Flames' trade offer for Nathan MacKinnon is informative for Maple Leafs
Calgary might have a lesson for Toronto.
Flames' trade offer for Nathan MacKinnon is informative for Maple Leafs originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Toronto Maple Leafs may want to look to the past as their phone rings with calls to trade up for the No.
1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Specifically, to 2013, when the Calgary Flames tried to trade with the Colorado Avalanche for the right to take Nathan MacKinnon. The Flames held three first-round picks that year: Nos.
6, 22 and 28. According to insider Elliotte Friedman , the Flames offered all three to Colorado for the top pick. The Avalanche said no and drafted MacKinnon, who was expected to be good and has turned out to be one of the best players on the planet.
The Maple Leafs this year lucked into the top pick with just the fifth-best lottery odds. They have the chance to take the Canadian phenom, Gavin McKenna. Others will surely try to trade up into that spot to get McKenna for themselves.