So You Want To Be A Maple Leaf?

So you want to be a Maple Leaf? In Phil Kessel's opinion his time was up in Boston, and Toronto was his destination of choice. Brian Burke had spent the better part of six months trying to land the young forward. The season has started and Kessel is on the Blue and White, in return the Bruins received two first round picks. One in 2010, the other in 2011, as well as a 2010 second rounder. The question ultimately becomes, who won the deal? Since we reside in Hogtown I'm going to analyze the transaction from a Torontonian perspective.

For the Leafs it's a risk and reward situation they are in now. Back in June, Boston wanted Tomas Kaberle and the 7th overall pick in the draft. Brian Burke said no. If that deal was no good then, how could Burke give up two first round picks now? His answer to that is the Leafs won't be picking that high up when those picks roll around. Toronto paid a hefty price to land Kessel and the price can only go up from here. Burke had better be praying to the hockey gods that the Leafs don't pick 7th or higher in the upcoming drafts because his refusal to part with the pick in 2009, the one that landed Nazem Kadri, was well documented. The message of this trade is clear, the Leafs are ready to win now and they believe they have the team to do it. If they don't, the price paid will double right before the Buds' eyes.

There has to be concern about his health. Kessel is coming off off-season surgery to repair an injured shoulder which will keep him out of the Leafs lineup until mid-November. He also missed time in 2006 when he was diagnosed with cancer. While the cancer is not related to hockey it does not take away from the from the fact that the Leafs have put all their eggs into one broken basket. What if the shoulder doesn't heal completely? What happens if the soreness doesn't dissipate and Kessel is reluctant to mix it up in the corners or shies away from contact? These are all things that if they don't concern Leafs management, they darn well should. You always hear the surgery went well, or the rehab is ahead of schedule. What is the doctor going to say? "I really botched that one, his shoulder will never be the same." Of course not, but only time will tell how Kessel responds post injury. Keep in mind we are talking about the injury history of a 21 year old. Not exactly faith inspiring.

Kessel's character was questioned by the Toronto media after his acquisition. Brian Burke told a story from the Olympic camp where Kessel was invited to a fishing trip and went because the team did, even though he gets incredibly seasick. Burke attempted to give the media and Joe Fan an inside look at this guy's personality. Can anyone forget however, his well publicized benching during the playoffs in 2008. Or his slide from the projected first overall pick down to number five because of the issues surrounding his attitude and work ethic. Kessel went from superstar prospect to playing on the 3rd line on his college hockey team. Those types of characteristics don't just disappear overnight and Leafs fans must be mindful of that fact.

There is no denying Phil Kessel is a supremely talented hockey player. There is, however all of the question marks surrounding his health, attitude, and the Leafs ability to make the playoffs. This could turn out to be one of those trades that is talked about in the future as the one that got away. Brian Burke had better be crossing his fingers that everything goes to plan otherwise once again in Leaf-land the risk will prove not to be worth the reward.

That's Questionable At Best.