The Leafs selected Ben Danford at 31, but chose to trade the 58th selection to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year's draft and a second round pick in the 2025 draft. It is a very puzzling move by GM Brad Treliving and the Leafs given that they don't hold a pick until the fourth round now.
The Leafs' philosophy is to throw as many darts at the board as possible and they have had great success in recent years in the second round in Matthew Knies, Fraser Minten and, to a lesser extent, Nicholas Robertson. It does give them a pick in the second round next year, but many are wondering why they didn't just push to get a second-round pick from Anaheim in next year's draft instead.
