STILL BAFFLED! HOW could burke trade TWO....TWO first rd picks for kesselÉ

[hokkeefan]

this isnt video game world wtf and gillis thinkin VAN will ever win a cup with the sedin sisters ,,,hes dreaming ,you wait n see

[smozoma]

At the time, the Kessel trade made sense

The leafs were 7th last the year before, with no talent on the team, and the leafs picked up some better players, so he figured if he brought in Kessel along with those better players, they'd have to be at least a bit better than the year before. He probably figured they'd be giving up a 10th and a 15th pick, to get a sure-thing (36 goal scorer in his 2nd year, and a 5th pick from a talented draft year).

Unfortunately.. something went wrong.. and continues to go wrong.

[hokkeefan]

your completely wrong thinkin 2 first rd picks for kessel was right at the time for any player besides crosby,stamkos,towes,datsyk!!its almost complete stupidity lol,its like thinkin the sedins will ever win a stanley cup unless vancouver brought in some canadian superstar,sure the sedins look pretty in reg season but when they get hit and checked hard in playoffs they turn into little pussy cats

Edited December 2, 2010 by hokkeefan

[smozoma]

10th and 15th picks..

2001 Dan Blackburn, Igor Knyazev

2002 Eric Nystrom, Jesse Niinimaki

2003 Andrei Kostitsyn, Robert Nilsson

2004 Boris Valabik, Alexander Radulov

2005 Luc Bourdon, Ryan O'Marra

2006 Michael Frolik, Riku Helenius

2007 Keaton Ellerby, Alex Plante

2008 Cody Hodgson, Erik Karlsson

which would you not trade for kessel? 2008 obviously, but other than that...

edit: 2003 kostitsyn + 2004 radulov possibly

[TruePensFan1981]

Kessel gets too much flak, really. The fact of the matter is that he's one of the more skilled players in the NHL. His skating and his abilities with the puck were what the Leafs needed. A player as young as he is and as skilled as he is is too tempting to pass up. Besides, with Toronto's poor track record in previous drafts, it's not like they were going to miss those picks.

In the end, Toronto will not regret this deal at all if they surround Kessel with the right talent. They're slowly heading in the right direction. If they can make some more key acquisitions via draft or via free agency or trade, they'll be very good within the next few years. With Gustavsson in goal, Kessel on the wing and Phaneuf on the blue line, they have a nice trio to build their team around.

Would I give up two first-round draft picks for a man with the ability to score 40+ goals? Most definitely! Toronto needs to build a better team before they get their full worth out of Kessel. Kulemin is a good player, but Toronto doesn't have any superstars that can make Kessel look like Dino Ciccarelli on the stat sheet.

Your hatred for the Sedin twins is also interesting. I think Vancouver has an excellent shot at winning the Cup. Detroit and Vancouver will be the two western teams to keep an eye on this season. The East will be unpredictable, as usual. However, the Caps certainly made a good move in trading Fleischmann for Hannan. Hannan gives them that shutdown defender they need on the ice. Frankly, it was a good trade for both the Avs and Caps. Fleischmann's skill set will fit in perfectly with Sacco's aggressive forechecking scheme.

[TruePensFan1981]

If you really want something to complain about in regards to Toronto, complain about how they were dumb enough to give Jeff Finger $3 million per season. That is true stupidity at its finest.

[halifax]

I thought this was a good read from elliote friedman about other players who have been dealt for two first round picks.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/elliottefriedman/2009/09/draft-picks-for-star-player-doesnt-always-pan-out.html

Draft picks for star player doesn't always pan out

* September 14, 2009

* By Elliotte Friedman

* It’s happened twice with Chris Pronger. The Ducks gave up two first-rounders to get him from Edmonton (the second guaranteed when Anaheim reached the Final in 2007), while the Flyers included two as part of the package to get him last June.

* Philly’s made a habit of this. The Flyers also did it to get Eric Lindros and Ken Wregget (!)

* The Avalanche traded two to get Rob Blake, the second of them conditional upon him re-signing in Colorado.

* The Kings dealt three to get Wayne Gretzky.

* The Whalers also dealt three to get Glen Wesley, which is somewhat similar to the Kessel situation because they were considering signing him to an offer sheet.

* Twice, it’s been done to balance offer sheets. In 1997, the Flyers traded Mikael Renberg and Karl Dykhuis to Tampa, getting back four first-rounders they lost in signing Chris Gratton. It was an awful move for the Lightning, allowing the Flyers to draft Simon Gagne and Justin Williams.

* Two years earlier, St. Louis dealt Curtis Joseph and Mike Grier to Edmonton, recovering a pair of picks lost to the Oilers as compensation for grabbing Shayne Corson.

Unless Brian Burke can somehow recover the picks he’s poised to trade, the last two scenarios are not relevant to this one. And, it’s ridiculous to include Gretzky as part of this conversation. There was zero chance the Oilers were going to get anything approaching equal value.

So, were these trades worth it?

The Ducks and Avalanche would absolutely say yes, since both players were critical pieces of a Stanley Cup champion. The Flyers would still do the Pronger deal – no doubt – but were very lucky the Maple Leafs (Rob Pearson/Steve Bancroft) did not take advantage of the Wregget gift.

Remember this, however: That Avalanche team had already won one Stanley Cup and consistently challenged for more. The Ducks went to the Western Conference Final weeks before getting Pronger. When Wregget arrived, the Flyers were en route to the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in five years. (Twice, they lost to Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final.)

It’s too early to judge the recent Pronger deal, but Philly is a legitimate contender with a lot of young talent. The Maple Leafs can’t say the same.

That leaves Wesley and Lindros.

When the Whalers got Wesley, they weren’t very good. They’d missed the playoffs two years in a row. Before that, they’d suffered six straight first-round defeats. A very solid player, Wesley wasn’t a difference-maker. After he arrived, it took Hartford/Carolina five years to sniff the post-season and seven to win a round.

Still, the Bruins didn’t exactly wow the hockey world with their selections, drafting Kyle McLaren, Jonathan Aitken and Sergei Samsonov. Considering Wesley’s service in Hartford/Carolina – 13 years and a Stanley Cup – you could make a real argument they won this deal, a stunner considering they handed Boston three top-10 picks.

While entire forests have been razed debating The Lindros Era, it should be pointed out that the Avalanche used one of the picks – Jocelyn Thibault – to get Patrick Roy. We all know this Quebec trade won Colorado a Stanley Cup, but you can draw some parallel between the Flyers in 1992 and the Leafs in 2009.

Philly hadn’t made the playoffs in three years, and was trying to get a new building. Toronto doesn’t have the second problem, but the playoffs are watch-only for them now. Kessel has a skill set no other Maple Leaf can claim, but can you really say he’s a franchise player on Lindros’s level? Then again, Burke wouldn’t be giving up a Peter Forsberg in the deal, either.

It’s such a risk, with the possibility of giving up high picks and praying the team you give them to is clueless on draft day. It certainly makes sense if you’re close to the Cup, and think Kessel is the final piece. But you can also win a Stanley Cup – for someone else.

[Louie14]

Kessel gets too much flak, really. The fact of the matter is that he's one of the more skilled players in the NHL. His skating and his abilities with the puck were what the Leafs needed. A player as young as he is and as skilled as he is is too tempting to pass up.

Phil really showed his skating skills in OT last night. Stumbling while backchecking on the sudden death rush is a skill, right?

[Grayto]

As that article implies; you make this kind of trade when you're a contending team, or a middle tier team looking to contend and put your team over the top. When you already have the talent in your system and can forego the injection of able youth.

In the leafs situation however, trading two first rounders for an young elite player is just like treading water. You get some great talent but you sabotage your immediate means for getting more.

From Burke's perspective its sort of a "1 in the hand is worth 2 in the bush" type scenario. He never intended to implement a classic rebuild in Toronto. There are no guarantees that any of these picks will pan out to be as good as Kessel, either individually or combined, nor is it certain that they WON'T surpass his value either.

[hokkeefan]

after a 5-0 crushing from supposedly one of the worst in nhl,thee EDMONTON OILERS! is there any other comments ?