It’s no great secret the Leafs have made
some head scratching transactions over their history. Whether over paying for
lack lustre free agents, or it’s trading away young players who eventually
bloom into NHL studs. Sure it would be nice live in a world Eric Staal centres
JVR and Kessel, but at what price? There is little doubt in my mind this would
be one of the best lines in the NHL in terms of points and productivity (not to
mention the dangles), however is he worth the reported asking price of Bozak or
Kadri, Jake Gardiner and a 1st?
It
seems no matter which GM is at the helm the Leafs have been more than willing
to part with their first round picks. Historically we are always reminded of
the fact that the Leafs traded away picks that ended up being used on stars
such as Roberto Luongo(1997) Scott Neidermeyer(1991) or Dainus
Zubrus(1996). Most recently of course,
the two firsts given up by Burke for Phil Kessel, which as we all know turned
in to Tyler Seguin(2010) and Dougie Hamilton (2011). Seguin of course had
proven he is going to be a star in the league, and the verdict is still out on
Dougie Hamilton. Personally I'm happy to have one of the NHL's best wingers in
Phil Kessel , also knowing the Leafs they would've muffed the draft and passed
on Seguin in 2010.
The Leafs have given up on more than just picks to try and land big name
players over the years, which is perhaps even more heartbreaking than trading
away picks, due to the fact that at the end of the day, pick scenarios are all
hypothetical, This is made even more painful due to the fact the Leafs have
been doing quite well with “home grown” talent in recent years (James Reimer,
Stuart Percy and Morgan Rielly) . It is painful to watch guys like; Alex Steen
(traded in 2008) who had a career year last season (33G, 29A, 62P) playing
alongside T.J. Oshie and David Backes in St.Louis. If that's not good enough
Leafs nation is reminded of awful trades every time the Buds match up against
the Bruins and get stymied by 2014 Vezina winner Tuukka Rask, who also has a
Stanley cup ring to go alongside his shiny Vezina trophy. Honourable mentions;
Brad Boyes, Anton Stralman. I could continue to provide examples of poor Leafs
trades, but it is becoming increasing difficult to not repeatedly bash my face
into my laptop.
At
the end of the day if you are Dave Nonis (assuming he still makes any decisions
anymore) and Carolina calls asking for Jake Gardiner, you listen, however if
the next words out of Ron Francis’s mouth are “Kadri”, “Bozak” or “1st
round pick” the phone hangs up immediately. Unless Carolina is willing to eat
some of Staal’s $18.5 million dollar salary, beyond Gardiner there shouldn’t need
to be much else offered from Toronto’s end.
By the numbers:
C, Eric Staal (29 years old) 771 GP (290G,
400A, 690 Pts)
C, Tyler Bozak (28 years old) 300 GP (75G,
114 A, 189 Pts)
C, Nazem Kadri (24 years old) 181 GP (48G,
67A, 115 Pts)
D, Jake Gardiner (24 years old) 169 GP
(17G, 49A, 79 Pts)
We would love some feedback from the
Francis faithful; let us hear your take on the Eric Staal trade rumours in the
comments below!
@ByrneMGL
@ByrneMGL
1 comment:
Would be willing to do a trade from strength...a deal centred around Gardiner would work for the Leafs...they have some depth on "D"...Bozak could be moved as he would be the player being replaced...no to Kadri...and no to a first round pick...including a player who we already have information on, say a Matt Finn, or even a Connor Brown but no to any first rounder...we are still building...even with Staal, we are still building...
on the plus side of trading for Staal, Eric Staal could provide years of leadership to an organization sadly lacking in it...he could be impact for us, and teach that to who follows...I would try to make the trade, the example of Joe Thornton shows the value of getting the "best player"...but not at the expense of building our organization...
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