The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a storm of discontent early in the 2025-2026 NHL season, and one analyst has already suggested a rather radical solution: tanking for a shot at drafting phenom Gavin McKenna. The suggestion comes amidst a disappointing start to the season, the first without Mitch Marner, with the team struggling to find an identity and grappling with key injuries.
JD Bunkis, a Maple Leafs analyst, voiced his frustration on Leafs Talk following a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins. "I'm formally announcing that I'm just a member of Team Tank," Bunkis declared. "Get into the bottom five, try to get McKenna... Go get the Yukon boy, go get the stallion, go get the chosen one".
Gavin McKenna, a 17-year-old forward, is widely projected to be the top prospect in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Currently playing college hockey at Penn State, McKenna has already amassed an impressive 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in his first 12 games. Scouts rave about McKenna's exceptional offensive talent, with some even drawing comparisons to Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini. His agility, on-ice awareness, and projected star potential make him a highly coveted prospect.
However, the Maple Leafs' path to potentially drafting McKenna is complicated. Toronto traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Brandon Carlo at last year's deadline. The pick is protected if it lands in the top five, meaning that if the Leafs were to finish in the bottom five, they would retain the pick.
The idea of tanking, intentionally fielding a weaker team to improve draft lottery odds, is a controversial one in professional sports. While securing a high draft pick like McKenna could drastically improve a team's long-term prospects, tanking can alienate fans and create a culture of losing. Furthermore, even finishing with a poor record doesn't guarantee landing the top pick, as the draft lottery introduces an element of chance. The possibility exists that the Leafs could tank and still fall out of the top lottery position.
Even if the Leafs were to embrace a tanking strategy, acquiring a first-round pick would be costly. The team would likely have to trade valuable assets to move into a lottery position.
Bunkis's suggestion highlights the growing frustration among some Leafs fans and observers. The team's struggles despite high expectations have led some to consider drastic measures, like tanking, to potentially secure a franchise-altering talent like Gavin McKenna. However, the risks associated with such a strategy are significant, and it remains to be seen whether the Maple Leafs' management would ever consider such a path.
