30 Teams In 30 Days: A Tougher Toronto In '09

Hello Toronto, this is Brian Burke. He's here to fix the cataclysmic series of bad events happening here in recent years and end a near 45-year drought.

Upon the arrival of the 2008-09 NHL season, the Maple Leafs were without a familiar face in not just Toronto, but all of Ontario. Putting a name to the face leads you to 38 year old forward Mats Sundin. The Leafs all-time point leader, Sundin left Toronto, a place he called home and captained for 13 seasons and was officially a free agent. Sundin was still chasing the ever elusive Stanley Cup, a goal he's yet to even come close to in his entire 18 year career.

Following Sundin's departure, fellow Leafs teammates Andrew Raycroft and gritty forward Darcy Tucker left the club through free agency and after a trade that sent Bryan McCabe packing for Florida, the Leafs seemed to be in serious trouble heading into their 91st year of hockey.

The additions to the Maple Leafs in 2008 included defensemen Jeff Finger, Stars forward Niklas Hagman and Montreal-castaway Mikhali Grabovski. Despite these additions, the Leafs couldn't compete in this year's Eastern Conference. The team's lack of a solid goaltender was undoubtedly their biggest downfall as Vesa Toskala spent significant amounts of time on the injured reserve while Curtis Joseph continued to provide loss after loss. This lack of goaltending put the Leafs in the unfortunate situation of rushing Justin Pogge to the NHL along with trading for veterans Martin Gerber and Olaf Kolzig to try and sure up the holes in the crease.

Heading into the summer of 2009, Leafs fans were anxious to see how Brian Burke was going to put his stamp on the club as this was his first real off-season with the club. Burke wasted no time in drafting Nazem Kadri, despite his apparent desire to create another brother combo in Toronto like he did with the Sedin's in Vancouver and Niedermayer's in Anaheim with his interest in drafting Brayden Schenn.

Burke's biggest splash was ultimately made through free agency with size being a major need for the Maple Leafs in his eyes, something he has preached about for years. Addressing this issue, the Leafs signed Mike Komisarek away from their rival Montreal Canadiens with a four year contract worth four and a half million dollars a season. To complement the signing of Komisarek, the Leafs were also able to add former Anaheim defensemen Francois Beauchemin to the roster through free agency. In what was a somewhat expected move, the Leafs then sent defensemen and alternate captain Pavel Kubina to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Colin Stuart and Garnet Exelby.

In true Burke fashion, the Maple Leafs now had a large set of bigger defensemen with great physical styles of play. Adding to the bigger squad, the signing of Colton Orr to a four-year contract had the Leafs already looking to be a far grittier team in 2009.

The biggest problem remained in the crease of the Air Canada Center. The Leafs goaltending was simply horrid in 2008-09 and Vesa Toskala (and his deceptive record of 22-17-11) was a headache to watch every night and Curtis Joseph, or what's left of him anyhow was no relief. The idea that the Leafs still needed a legitimate number one goaltender for the future remained.

Insert Jonas Gustavsson. Also known as "The Monster" in Sweden, the 24 year old goaltender simply dominated the Swedish Elite League yet again in 2008-09 with his 1.96 GAA and even more impressive and record setting 1.03 GAA, .961 save percentage and 5 shutouts in the SEL Playoffs. Although many rumors indicated Gustavsson was heading to Vancouver to replace former Boston College goaltender Cory Schneider, the Monster signed a one year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2009-10 season.

If Gustavsson is to falter, which has become a relatively more common thing involving European goaltenders who dominate their leagues overseas the Leafs have insurance policy Joey McDonald waiting down in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.

As it stands right now, the Maple Leafs have just over two million in cap space and with the reacquiring of their 2010 second round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks it appears as if Brian Burke is preparing to make a big run at Boston sniper and restricted free agent Phil Kessel. If Boston and Toronto are to work out a deal involving the 21 year old forward, Toronto would gain a first line type player they desperately need while Boston would likely obtain the Leafs first three draft choices from the 2010 Draft.

However, with 2010 expected to be one of the poorer draft classes in recent years the idea of Boston matching the offer in order to work out a trade with Toronto seems likely. This will definitely be a story to keep your eyes on as the NHL season draws closer.

Here is how the Leafs line-up should shake up come October 3rd.

Jason Blake - Mikhali Grabovski - Lee Stempniak

Niklas Hagman - Matt Stajan - Alexei Ponikarovsky

Nikolai Kulemin - Jiri Tlusty - Jamal Mayers

Colton Orr - John Mitchell - Wayne Primeau

Extra Skater: Rickard Wallin

Mike Komisarek - Tomas Kaberle

Luke Schenn - Francois Beauchemin

Jeff Finger - Ian White

Extra Skaters: Mike Van Ryn, Garnet Exelby

Vesa Toskala
Jonas Gustavsson

This team essentially needs a superstar forward in order to make a serious run for the playoffs. Is Kessel that player? It's entirely possible, but still may not be enough and will be a total non-factor until he's officially out of Boston and into Toronto. The defense for the Leafs may be stronger, but it may be a great idea for Burke to look to shop Kaberle for some help on the forward front. It's still too early for the Burke Plan to become a plan lasting into mid-April and will continue to be in process of building a complete team in Toronto this season.

Players To Watch: Luke Schenn, it'll be interesting to see how the 19 year old performs in his second season in the NHL. Him being a prized possession of Brian Burke only tells you good things about his future. Jonas Gustavsson is also an obvious player to be watching for Toronto this season, just how does the Monster handle the NHL? Will he be the next Henrik Lundqvist, or the next Hannu Toivonen?

Prediction: 4th in Northeast Division. 9th in Eastern Conference.

Report: B's Offer Kessel To Leafs For Kaberle, 7th Overall Pick

This stove's already heating up in the early hours of the morning here on Draft Day.

According to sources from TSN.ca, it's being reported that the Bruins have offered RW Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defensemen Tomas Kaberle and the seventh overall pick in the 2009 Draft. Kessel, is set to become a restricted free agent come July 1 and it appears that his rumored asking price of $5 million per season is simply too much for the Bruins to add onto their salary cap. Assuming that this report has accuracy to it, it may appear as if Kessel's negotiations have not gone in the Bruins favor and they're not utilizing all options to get the most worth in return for Phil The Thrill.

Kaberle is coming off a season where he battled injuries to his right hand, an injury that kept him out of the lineup for 25 games. However, Kaberle still put together a solid year for the blue and white with his 31 points, 19 of which coming on the powerplay. Kaberle's last healthy season came in 2007-08 where he posted 53 points, including 45 assists in 82 games for the Maple Leafs. Since the lock-out, the Bruins have been highly criticized by analysts and fans alike for their lack of a puck moving defensemen, and Tomas Kaberle could be the perfect fit for filling this void on the Boston blue-line.

It's no secret that new Leafs GM Brian Burke is a fan of North American players and Phil Kessel may just be what the Leafs need. Although with his youth, Kessel's a fast and lethal scorer and his price tag is sure to be less expensive than fellow free agents Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik making him an even more friendly option to Toronto's needs. If Toronto can lock-up the 22 year old Wisconsin native long term, it'll certainly be an upgrade and key building block in the rebuilding of Toronto into a contending team for many years to come.

Along with Kaberle, the Bruins would receive the seventh overall pick in this year's very deep draft, addressing the issue of moving up in the draft, a topic which Chiarelli had touched on in a radio interview earlier this week. If this move is to happen, the Bruins would likely be in the position to select Zach Kassian, Brayden Schenn, or perhaps Jared Cowen.

I'll be following this story along with the other developing stories on draft day in Montreal.