One of Kyle Dubas' Final Trades as GM Might Have the Leafs Looking Back With Regret Again

There's always going to be hindsight bias when you look back on trades, especially those involving draft picks. In saying that, the Toronto Maple Leafs are about to uncover another fatal flaw from Kyle Dubas' tenure with Sam Rinzel making his rounds for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Maple Leafs traded their 25th overall pick from the 2022 NHL draft to Chicago in an effort to unload the contract of goaltender Petr Mrazek, who still had 2 years remaining on his deal at an AAV of $3.8 million.

In return, Toronto received a second round pick that turned into Fraser Minten, but had they held on to their original pick, they could have had a 6'4, right shot defenseman ready to make an impact tomorrow.

Fast forward 3 years later and Mrazek righted the ship in Chicago, Minten was traded to Boston at the trade deadline for Brandon Carlo, and Rinzel is entering the 2025-26 season as a potential front runner for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

Rinzel quickly rose up the ranks with 2 stellar seasons in the NCAA with the University of Minnesota. He scored 28 points in 39 games in his first season before finishing things off with 10 goals and 32 points last year as he made his way to the NHL for the final 9 contests.

Dubas clearly felt he needed to get out of Mrazek's contract after an uneven first season in Toronto, where he posted an .888 SV% and a 3.34 GAA in 20 games. On the surface, the move didn't seem all that bad as they only dropped 13 spots in the draft, but in the end it proved to be very costly.

At the very least, the Leafs were able to acquire Carlo from the Bruins in exchange for Minten, who hadn't quite made the impact they were hoping for. Carlo was a great addition to the blue-line last year and he should be expected to shoulder a large burden of defensive responsibilities in 2025-26.

It might have been a move that saved the Leafs cap space but it proved to be very costly for a different reason. Rinzel has just 9 NHL games under his belt, so it could be a bit premature, but the 21-year-old has all the makings of a top pair defenseman who is big, mobile, and has great offensive instincts.