Blockbuster Trade Idea Proposed to Send Maple Leafs #1 Pick to Canucks

Based on their woeful finish at the bottom of the standings this season, the Vancouver Canucks were the heavy favorites to land the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. But it wasn't to be, as the Canucks dropped to No.3 while the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Lottery Tuesday night and the right to select No. 1. That selection is expected to be the long-favored top pick, Gavin McKenna.

But on The Fan Hockey Show on Sportsnet today, analyst Mike Futa proposed a wild offer that new Leafs GM John Chayka could make the Canucks, knowing how badly Vancouver wanted the near-local product in McKenna.

His suggestion is as follows:

Vancouver Canucks receive:

No. 1 overall pick, 2026 NHL Draft (McKenna)

Toronto Maple Leafs receive:

No. 3 overall pick, 2026 NHL Draft
Zeev Buium, D

You pick up the phone and you call the Vancouver Canucks and you say, 'What are you going to give us to get No. 1 and take your local kid, your superstar?... Hypothetically, you say, 'I want Zeev Buium, and your third pick, and you get your guy.'

As badly as the Toronto Maple Leafs might want McKenna, it's probably not as badly as the Canucks do. He is considered a local kid for Vancouver.

McKenna was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, but moved down to Kelowna, B.C., at age 12 to play higher level minor hockey.

From the Leafs' standpoint, they have to ask themselves, says Futa, "'Is McKenna greater than the third pick overall, plus, plus, plus?' – whatever you're getting from Vancouver."

Futa adds that Chayka's analytical mind could come in handy here, as he can start working on equations that could also include Vancouver's top pick next year, which will once again be a high pick, most likely.

Buium, 20, was the prized return that the Canucks got in the Quinn Hughes trade with the Minnesota Wild. He was the #12 pick in the 2024 Draft, and is considered one of the top defense prospects in all of hockey, and a future No. 1 d-man. That is something the Leafs are desperately in need of.

Some interesting food for thought here.