Filed under: Maple Leafs, Eastern, Trade Deadline
The Toronto Maple Leafs are staying true to form.Brian Burke, the affable general manager of the storied team, got the jump on the trade deadline for a second straight year when, in the span of a week, he traded defensemen Francois Beauchemin and Tomas Kaberle, along with winger Kris Versteeg.
In return for three players that were significant parts of the Maple Leaf roster at the start of the season, Burke got back one roster player, Joffrey Lupul, along with two first-round draft picks, a third-round pick and a conditional pick.
And despite the odds of making the playoffs with his weakened back end, Burke would not concede the season is over.
"Getting in the playoffs by the skin of your teeth and getting your ass kicked in the first round is not my idea of building a championship team,'' said Burke after he traded Kaberle to the Boston Bruins. "We are trying to get into the playoffs the right way and we are not conceding that last spot. I think our players know we are not throwing in the towel."
Burke's philosophy in the trade derby is not complicated. He identifies players on his roster he feels can return a top prospect and/or a draft pick, and targets youth coming back. The Leafs' average age is now 25.8 years old. But that number is likely to drop when 33-year-old goaltender J-S Giguère becomes a free agent after the season.
Burke feels the prospects he's added will all be playing for the Maple Leafs within the next two seasons, and the plan is to bolster his ranks though free agency. Trouble is the free agent market hasn't been kind to Burke. Beauchemin was a heralded signing and he is gone. Then there's Colby Armstrong, another free agent signing who is a third liner.
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Source: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/22/nhl-trade-deadline-toronto-maple-leafs/
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