Unless the Toronto Maple Leafs start winning pretty soon, GM Brian Burke’s recent trade with the Boston Bruins for injured 36-goal scorer Phil Kessel is going to drastically swing in favour of the Beantowners.
Burke gave up two first round picks and a second rounder for the 21-year-old forward and then promptly signed him to a five-year $27 million contract. The problem is, he let his personal feelings interfere with his job, which is trying to improve the team at the lowest cost possible.
Burke was in the driver’s seat all along when it came to the deal as the restricted free agent Kessel flat out told the Bruins he had no interest in playing for them anymore. In fact, even if Kessel had wanted to stay with the team, it still didn’t seem likely to happen as Boston was basically already at the salary cap. This is when Burke should have pounced and tendered an offer sheet to Kessel as there’s no way the Bruins would have been able to match it unless they did some serious salary juggling to make room for Kessel’s contract, especially at over $5 million a year.
The problem is, Burke let his personal feelings enter the transaction and the Leafs paid for it by trading away an extra first round pick, which could turn out to be in the top eight if the club doesn’t turn the ship around over the next season. If Burke would have went to Kessel with an offer sheet and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli couldn’t match it, Boston would have only received a first, second, and third round pick for losing him.
While Kessel may turn out to be a very productive player for the Leafs in the future, Burke should have at least tried to get him for lower draft picks. He basically had the Bruins at his mercy, but his dislike for offer sheets clouded his vision and it cost the club more than it should have. What most fans also forget is that Burke made a deal with Chiarelli before acquiring Kessel in which he gave up a second and third round pick to Boston in return for a second rounder, therefore losing another draft pick in the process.
Burke’s dislike for offer sheets stems back to the summer of 2007 when he was the GM of Anaheim and his Edmonton Oilers’ counterpart Kevin Lowe tendered a $21.25 million, five-year offer sheet to Ducks’ restricted free agent forward Dustin Penner. Burke couldn’t match the offer and although he received adequate compensation in the way of draft picks, he’s been crying about it ever since.
But offering contracts to restricted free agents is well within the rules. However, it’s hardly utilized these days. It is the strategy Brian Burke should have used to land the player the Leafs wanted while retaining an all-important first round draft pick. This is especially true while trading for an injured player. While Kessel may come back as strong as ever, there’s also a chance his shoulder surgery won’t allow him to shoot the puck like he used to. If Burke is getting paid to improve the Leafs in the most effective manner, he didn’t really do a good job of it with the Kessel deal.
With Tomas Kaberle being the last of the “Muskoka Five” to remain with the Toronto it is time to turn the chapter and move him and put the past Leaf horrors behind us. Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe and now Pavel Kubina are all but a distant memory leaving us with just Grant Exelby, Colin Stuart and Mike Van Ryn to show for what, just a few seasons ago, was the heart and soul of the Maple Leaf squad.
Kaberle, as rumor has it, was all but gone at the 2008 NHL trade deadline to Philadelphia for 46 goal scorer Jeff Carter and the Flyers first round pick in the 2008 entry draft (later dealt to Washington who selected defenseman John Carlson). Then at the 2009 draft Kaberle was rumored to be almost gone again this team in a deal with the rival Bruins that would bring in the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft and last years 36 goal scorer Phil Kessel who at the moment is at odds with Boston on a new contract. Other teams have been whispered to be talking to Leafs General Manager Brian Burke for the services of Kaberle including the likes of St. Louis, Los Angeles and Chicago.
At only thirty-one years of age Kaberle still has many productive years ahead of him and has been one of the most consistent Leaf players over the past decade. With Burke bringing adding free agents Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and trading for Exelby to go along with last years rookie sensation Luke Schenn, Ian White, Jeff Finger, Anton Stralman and Van Ryn Toronto can now deal a defenseman the caliber of Kaberle without leaving themselves with a huge hole on the backend.
Former GM John Ferguson Jr. can take most of the blame signing these players to their “no trade” and “no movement” contracts but these five players could have made things a lot easier for Burke’s retooling plan if they had of seen the writing on the wall and agreed to be moved at the deadline. The writing was on the wall when interim GM Cliff Fletcher asked each player to be dealt, now former Leaf star players have left the organization on a sour note that all Leafs fans have seen before with legends such as Darryl Sittler and Dave Keon. Mats Sundin finally chose to return to the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks but could not shake off the rust in time to provide the ‘Nucks with enough to get them to the cup final. Bryan McCabe, who had been booed mercilessly in his last season in a Leaf uniform, had an okay season with the Florida Panthers but was far from the 50+ points he registered in three straight seasons with the Buds. Darcy Tucker was just a disaster for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his lowest point total in more than a decade.
It is hard for Leaf Nation to look at what might have been. Sundin was rumored to be dealt to the Habs for Chris Higgins, and a first, second, and third round draft picks (Greg Nemisz, Danny Kristo and Steve Quailer). Carter, Higgins, 2009 first round draftee Nazem Kadri, along with Euro young studs Mikhail Grabovski, Jiri Tlusty and Nikolai Kulemin to make up a potentially explosive top six forwards up front.
Does Kaberle really want to leave Toronto the way his buddies did?? Toronto fans are starved for a Stanley Cup parade down Yonge Street and while we do appreciate Kabs’ time as a Leaf the new truculent and tougher TO squad would be better served moving forward without him; before the ghosts of Larry Murphy return and the boo birds hone in on a new target in the Czech defender.
Toronto – It has been less that a year since Brian Burke took the reigns as the Toronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager but already the team has a new look and some much needed optimism in a city that was starved for it. Having to clean up the mess left behind by the previous GMs John Ferguson Jr. and Cliff Fletcher Burke still has some work ahead him but the wheels are already in motion.
Stating all along that he wanted this team to be more “truculent and tougher” Burkes first move when taking over was to bring in an old friend in winger Brad May from Anaheim. More for his locker room presence than anything May was very long in the tooth and ended up costing Toronto nothing in terms of any type of return; May was instrumental in helping rookie Luke Schenn in his development even moving in with the young star during the season. Not expected to return this season May was a great pickup for nothing.
At the end of the regular season Burke worked his magic and signed a couple of overage college players in Christian Hanson and Tyler Bozak. While Hanson isn’t expected to be more than a third line player Bozak has the potential to be a top six forward and will get every opportunity to ply his trade with a ton of ice time this season.
The trade deadline brought high expectations with names such as Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Vesa Toskala, Dominic Moore and Jason Blake being thrown around Antropov and Moore ended up being the only roster players moved for some valuable second round draft picks. Burke showed his genius with an inventive deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning literally buying a fourth round draft pick in exchange for some garbage contracts causing a stir among fellow GMs around the league Burke showed off his Harvard law degree with this move.
Vowing to try to trade up in the entry draft to land coveted prospect John Tavares or even within the top five draft choices to get a shot at Luke’s brother Brayden Schenn Burke could not find a dance partner and wound up where they started selecting with their own pick in the number seven spot taking Nazem Kadri. The Kadri pick combined with all the trade talk that seemed to fall through Leaf fans, not exactly known for their patience, were starting to vent expecting Swedish stud Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson or defenseman Jared Cowen to be selected. Topping off the day in Leaf nation was the talk of a potential blockbuster deal that would send longtime Maple Leaf blueliner Tomas Kaberle to the rival Bruins in exchange for potential 40-goal sniper Phil Kessel and a draft pick. Miscommunication between the two clubs nixed the trade that many NHL experts expected to be a “sure thing.” Toronto fans were not pleased with many jumping off the bandwagon.
If draft day was a letdown the off season was anything but; free agent signings Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and the gem of the UFA season, netminder Jonas Gustavsson, “the best goalie outside the NHL” as has been said numerous times were all signed. Pavel Kubina was dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers for another heavy hitting defenseman Grant Exelby and potential third line agitator Colin Stuart. With the logjam of Leaf blueliners now at ten something has to give. Rumors are swirling of Kaberle being traded to either St. Louis, who are in dire need of a veteran puck moving defenseman, or to the Bruins for Kessel in a reworked draft day deal that went sour. Kessel would fill the Leafs biggest need right now, a slick top line goal scorer.
Burke may not be finished signing free agents; Anthony Stewart and Travis Moen have both been linked to Toronto and both seem to fit Burke statements of getting bigger and tougher up front.
Retooling rather than rebuilding Burke fully expects this team to make the playoffs from now on under his watchful eye. Judging by his first year on the job the Leafs bandwagon might not have enough room to seat everybody with each move he makes more and more people are buying into what Burke is selling. For the first time in a long time there is optimism in Leaf nation.
Unless the Toronto Maple Leafs start winning pretty soon, GM Brian Burke’s recent trade with the Boston Bruins for injured 36-goal scorer Phil Kessel is going to drastically swing in favour of the Beantowners.
Michael Lindow