Alright so I think like every hockey fan(especially leaf fans, which I am not), we were a bit hesitant and confused to see what Brian Burke, a man known for building his truculent team through the draft, giving away their 2010 and 2011 first-round draft selections as well as their 2010 second-round pick. This is coming right after TSN analyst Bob McKenzie reported, “This draft is really strong and great in depth” So you would think a team in the midst of rebuilding would keep their draft picks, especially their first round picks for the next two years. What made things worst was that the Maple Leafs dug themselves into a huge hole at the bottom of the NHL standings with a 1-7-1 record (3 points) with their first win coming on the road in Anaheim on October 26th. This was the worst start by a Leaf team ever, and currently sits in 14th place in the Eastern Conference (2nd last.) This gives Boston the team who gave up Kessel, an early Christmas present with a TOP 5 draft picks. To give the Leafs the benefit of the doubt, they did not have sniper Phil Kessel until mid- November, but that still does not allow them to have a 2-8-3 record at home. In Phil’s defense one person does not make a whole team and he is second in scoring on the Leafs, which says volumes, taking in the time he was absent. He was told he would not been able to score without playmakers Mark Savard and David Krejci in Boston, but seems to be doing fine as of now with ten goals in seventeen games!
Even if Phil Kessel scores 40-50 goals each season, which is one of the toughest things to do in the modern day NHL. He by himself cannot lead the Leafs to the Stanley Cup or even the playoffs. The Leafs still have holes to fill: on Defense, which was suppose to be the strongest component, goaltending is still an issue, with no real number one goalie, and up front the offense has not produced many goals. If you look at history, when the Leafs have given a top draft pick, the player that has been drafted with what could have been the Leafs selection has turned into a star player. This is not saying the Leafs would have drafted some of the same guys, but it would have prevented other teams from getting them, and imagine some of these players in the blue and white.
In what was arguably the worst trade the Leafs have ever made: Toronto trades a 1st Round Pick in 1991 to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers
The leafs finished 3rd last in the league and New Jersey Devils selected future Hall Of Fame and Captain Canada for the Olympics Scott Neidermyer. To make matters worst
22 players chosen in the first round that year, 17 have played in at least 575 NHL games as of August 2009. Of the other five, two of them still managed to play over 100 games (and one of them was traded for Markus Naslund). That’s a 77% chance that Toronto would have had received 575+ games from a first rounder, and an 86% chance of receiving 100+ games (which is more than they got out of Tom Kurvers).
The second trade goes down as the 2nd worst trade the Leafs ever made Toronto trades Kenny Jonsson, Sean Haggerty, Darby Hendrickson and a 1st Round Pick in 1997 (Roberto Luongo) to the New York Islanders for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider and D.J. Smith. So another cornerstone piece for team Canada this Olympics, arguably the best goalie in the game Roberto Luongo.
The last trade the Leafs made in which they traded for a player that did not produce was when they received Aki Berg from the Los Angelas Kings for a Second Round Draft Pick in the 2001 draft. That player is 40-goal scorer and now Montreal Canadiens left winger Mike Cammalleri. The funny thing about that is that Mike Cammalleri was almost a Maple Leaf. Twice. The mere thought of the first time Cammalleri slipped through Leaf fingers makes the Richmond Hill native and former Bramalea Blues star - who grew up a Leaf fan - chuckle. "Aki Berg," Cammalleri said in an interview. The Leafs traded a second-round pick in 2001 to the Los Angeles Kings for Berg, a middling defenseman at best who people still can not figure out where he is currently playing. With the pick, the Kings chose Cammalleri, a 5-foot-9 centre that emerged as a point-a-game player.
"It said on the draft board, `L.A. from Toronto,'" Cammalleri recalled. "It was just the draft, so it's not like I was ever (Toronto) property, but obviously there was a lot that appealed to me about playing in Toronto."
Phil Kessel has to be the best leaf player every game, because if he has not or becomes injury prone and the Leafs finish near the bottom of the standings the next two years. Hell might break loose in Leaf Nation, because they do not want to give another opportunity on a Roberto Luongo, Mike Cammalleri or Scott Neidermyer again. To Leaf fans running out to buy Phil Kessel jerseys, let us just remember he will not replace former Leaf great Mats Sundin but he will do his best, so be patient and if he starts to struggle, do not immediately run after him with pitchforks and knifes. There still in rebuilding mode, give it time, but at the same time, draft picks are what the game of hockey is about now-a-days. Take a look at teams like Pittsburgh who built through the draft (Crosby, Malkin and Fleury) or the Washington Capitals (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin) or the Chicago Blackhawks ( Towes, Kane, Kieth.) All these nine players I mentioned are NHL all-stars and are the most marquee players on their respective team. So the question to ask to yourself Leaf fans, was it worth it?
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