The Seattle Kraken have acquired Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick, according to Pierre LeBrun. The Maple Leafs were unable to reach a contract extension with the 29-year-old winger and received a nice return, while the Kraken got a young winger who can be a stable piece of the core for many years. McMann is still in line to be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this offseason unless Seattle signs him to a new contract. His current contract carries a $1.35 million cap hit.
Maple Leafs’ Negotiation With McMann Ends in Disappointment
McMann was one of the biggest questions this season for Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. The 29-year-old winger is a pending UFA in the offseason, and McMann’s value is pretty wonky since he’s just played on the Maple Leafs. His rise is similar to fellow trade piece Kiefer Sherwood’s rise: he was an undrafted pickup by Toronto, grinded his way up to the NHL in the 2022-23 season, and then became a mainstay in the lineup.
Related: 2026 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
In the 2023-24 season, he potted 15 goals and had 24 points, and in 2024-25, he earned 20 goals and 34 points. This season, however, he already has 19 goals and 32 assists in 56 games. He was asked to take a first-line role with Mitch Marner departing for the Vegas Golden Knights, and similar to Sherwood, his high-energy style of play and versatility have made him endearing to fans.
Regardless, it appears that the Maple Leafs couldn’t hammer out a deal with McMann. He was expected to get around a $4-5 million AAV contract to stay in Toronto. However, with just $4 million in cap space (according to PuckPedia), they were not willing or able to part with anyone to open up cap space to sign him.
The Maple Leafs have had a disappointing season minus McMann. They’re currently seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 27-25-11 record, far from the expectations of playoff contention. Auston Matthews isn’t even averaging a point per game, William Nylander’s injury exposed the lack of depth on the wings, and the goaltending tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll has been mediocre, with Dennis Hildeby heading to the American Hockey League.
The division is pretty tight, and Toronto is within eight points of a wild-card spot, but with a lot of other teams competing for that spot, the Maple Leafs thought it best to sell off some UFAs and fight for a top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
It’s a modest return for McMann, and it’s a disappointing turn for one of their top UFAs. The cap space could be focused on hammering out a deal for pending RFA Matias Maccelli.
Kraken Get a High-Energy Forward With First-Line Experience
Meanwhile, Seattle definitely had the cap space to acquire him. For the playoff experience and high energy McMann brings, the cost was well worth it.
The return isn’t bad either. Considering there have been seconds thrown around for fourth liners like Nic Dowd and Michael McCarron, the Kraken didn’t pay all that much. They have $22 million in cap space, so the expectation is that they will be able to re-sign McMann.
Time will tell how he gels on the first line of Seattle. Going from Matthews and Nylander to Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers is a pretty tough adjustment, but McMann fits the gritty identity of the Kraken perfectly. They currently are in the second wild-card spot with 67 points. The Vegas Golden Knights are at the top of the Pacific Division with 72, so the division crown is attainable.
