal and could be the key in finding that game-changing deal and make him John Chayka's most important hiring.

Toronto made the decision on Monday to hire Judd Brackett as part of their front office staff after six seasons with the Minnesota Wild and over a decade with the Vancouver Canucks. He's a trusted scout with a laundry list of prospects to his name that includes Quinn Hughes, Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Elias Pettersson

That alone should give fans a lot of excitement over what this upcoming draft has in terms of potential because if Brackett can be someone who finds a few diamonds in the rough through the later rounds then we could see a very dominant prospect system.

But it shouldn't be lost on fans that the main reason why the Hughes deal went so smoothly was because Brackett was the guy who orchestrated the entire thing for years.

Brackett orchestrated the entire Quinn Hughes deal from start to finish

Just look at the optics. He was part of Vancouver for 12 years and drafted Hughes. He also moved to the Wild in 2020 and they drafted Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, and Zeev Buium in his time there; and wouldn't you know it - those are the exact pieces needed to bring Hughes to Minnesota.

Having that level of insider knowledge to have guys sitting on a team that you drafted and know will help a team that holds the one piece you need to get over the top.

Brackett knew that Vancouver needed a new 2C (Rossi), a young puck-moving D (Buium) and a playmaker (Ohgren) for their rebuild and with questions about Hughes' future; he knew to pounce.

With him in Toronto as well now and his connection to Elias Pettersson, there could be a fit for the Swede to come in and be that blockbuster game-changer who already has chemistry with guys like William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

One could argue that is an invaluable trait in a team's front office, as it's often a game of cat and mouse between what teams want to offer and what they want to receive. So if you have guy who knows exactly what pieces fit where they need to, you'll have a leg up while everyone else is still figuring things out.

Brackett knows how to draft pieces to become trade capital and Toronto's needed that for years

The draft isn't always meant to develop the next big prospect or future NHL star. Sometimes it's all about accumulating the right pieces that both you and other teams covet so that in the future, you can use them as a negotiation chip to bring in that game-changing star.

That's exactly how Toronto needs to start building their pipeline because those once in a generational players only come around and you need to be prepared.

Could you imagine if Matthew Schaefer becomes available in the future? He would cost a fortune but if Brackett and the Maple Leafs are able to build a foundation of trade capital then it may be enough to pull it off.

Toronto being prepared to throw all their top prospects they've built up through the years for a chance to bring in someone like that is once again, invaluable. Most teams would quiver at the thought of giving the farm for a star but not when you have a boatload of talent in the system.

It's an advantage over the majority of the NHL which is something that Toronto hasn't had in a very long time, and may be the difference between becoming a Cup contender or missing the cut once again.

Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Lightning trade for the rights of former Leafs AGM's son Jack Pridham