Blackhawks trade Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty to Maple Leafs for picks, prospects

The Blackhawks traded defenseman Jake McCabe and center Sam Lafferty to the Maple Leafs in a Monday blockbuster to kick off deadline week.

In exchange, the Hawks received a 2025 first-round draft pick and a 2026 second-round pick, as well as low-tier forward prospects Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev.

The Hawks also sent conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025 to Toronto and retained 50% of McCabe’s $4 million salary-cap hit through 2025. The Leafs’ 2025 first-round pick is top-10 protected and will slide to 2026 if the protection is activated.

The Hawks’ 2025 fifth-round pick could become a third-round pick if McCabe plays fewer than 20 games next regular season or fewer than 50% of the Leafs’ playoff games.

Anderson is a 24-year-old winger who has bounced between the AHL and NHL the last five seasons with the Devils and Leafs, producing a high level in the minors but not so much in the big leagues. The Hawks likely hope they can unlock more in him, not unlike what they did with Lafferty after acquiring him from the Penguins last season.

Gogolev is a 23-year-old wing who has played in the ECHL this season. He’s expected to report to Rockford.

The first-round pick can be functionally thought of as the return for McCabe, with the second-round pick functionally the return for Lafferty. Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson had shopped the two players separately but ultimately found the same suitor for both.

It’s a massive deal to begin what will likely be a massive week for the Hawks, with Patrick Kane’s much-anticipated likely move to the Rangers still to come and others like Max Domi, Andreas Athanasiou and Connor Murphy also potentially on the block.

This story will be updated.