Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: The Toronto Maple Leafs knew they could lose Alex Kerfoot in the expansion draft so they traded for Jared McCann as insurance.
Though it is unlikely, the Leafs could work out a side deal with the Seattle Kraken to select Kerfoot and not McCann or anyone else. The Leafs didn’t give up a lot for McCann so if they lose him, they are okay with that,
The Leafs could have went with the 7-3-1 protection route and kept McCann but they valued Justin Holl at $2 million as a top-four defenseman.