Leafs trade for Lafferty, Mccabe

Kyle Dubas made it clear he was not reacting to trades by division rivals in making the Toronto Maple Leafs’ latest move.

They certainly all go hand in hand in a competitive Eastern Conference.

The Leafs acquired forward Sam Lafferty and defenseman Jake Mccabe from Chicago on Monday, in the aftermath of division-rival Tampa Bay making another pre-deadline splash and not long after Nhl-leading Boston added size and toughness to bulk up for the playoffs.

Toronto sent a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a second-rounder in 2026, prospect Pavel Gogolev and forward Joey Anderson to the Blackhawks for Lafferty, Mccabe and conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and ’25. Chicago is retaining half of Mccabe’s salary.

Dubas, in his fifth season as Leafs general manager, said talks with Chicago counterpart Kyle Davidson predated trades by the Lightning and Bruins, but isn’t downplaying the value of keeping up knowing how difficult the first couple of rounds will be this spring.

“We have to focus on ourselves and worry about ourselves and know it’s going to be really tough,” Dubas told reporters in Seattle. “We’ve been through it before, and we know that these are elite, elite competitors.”

The Leafs look to again be on a crash course to face the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs, after losing to them in a seven-game series last year.

Tampa Bay on Sunday paid a hefty price for forward Tanner Jeannot, sending young defenseman Cal Foote and five draft picks, including a first in 2025, to Nashville.

The Lightning won the Stanley Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21 and went to the final in 2022. This move could set them up for another deep run, no matter the cost.

“The reality at the trade deadline is you’re going to have to overpay,” Tampa GM Julien Brisebois said. “A lot had to go our way for us to accumulate such a critical mass of good players all at once. My job is to sometimes take risks to maximize our return.”