ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Blackhawks traded defenseman Jake McCabe and center Sam Lafferty to the Maple Leafs Monday in their biggest trade of February.
In exchange, the Hawks received a 2025 first-round draft pick and a 2026 second-round pick, as well as forward prospects Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev.
“In our quest to acquire future assets and continue to rebuild, the currency that is valuable to us at this time is draft picks and prospects,” said General Manager Kyle Davidson. “We were able to acquire some really high quality assets in this trade. Of course it’s not easy going on from two good players… but you have to give to get and we’re happy with the return.”
The fine print contains some intricate details. The Hawks sent conditional fifth-round picks to Toronto in 2024 and 2025, the latter of which could become a third-round pick if McCabe misses some game-played thresholds next season.
The Hawks also retained 50% of McCabe’s $4 million salary cap, which was reached through 2025, and used up one of their three salary deferral slots. The Leafs’ first-round pick for 2025 is top-10 protected and would slip to 2026 in this case.
This is the Hawks’ fourth trade this month — they also took Nikita Zaitsev from the Senators, traded AHL forwards with the Ducks and sent Jack Johnson to The Avalanche — but it’s by far their biggest yet.
“As much as both [Jake and Sam] helped us on the ice, they were even better guys off the ice so it’s even harder to see them go,” said Seth Jones. “We kind of knew this day was coming [for] the last year and a half. But it sucks if it actually happens.”
The Hawks now have six first-round picks up their sleeve over the next three years and eight second-round picks over the next four, after making three first-round and two second-round picks last season.
These tips form the basis of Davidson’s long-term plan. He said the Leafs’ pick, which falls in 2025 and 2026, is actually the Hawks’ preference.
“We don’t want to stack too many draft picks in one place,” he said. “It’s nice to give them out. It gives you the option to potentially use them as currency elsewhere as well. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to make that choice.”
The first-round pick is functionally a return for McCabe, and the second-round pick is functionally a return for Lafferty. Davidson had originally shopped the two players separately, but found the same optimal suitor for both, noting that it would be “easier to make a combo of them.”
Their departures continue to erode the Hawks’ active roster — not that it matters much to the front office — but they reach high points in their respective career paths.
McCabe has had a fantastic bounce back season. His plus-seven rating against a team with a minus 62 goal difference was notable. He also led Hawks defenders by a five-to-five expected goal ratio after developing strong chemistry with Jones in the first pairing.
He recently said when trade rumors surfaced that he would like to stay in Chicago – his adopted hometown – but would enjoy finally making the playoffs (for the first time in his eight-year career) if a trade did happen. Jason Dickinson said Monday McCabe told the team he was “excited about it.”
Lafferty’s season began around New Year’s Eve. Since then, he’d scored 13 points in 23 games and proved even better on defense, prompting Hawks coach Luke Richardson to recently feature him against opponents’ first lines. His acumen in penalty shoot-outs, evident in his four league-leading goals in man down, was another selling point.
He and McCabe are putting together a Leafs team that was strengthened a few weeks ago with the acquisition of Ryan O’Reilly. The Leafs have been drawn by the fact that both McCabe – who Leafs GM Kyle Dubas told reporters Monday was trying to re-sign in 2021 – and Lafferty have affordable contracts into next season.
However, the Leafs had to sever contracts to make room, and from the list of players they made available, Davidson chose Anderson and Gogolev.
The 24-year-old Anderson has moved between levels in the past five seasons with the Devils and Leafs and has reached high levels in the AHL, but not so much in the NHL. The Hawks will look to unlock more in him, much like they did with Lafferty after acquiring him from the Penguins last season.
Gogolev, 23, has dominated the ECHL this season. He will report to Rockford.