Brian Burke was harshly scrutinized for the now infamous Phil Kessel swap. Back then, he gave up three potential NHLers for a single yet proven commodity. Now, with Tyler Seguin and Doug Hamilton set to lead the Bruins for years to come, it’s scary to imagine how badly Burke would be harped if Kessel wasn’t off to his best season in the league to date.
One thing Leafs— fans know for certain is that we—ll take Phil Kessel—s dominance and run, because Bruins— fans will never get back what Peter Chiarelli surrendered for about 40 games of Tomas Kaberle. If you remember, at the time of the deal, the value coming back was considered fair as we didn—t really know what we were getting in Joe Colborne, and draft picks are always hit and miss when outside of the top ten.
However, as it went with the Kessel deal, with Boston looking more and more like the winners, Brian Burke is looking more and more like he has performed another greatest heist in NHL trade history. With the finalization of John-Michael Liles— new contract, Burke has officially pried Joe Colborne (considered Toronto—s #1 prospect by many), Liles (Toronto—s fine replacement for Kaberle), and Tyler Biggs (looking to be a beefier Darcy Tucker and we all know how much the Northeast loved Darcy) for just Tomas Kaberle.
Even if Colborne and Biggs flame out — we still have Liles to show for the deal, who has been better for Toronto than Kaberle almost ever had, at least certainly in later seasons. We will also have our perennial 40-goal man Phil Kessel to show for the other swap. I can—t say the same for Peter Chiarelli — who will have the remains of the $1.03 million he had to pay Kaberle for the totaled 20 points in 50 games in a Bruins jersey.
*****
LEAFS LINKS:
BCP lists his list of favorite Maple Leafs
– Heading into the all-star break, these players have been important to Toronto’s success for sure
PPP continues with their top-25 under-25 with Jesse Blacker
– With Nonis declaring Blacker all-but NHL ready, this one is a must read in preparation
– Drag analyzes the penalty kill woes again…Toronto’s perfect so far in 2012 (don’t jinx it)
Check out our own Joe Cino’s debut at We Want A Cup
– Some interesting statements made here in regard to the goaltending situation
THN looks at the impact of back-to-back of games
– Not directly related, but definitely pertains to the struggles the Leafs have had in this category
– Gotcha. Nothing directly stated, but Big Mac over at TSN says he could be available
*****
Twitter: @degratesports
Email: alex.mamalis@ymail.com
