Lets not forget Leafs made only 3 picks in 2021 draft also the previous year, and all these 3 draft classes 2021, 2022 and 2023 draft picks being sacrificed are essentially to pay off the losses in round #1 to CBJ, Mon, and TB of the past.
Not only are the Leafs losing in round #1 of the playoffs their mortgaging their future for the right to do so.
Leafs didn't need to deal a single pick from any of these 3 drafts they still could of lost in round #1 because they didn't change the outcome even with that sacrifice. The cost of losing in the playoffs goes well beyond the handshake line, when it comes to mortgaging away the Leafs future for the opportunity to shake the winning teams by the Leafs each year.
Our current GM is even going out and signing UFA free players Mrazek and Nick Ritchie and then paying future 1st and conditional 2nd/3rd to get out of his signing mistakes and earning praise and those players and transactions didn't even have any impact of the playoff results because neither even existed nor dressed for the Leafs against TB. That is even worse then wasting draft picks to prop up failing playoff teams.
Remember the good old days when the GM dealt;
The Toronto Maple Leafs agreed to send defenseman Roman Polak and center Nick Spaling to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for second-round picks in 2017 and 2018. Then used those manufactured 2nd rounders on Brian Boyle and Tomas Plekanec to prop up playoff runs and Leaf fans to this day cry bloody murder for wasting draft picks and foolishly mortgaging the future to lose in round #1. Those same hypocritical Leaf fans are giving the current GM high grades for his draft class, despite limited picks and unbothered in slightest by the mortgaging of the future now.