As most people know I am a huge Leaf fan...nothing hurts me more than to see the awful start to the season they have had. But has it been that bad? I would love to preach that they have outplayed teams and should have a few more wins, but what would that equate to? 10th or 11th in the Eastern Conference?
Not enough (considering what the Leafs have done so far). If the Leafs had not given up 2 first round draft picks I don't think anyone would have been quite as upset as the excuse for rebuilding would still be valid. But let's examine it all below...
The Trading Of Draft Picks...
Ok, so the pick in this years draft might be a top 5 pick... so let's assume the Leafs have the chance to get Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin. I don't think there is any doubt that these two will be good professionals, but I don't see them as game changers (a la Crosby or Ovechkin), however, let's say they eventually put up 70-80 points a year (eventually), as of right now at the young age of 22 Phil Kessel (if he had played the entire year) would be on pace for approximately 55 goals and 82 points.
So saying that we might have got an as good, if not better deal (Kessel for a top five pick, which there is no guarantee still that it will be) I would say we made out alright. Now of course another 1st rounder is involved but hopefully by next year that 1st rounder will be of hardly any value. So in a sense, it'll be a wait and see.
As I mentioned before there is no doubt that trading draft picks bothered me, and I don't believe that it's a secret that Mr.Burke is in the hunt to reacquire some of those lost picks. Now, to do so I would recommend trading Kaberle! I know alot of people will say that he's been our best defenseman and I would agree to an extent that he has (his minus 9 doesn't look too pretty though) but Beauchemin and Komisarek have come a long way since their early season struggles and with the emergence of Ian White and Carl Gunnarson (already a +4), their play has made him expendable. Kaberle is going to definitely demand high end draft picks and White is going to be asking for an increase in pay. Now hopefully we can do something about the "No Trade" clause...
While I sat at home during the summer I saw the Leafs pick up Beauchemin and Komisarek and was happy to see the Leafs upgrading their defense along with a possible stud goalie in Jonas Gustavsson. Knowing that the defensemen deals were for a bit longer made me feel good that when the Leafs would be ready to contend that solid defense would be there to anchor the journey. I saw names such as Cammalleri, Gionta, Gaborik, Antropov and Prospal all get signed by teams not named the "Toronto Maple Leafs" and I settled myself down knowing that rebuilding would take some time and there was no point to throw money at free agents when the Leafs were not yet ready to contend....well that changed when Leafs traded for Kessel.
Don't get me wrong I think Kessel is a great player...but why trade the future and try and fast track the process when you would not sign any of the big name forwards during the summer? Now I know what many are thinking...the Leafs signed Komisarek and Beauchemin during the summer for contracts and you're not upset about that....Well, no I'm not! Those two defensemen didn't cost the Maple Leafs any draft picks and if the Leafs did better this year than great if not then we can draft a stud and still have two solid defensemen. I know what else you're thinking! Kessel is a young player who will be around when the Leafs are ready to contend because he's only 22...I say "with what players?" He can't do it alone.
Like I said, Kessel is a great player, but he isn't a game changer. He can't carry a team on his back like Crosby or Ovechkin can...and in all honesty both these players have great supporting casts. No one player has ever won by himself. The best way to build your team is through the draft. If you get enough good young players where you can trade them for useful pieces (a la LA Kings) then great, however, the Leafs seem to have a solid player in Kadri. They might have decent NHLers in Bozak, Stahlberg and Hanson but I wouldn't say that the Leafs have the young prospects where they should now be trading away draft picks.
I now have to think about how nice Cammalleri would have looked in a Leafs jersey feeding Kessel the puck, then snap back to reality and watch Kessel play with players who can't keep up...
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