Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. 
McCabe, a defenseman, and Lafferty, a forward, went to Toronto along with a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, for forward Joey Anderson, forward prospect Pavel Gogolev, a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 draft and a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
McCabe has two seasons left on a four-year, $16 million contact he agreed to with the Blackhawks on July 28, 2021. The Blackhawks will retain 50 percent of McCabe’s salary as part of the transaction.
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The 29-year-old has 20 points (two goals, 18 assists) in 55 games this season. He did not play in the Blackhawks’ 4-3 shootout win against the San Jose on Saturday due to a non-COVID related illness.
Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round (No. 44) of the 2012 NHL Draft, McCabe has 119 points (24 goals, 95 assists) in 483 regular-season games with the Blackhawks and Sabres.
“We played against him a lot when he was in Buffalo and spoke to them in the summer of ’21 when he was a free agent coming off an ACL injury,” Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said. “Just always liked how physical he is, competitive he is in the neutral zone and combined with how he can defend and move the puck. He seems to relish that role. With Jake Muzzin out, that creates the hole there that we’ve talked about and feel like he fits that.”
Lafferty is in the first season of a two-year contract he signed with the Blackhawks on April 29 and can become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Alexander Nylander on Jan. 5, 2022. He has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 51 games this season.
Selected by the Penguins in the fourth round (No. 113) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Lafferty has 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) in 191 regular-season games for the Blackhawks and Penguins and no points in one Stanley Cup Playoff game.
“Last year when he went to Chicago, he seemed to come alive more,” Dubas said. “He was good in Pittsburgh as well and then got a little bit more opportunity in Chicago. The speed is the number one thing he brings but also the versatility, he’s able to play center or wing. The forechecking, competitiveness, tenacity on the forecheck, able to create turnovers up the ice, be physical, be really competitive. It’s gone in for him more this year because he puts himself in those opportunities with his forechecking ability, getting in behind the defense. But we are getting him for his ability to defend, forecheck, be competitive and bring great speed to our team.”
Anderson, 24, has three points (two goals, one assist) in 14 games with the Maple Leafs this season. A third-round pick (No. 73) by the New Jersey Devils in the 2016 NHL Draft, Anderson has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 72 games with the Devils and Maple Leafs. Gogolev, 23, has 48 points (21 goals, 27 assists) in 33 games with Newfoundland of the ECHL. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Maple Leafs on July 29, 2021.
“In our effort to acquire future assets and continue the rebuild, draft picks and prospects are the currency that is valuable to us at this time,” Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said. “We were able to get some really high-valued assets in this trade. Obviously, it’s not easy moving on from two good players and players that we valued but you have to give something to get something and we’re happy with the return.”
This is the second trade the Maple Leafs have made ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3 at 3 p.m. They acquired forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 17.
“It’s just trying to find guys that can go to the areas that are harder on the rink and score that way as well,” Dubas said. “We know we have guys who can score from anywhere at the top of the lineup, it’s finding guys that can chip in from the bottom and we think Noel and Sam can do that.”
The Maple Leafs (37-15-8) are second in the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of the third-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
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