The reality of Phil Kessel being traded will not sink in for some Maple Leafs fans until the regular season, when Toronto travels to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins at Consol Energy Center on October 17 or his return to Air Canada Center, appropriately scheduled for Halloween night.
The former Leaf took to social media on Sunday morning to thank the Toronto fans for their support over his six-year stay.
The 27-year-old was traded on July 1st along with former Leafs first rounder Tyler Biggs, defenseman Tim Erixon and Pittsburgh’s 2016 second round pick(obtained in the deal for forward Daniel Winnik last February) for Pens 2014 top pick Kasperi Kapanen, defenseman Scott Harrington, forward Nick Spaling, Pittsburgh’s 1st round pick in either 2016 or 2017(conditional on making the post-season in either year) and New Jersey's 2016 third rounder.
As with the deal that brought Kessel to Toronto in 2009, it will not be known how successful this deal will be for either side for some time. The Penguins have been looking for a premier scoring winger to play with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin since the trade of James Neal to Nashville last summer and did not have to give up either defenseman Olli Maatta or top prospect Derrick Pouliot in the deal.
Kessel will likely thrive and eclipse his Toronto scoring totals playing alongside one of the league’s top centers, but the success of this deal for GM Jim Rutherford will depend on Pittsburgh returning to the higher echelon of Eastern Conference playoff contenders.
The Leafs had to trade Kessel to begin Brendan Shanahan’s teardown and rebuild plan. Toronto cleared all but $1.2 Million of the winger’s $8 Million salary for the next seven seasons and acquired four future assets in the deal.
The 19-year-old Kapanen is expected to play the entire season with the AHL Toronto Marlies. Harrington has played most of the last two seasons with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and could challenge for a bottom pairing position with the Leafs or called up later in the season when spots open if veterans Roman Polak or Stephane Robidas are traded.
Spaling has one year left before becoming an unrestricted free agent, which means that the 26-year-old forward will be looking to put up good numbers to make him an attractive commodity on the open market next summer. That also means that the Leafs will looking to convert that expiring contract into a future draft pick, as they did with UFA’s Cody Franson, Mike Santorelli, Korbinian Holzer and Olli Jokinen prior to the trade deadline.
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Veteran defenseman Stephane Robidas struggled with multiple injuries in his first season in Toronto and missed the last month of the regular season to have them taken care of. Five months later, after surgeries were performed to repair damage to his shoulder, a torn bicep muscle and remove a screw in his ankle from a previous injury, the 38-year-old has been given the go-ahead to resume on-ice work nearly a month prior to the opening of training camp.
“I was cleared a couple of days ago,” Robidas said to the Toronto Sun’s
Lance Hornby at the MasterCard Center late last week. “To get on the ice, get a feel for everything and be on the ice with the guys in passing mode was good. It wasn’t a real game, but it was a good basis to get back into it and work on little details. Movement and everything was good today. I’m trying to work on little thinks like mobility. I’m feeling great and feeling healthy.”
The veteran blueliner was brought in to give the Leafs younger defensemen (Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner) the benefit of his NHL experience, but his physical ailments limited Robidas to just one goal and six assists in 52 games and raises questions if time is running out for the 15-year NHL veteran.
“I know I can still play. I have a passion for it, I still love it.” Robidas said. “Last year, from November until we shut it down, I played with the bad shoulder. I couldn’t sleep at night. I’m not looking for any excuses or anything like that, but I had started to feel (comfortable) and then the shoulder gave in.”
With two years remaining at $3 Million a season, Toronto is hoping that a healthy Robidas can provide stability in their top six and continue to have a positive influence on the likes of Rielly and Gardiner, who are expected to take on more ice time and responsibilities under Mike Babcock.
With a youth movement afoot in the Leafs organization, it is possible that the veteran defenseman could be moved to a playoff contender looking for depth later in the year if he stays healthy. If injuries continue to persist this season, buying out the final year of Robidas' contract next summer would be an option.
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