Kessel Traded to the Maple Leafs
by GenoTheGreat on Sep 18, 2009 11:22 PM EDT
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NHL.com - Phil Kessel Traded to Toronto for Picks
I had a feeling he wasn't going to be a Bruin this year, now he's on a team that he can be the star player. Once he's back from shoulder surgery in November, I think he'll make a huge impact on Toronto's team. They made some decent moves this offseason, and they may be quite the contender this year. Too early to tell, but they look pretty good on paper.
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Hmm two first rounders and a second? Wonder what the Leafs fans think of that one.
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1st Round Picks
Yeah I don’t think many Leafs fans will be happy about the picks. It does limit the talent they’ll have coming in the next two years. I guess that’s a risk they were willing to take to make a run this year.
by GenoTheGreat on Sep 19, 2009 1:46 AM EDT up reply actions
But to their credit, and possibly the reasoning behind the move, the Leafs were more or less hording up picks over the past two seasons. To top it off, next year’s draft class isn’t exactly held in very high regard. Last year at this time people were already talking about Tavares and Hedman. Obviously the potential of any first rounder is unmeasured at this point but the Leafs will likely finish better this year anyway.
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what i dont get is why burke didnt just make an offer sheet. cap space is the new commodity. the bruins would have loved to keep kessel, they cant aford him and no one will take on bergerons contract. On the plus side i think with kessel being 22, his 5.5 mil per season will eventually be a bargain. if burke can trade a couple of his 9 above average nhl dmen they could be a team to watch out for, they need to trade 1 or 2 for a decent center. still i think it was a bad move, and i think if he would have been a little more patient he coulda done better. but give him props for tryiing to make his team better NOW. 2 1st rounders and a second way to much.
Phili B
I definitely give him credit for wanting a quick turnaround on his team but yeah, I think it’s way too much for Kessel. But like I said above, next year’s draft is already coming off as pretty weak. If he had hopes of finishing better this season (and by better I mean not last and not first) then I think it was a solid move. Besides, he may unload someone at the trade deadline anyway in exchange for a second round pick or something. He’s been known to wheel and deal like that.
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Leafs fans don't seem too happy
It remains to be seen how good Kessel is without Savard setting him up; I could easily see him failing to match last season’s goals total in Toronto. He’s very young and very skilled, but comes with legitimate questions as to his attitude and work ethic. He’s being paid to be a franchise centerpiece now, but it’s easy to imagine this going very wrong.
In a way there’s no real winner to this trade. The Bruins would have preferred to sign Kessel, though maybe not for this money (leaving aside salary-cap questions). But it does nothing for them short-term, which is a problem for a team whose fans expect a Cup contender this season. Other than Chara and Wideman, it’s not clear who else in this system is ready to be a full-time NHL defenseman on an elite team, and for all their forward depth, it’s not clear who they can count on to score consistently.
P is for Latrobe.
He’s also coming off of major shoulder surgery and missed camp, as well as not playing until November, at the earliest. You really can’t discount that and it wouldn’t surprise me if it took him all of this season and part of the next to regain his form. That said, he’ll be 23 even with my pessimistic projection, hopefully with Kadri on the other wing and someone setting them both up. That’s a pretty legit top line with even a guy who should be a 2C on a contending team, if Kadri develops as projected (big if).
I think, even long term, that this fits with a plan to take the Leafs upwards and onwards. With respect to losing the picks, Burke has been having a lot of success wooing free agents, like Gustavson (or however it’s spelled), so it may not be as damaging as one would expect for another team.
Burke’s MO has been to create a top line that can score with the best of them and then a team of pugnacious, gritty, hard working guys that are unpleasant to play against, while stacking the blue line. This fits right in with what he’s been doing in previous stops, it’s going to be an interesting 5 years in Toronto.
by Knee high to a duck on Sep 22, 2009 7:43 PM EDT up reply actions
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