The Dion Phanuef trade was a thing of genius for Brian Burke. He got a top 4 d-man, our leader, our captain in Dion plus a great up coming d-man in Aulie for basically expendable parts WITHOUT giving up any picks or prospects.
This trade really helped shape the Leafs. It’s quite obvious that the Leafs are lacking maybe that one piece of the puzzle to push them over the hump & into the playoffs. Not if but when Buffalo & Washington get their A game going, the Leafs as they are today are going be in real danger of falling further in the East. Hard to believe but even with the log jam on the Leafs D, they not only need an upgrade for a top 6 center but they need to get shutdown D man. We have the offensive guys in Liles, Franson & Gardiner. Phanuef, Schenn & Aulie are the shut down guys but Schenn is inconsistent, Aulie needs to still develop & Phanuef is hot & cold. I see Gunnarsson as the odd man out if a trade happens.
The Leafs have depth to make a deal. They just have to decide amongst Bozak, Connolly & Grabbo as to which of the three they see as expendable. With the emergence of Frattin & Kadri, does this make MaCarthur expendable? Kadri has shown he can play on the LW, so does this make Kulemin available as trade bait? These are obvious tough decisions for Burke but not doing anything with put the Leafs in serious jeapordy for missing the playoffs yet again.
If I’m Burke, I don’t even think moving young guys like Kadri, Franson or Colborne. Just use the extra depth they already have with some older players & work with that when trying to make a deal. Something is obviously missing with the Leafs & it’s up to Burke to fix it sooner than later b4 another season is lost.
The Ducks had some scouts at the Leafs game last night…..
I would like to proudly announce, Jen and I have adopted an absolutely beautiful 5 yr old girl named Kaitlyn, who is the sweetest little thing I have ever seen.
Wow, congratulations to you and you wife LeafMan, I hope she brings a lifetime of happiness to your family.
congrats
Thank you!!
I’d like to echo Keon’s congratulations, and give you a “heads-up”. It has been my experience that teenage boys are WAY easier to deal with than teenage girls.
haha, thanks!! She has been as good as gold, even for her doctor’s visit today. As Keon said above, she has already brought us so much happiness.
Congrats.
That’s so great for you and your wife! Congratulations!
thats awesome. i know, just echoing everyone else’s sentiments and way late to boot but congrats LeafMan. Remember this moment and hold onto it.
Thanks everyone!!
““We’re a little small up front and we don’t have much playoff experience,” he noted. “If the playoffs started tomorrow, I would still like our chances. (But) we are looking to add and get better now.”
The trade he’s hinting at for a big centre or winger could come very soon, as he traditionally eschews the rush at the NHL deadline (Feb. 27 this year).
“I’m a January guy,” he reminded “I set my price and try and let my team play through the deadine (without worrying about trades). The math doesn’t work at the deadline when 24 teams are buying. There can only be one (Stanley Cup) parade.”
Burke said the cost could very well be one or more of the young assets in the system or even this year’s first or second rounder.
“I’d say ‘where’s the phone?’,” Burke said of the often risky venture of losing high picks. “They (fans) can live with a gamble.”” (http://www.torontosun.com/2012/01/11/burke-ready-to-deal)
Something must be percolating, right? I’m not in agreement with dealing the 1st-round pick, though, unless the return includes someone like Getzlaf, Perry, Ryan or Nash … unlikely, I know.
The Fourth Period has published a list of the top 25 players available for trade (http://www.thefourthperiod.com/trade_deadline/top25/index.html). According to them, the Leafs have an interest in Bobby Ryan, Ales Hemsky, Derick Brassard, Alexander Semin and Paul Stastny.
There’s only one player in that list I’d like to see in Blue & White, and one other I could tolerate, though I think he’s SIGNIFICANTLY overpaid. Guess who they are?
Lecavalier and Stastny
You must be reading between the lines. I don’t see Lecavalier in my comment above, or in the top-25 list from The Fourth Period.
… and I think Travis Moen, @ $1.5 million, would be a SIGNIFICANT upgrade on Joey Crabb on the Leafs’ 3rd line.
Lupul – Connolly – Kessel
MacArthur – Grabovski – Kulemin => all three recently showing signs of last year’s form
Moen – Bozak – Lombardi
Boyce – Steckel – Brown
Here’s something interesting … http://www.csnwashington.com/blog/capitals-talk/post/Schultz-discouraged-by-benching?blockID=629050&feedID=6357.
How good would Schultz (6’6″, 230 lbs … +87 in 346 GP) look paired with Franson on the Leafs’ back end?
Very good. I’d like that addition. Perhaps we could move MacArthur to Washington for Schultz + Eakin? Good character bottom-six type of guy in Eakin plus we get our shutdown guy. Then they finally get the LW they’ve needed since they moved Fleischmann..
History with Burke too. Won a cup with him too.
Shea Weber as the like to see in Blue and white.
Paul Stastny as a tolerated overpaid.
Personally, I’d like Weber, Harding, Gleason, and Suter.
I could tolerate Ryan, Pahlsson, Moen, Gill and Bernier.
Just probably not what they would cost…
Schultz would be a great pickup!!
Not much interested in Hemsky (too costly, too fragile, too costly to acquire). Semin, no. Stastny, (cap hit too high for output).
Ryan is the only one listed.
I’ll have to check out the rest of the list.
For the right price, that would be a nice upgrade of the 4th line.
Lots of “chatter” last night about a Schenn for Van Riemsdyk deal. While I’m not averse to trading Schenn, I wouldn’t make that deal unless more was coming back from Philly.
Listening to Maguire on 1050 this morning, he said that privately, the Flyers are disappointed with Van Riemsdyk’s progression. They were hoping after his 21 goal season last year and strong playoff that he would be even better this year and it hasn’t happened.
Another thing he said was that after they drafted him, they really encouraged him to play in the OHL for Stan Butler, but he decided on US College instead and they believe it hindered his development.
All these things, along with his fairly hefty contract status should be reasons the Leafs should be cautious in whom they send Philly’s way if they do intend on acquiring him. Not saying he’s going to be a great player someday, but the above things, if known by the Leafs, should lessen his trade value a little.
Personally, I think Schenn and JVR have pretty equal value right now, most pundits are saying however, that the Leafs will likely have to add more to the deal to make it work.
From Dreger (TSN Tweetbox) at http://www.tsn.ca … “Don’t be surprised if Burke meets with Schenn today. If deal doesn’t go down soon, I expect Burke will tell Luke its not happening.”
Burke has said for awhile now that he wanted to unite the Schenn brothers. I just thought he meant in Toronto. If he pulls the trigger, I sure he gets good value.