If Only the Maple Leafs Had Thought Longer About Bobby McMann
There are some players you lose, shrug your shoulders, and move on. Then there are the ones who make you wonder a few years later, "What if we'd just been a little more patient?" Bobby McMann might end up in that second category. And it didn’t take many years—it only took a couple of months.
One thing Kyle Dubas got right was finding Bobby McMann.
The Maple Leafs deserve credit for finding him in the first place. Kyle Dubas signed the undrafted college free agent to play with the Marlies, and Toronto spent four years developing him. McMann gradually became exactly the kind of player teams spend years trying to find. He had good speed, a nose for the net, enough grit to stand up for teammates, and he looked like the type of reliable middle-six forward every contender needs.
The problem is that the Maple Leafs never really committed to him long term. Brad Treliving's contract carried McMann right to unrestricted free agency, and now he's signed a long-term deal with the Seattle Kraken. Toronto received a second-round pick in return, and maybe that player becomes something one day. But that's the funny thing about draft picks. The team already spent four years developing McMann. Now they'll spend another three or four years hoping that second-rounder eventually turns into, well, another Bobby McMann.
That's the "if only" part of the McMann story.
If only the Maple Leafs had looked at McMann not as a depth player, but as someone worth keeping through his prime. If only they'd recognized that players like him are hard to replace because they don't arrive fully formed. They have to be developed, given opportunities, and trusted enough to grow into NHL roles.
It also makes you wonder about the next wave of players coming through the organization. Ryan Tverberg, Cade Webber, Jacob Quillan, Luke Haymes, William Villeneuve and others are getting closer to needing full-time NHL opportunities. At some point, the Maple Leafs have to decide whether to develop these players in Toronto or watch them become useful NHLers elsewhere.
Related: The Maple Leafs: A House Built on a Weak Foundation
Too often, the Maple Leafs trusted veterans right into a dead end.
That's always been one of the hardest parts of trying to contend every season. Coaches naturally trust veterans because every game matters. But if young players never get meaningful opportunities, the organization never really learns what it has.
Maybe Bobby McMann's departure won't come back to haunt the Maple Leafs. Maybe the draft pick they acquired will eventually become an even better player. But every organization has a few "if only" stories. If only they'd waited. If only they'd trusted the player just a little longer.
Years from now, Bobby McMann might be one of those stories. Let’s hope this new leadership team gives its young players every chance to prove they belong before deciding they don’t.