Dave Litman
The next shoe to drop for the Toronto Maple Leafs has fallen. In a somewhat surprising move, pending unrestricted free agent Bobby McMann is being dealt to the Seattle Kraken.
In exchange, the Leafs do not get the first-rounder they were hoping for, for instead get a second-rounder in 2027 and a fourth-rounder in 2026.
Extension talks with McMann had been ongoing for several weeks, but the Leafs simply didn’t want to go to where the player’s camp wanted it to. The recent extension this week for Kiefer Sherwood in San Jose probably threw a major wrench into those McMann talks, as the Sharks agreed on a five-year, $5.75 million deal. Toronto was said to have balked at a 5x$5M ask, so anything north of that certainly wasn’t going to work.
Could Leafs revisit with McMann as a UFA this summer?
Will the Leafs be able to revisit a potential reunion with McMann on July 1st? It depends how high his ask is at that point. With the multitude of pending UFAs re-upping with their own teams on extensions over the last couple of months, it seems like McMann will be able to command quite a bit on the open market. Sitting on a $1.35M cap hit on his current expiring deal, this is the 29-year-old’s big chance at a nice payday, and you can’t blame him for pushing for it.
The late-bloomer is sitting on 19 goals this season, and should be able to shatter his career-high of 20 set last season. He’s totaled 32 points in 60 games.
The Leafs sat him out of the last two games to protect him in advance of a deal.
The big-bodied 6’2″ winger brings speed as well as physicality to the Kraken’s forward group. He’s doled out 135 hits this season, and will blow past his high of 134, also set last year.
And did we mention his wheels?
McMann brings much-needed goal scoring to Kraken
The Kraken sit 24th in the NHL in goals per game, and their offense has been badly in need of some extra goal-scoring for a couple of years now. McMann will certainly help.
