Bobby McMann earned $1.35 million and recorded 20 goals last season, presenting surface-level value. Those 20 goals were streaky, with his last goal on March 25 and a 24-game goal drought including the playoffs. McMann's skillset and inconsistency mirror past Toronto departures like Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor Brown, while players such as Scott Laughton, Dakota Joshua, Steven Lorentz and Nic Roy better suit the third-line role. At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, McMann could be valued as a top-six piece elsewhere, so trading him could yield a useful asset. A comparison to Nick Robertson shows McMann had 2:30 more TOI and five more games but only five more goals, while Robertson scored in the playoffs.
As much as I can understand why keeping McMann makes a ton of sense as you can say that you have a 20-goal scorer on your third or fourth line, I don't think it makes sense in Toronto. It's the same reason why the team eventually moved on from Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor Brown. Despite all three being "20-goal players" their game didn't quite fit the type of player you want on their third line, and the likes of Scott Laughton, Dakota Joshua, Steven Lorentz and Nic Roy seemingly fit that better.
The biggest issue I had with McMann's season last year is the inconsistency. As mentioned, in a vacuum, all you see is 20 goals, but those goals were streaky. The Leafs last game happened on May 18th, yet McMann's last goal he scored took place on March 25th. McMann didn't score a goal for the last 24 games of the season (including playoffs), which is where you need these type of depth players to show up.
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