What the Maple Leafs could get in a Bobby McMann trade

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When Bobby McMann scored into an empty net to seal a Maple Leafs win in Calgary on Monday night, we couldn’t help but wonder.

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How many goals for the Leafs does McMann have left in him?

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It has nothing to do with potential.

When McMann closed the deal against the Flames in a 4-2 Toronto victory, it was his 18th goal of 2025-26. He’s two goals shy of tying his National Hockey League career high of 20, set last season, and is bound to finish in the range of 25-30 goals.

It has to do more with what team McMann will be playing for when he attempts to get within close range of 30 goals. Will it be with the Leafs, who presumably would be making a bigger push to re-sign him if they were in true playoff contention, or will it be with a Stanley Cup contender?

What’s the chatter involving McMann?

Speculation has been increasing that the Leafs will be sellers before the NHL trade deadline on March 6, even with consecutive wins heading into their final game before the Olympic break, on Tuesday night in Edmonton against the Oilers.

If general manager Brad Treliving pulls the trigger on a McMann trade — there’s a freeze during the Olympic break from Feb. 4-22 — what comes to Toronto should not be insignificant.

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The trade involving Kiefer Sherwood in January is seen as a potential comparison in regard to what the Leafs could get for McMann.

In sending Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 19, the Vancouver Canucks received a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and minor-league defenceman Cole Clayton.

Like Sherwood, McMann is headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. McMann is the final year of a contract with an average annual value of $1.35 million US; Sherwood is finishing a pact that carries an AAV of $1.5 million.

The numbers of the forwards from the start of the 2023-24 season are similar. Sherwood, who has not yet made his Sharks debut because of an upper-body injury, has 46 goals and 90 points in 190 games.

McMann has 53 goals and 89 points in 185 games.

Can the Leafs recoup a first-round pick in a McMann trade?

It’s possible, never mind the Sherwood deal.

After Treliving traded two first-round picks at the deadline last year to get centre Scott Laughton and defenceman Brandon Carlo, the club doesn’t have a first-rounder in each of the next two years.

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Keep in mind that a number of 2026 Cup contenders already have traded their 2026 first-round pick. That includes the Edmonton Oilers, who sent their first-round pick to the Sharks last year to get defenceman Jake Walman.

Also in the high-end group without a 2026 first-rounder are Vegas, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Minnesota and Colorado. Vegas and Tampa Bay each has traded their 2027 first-round pick as well.

No matter what, at some point Treliving will have to restock the Leafs’ cupboard for the future.

A McMann trade could be the start.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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