The Maple Leafs already have the first pick, and they want the second one too

Chris Johnston on The CJ Show revealed the Toronto Maple Leafs have been in touch with the San Jose Sharks about acquiring the second overall pick in 2026.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are incredibly creative and aggressive this offseason.

According to Chris Johnston on the Chris Johnston Show, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been in touch with the San Jose Sharks about the second overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft:

The Leafs have been one of the teams that have been knocking at the door of San Jose trying to get the #2 pick.

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This would be one of the boldest, most daring, and risky moves in the history of professional hockey, particularly in the salary cap era.

One thing that springs to mind is what Brian Burke did when he drafted the Sedin twins in the 2000 NHL draft. However, this occurred during the salary cap era, especially if he were to keep the No. 1 overall pick and land the No. 2 overall pick.

One thing is certain: GM John Chayka and the rest of the front office have been incredibly aggressive this offseason when it comes to making daring moves like the Darren Raddysh sign and trade, the Joseph Woll trade, and getting the second overall pick would be the absolute most extreme version of this.

Toronto isn't satisfied with just McKenna and Johnston says they're pushing for more

This front office is aggressive and hungry. The new regime in charge is no longer just "kicking tires" as some would put it, they are getting proactive and getting ahead of the curve.

They clearly want superstar potential in Gavin McKenna. Still, maybe in their draft analysis, they saw someone they liked nearly as much and believed adding the second overall pick would further improve the team down the road.

This front office has certainly been creative, to say the least. Even if they do not manage to get a deal done with San Jose in time for the draft, they are still thinking outside the box when it comes to improving the team.

The front office has been reporting throughout the week about potential deals to get back in the top part of the draft. While it might not be likely that a deal gets done, it shows that Chayka is willing to listen and field offers if it allows them to get better.

The catch is it cost them Matthew Knies to pull it off

This new regime has shown that they have no allegiances or loyalties to any one player, and they are available to move.

Now, yes, it is almost a guarantee that Auston Matthews and William Nylander will remain Toronto Maple Leafs for the next two years however it does not necessarily mean they are loyal to them, it is just that trading them does not make sense.

But someone who could be moved is Matthew Knies. While he is nowhere near the superstar status of Nylander or Matthews, he is by far the most valuable player on the roster. The power forward has been incredible, is young, and locked up long term at a super affordable cap hit, with no movement clause to boot.

His contract is also a unicorn, and will only age better with the cap exploding, but with that said, if you could get a package that provides more value than Knies could be on the table, and it might be one of the easiest paths to acquiring futures and a solid present player to add depth to your lineup.

Now, a deal involving Knies and the second overall pick would be one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NHL history, and it would probably showcase that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in acquiring that number one potential defenseman - and serious about winning.

And the number one defenseman argument is that if the Toronto Maple Leafs acquire a defenseman of, say, a top-10 defenseman in the league level of potential, that impact would be way more vastly felt than that of Knies, on top of the additional depth that might be headed back their way.

One thing is for certain, though, acquiring someone with Knies' skillset is so incredibly hard to do. There are not many power forwards in the NHL with the speed and strength he possesses.

On top of that, there is no guarantee that these amateur prospects actually live up to their draft hype, while Knies is still seen as someone getting better and is only 24 years old.

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