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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger •
Brian Burke has taken his first real steps towards remaking the Toronto Maple Leafs in his image. With the signing of Colton Orr, he acquired an established enforcer that will not shy away from a fistic encounter and will protect youngsters like Luke Schenn from having to drop the gloves. With the trade of Pavel Kubina, the Leafs acquired tough 27 year old defenseman Garnet Exelby, who is reminiscent of former Leaf Brian Marchment for his penchant of dishing out questionable open ice hits. The Leafs save $3.28 Million in cap money next season with the trade of Kubina.
The biggest move of the day was the signing of Mike Komisarek to a 5 year, $22.5 Million contract. At 27 years old, Komisarek is just entering the prime of his career. He is a tough minded, hard checking defenseman, but is less apt to participate offensively than the departing Pavel Kubina.
There is nothing wrong with any of these acquisitions, all of the players will fulfill the role that Brian Burke has for them. Komisarek will replace Kubina's 25+ minutes of ice time, Orr and Exelby will greatly increase the grit factor of the Leafs. But do not confuse getting younger and tougher with the team improving in the standings next year. If Burke follows through on trading Tomas Kaberle, the defense will still be solid, but will not have the puck rushing ability it has had in the past. This team does not have a quality top 6 forward, unless you think Jason Blake, Matt Stajan, Alexei Ponikarovsky or Mikhail Grabovski meets that description and their main goaltender, Vesa Toskala has been injured and inconsistent for the two years he has worn Blue and White.
These first steps are an indication that Burke has a firm grasp on what type of team he wants to put out on the ice. There may very well be more moves to come, but the likelihood of major impact players being brought into the fold is extremely low.
From the desk of Mike "In Buffalo" Augello
The biggest move of the day was the signing of Mike Komisarek to a 5 year, $22.5 Million contract. At 27 years old, Komisarek is just entering the prime of his career. He is a tough minded, hard checking defenseman, but is less apt to participate offensively than the departing Pavel Kubina.
There is nothing wrong with any of these acquisitions, all of the players will fulfill the role that Brian Burke has for them. Komisarek will replace Kubina's 25+ minutes of ice time, Orr and Exelby will greatly increase the grit factor of the Leafs. But do not confuse getting younger and tougher with the team improving in the standings next year. If Burke follows through on trading Tomas Kaberle, the defense will still be solid, but will not have the puck rushing ability it has had in the past. This team does not have a quality top 6 forward, unless you think Jason Blake, Matt Stajan, Alexei Ponikarovsky or Mikhail Grabovski meets that description and their main goaltender, Vesa Toskala has been injured and inconsistent for the two years he has worn Blue and White.
These first steps are an indication that Burke has a firm grasp on what type of team he wants to put out on the ice. There may very well be more moves to come, but the likelihood of major impact players being brought into the fold is extremely low.
From the desk of Mike "In Buffalo" Augello
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