The atmosphere at Air Canada Center on Saturday may be a bit strange for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the "boos" in the building will have nothing to do with it being Halloween.
The Pittsburgh Penguins with superstar Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has always been one of the most anticipated games of the season, but that will be heightened even further by former Leaf leading scorer Phil Kessel returning for the first time since being traded by Toronto on July 1.
All the difficulty with the media, rumors of not being in shape and imperfections in his game aside, Kessel was put in an untenable position from the very beginning after GM Brian Burke’s grand miscalculation of trading two first round picks (which turned into Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton) to Boston for the 22-year-old sniper in 2009.
Kessel is not a franchise player, not the #1 center that Toronto has been looking for since the departure of Mats Sundin and does not have the personality to be a team leader. His skills are that of a goal scorer and a complementary player who can take over games at times with his speed and playmaking ability.
The problem was that he was paid like players who were one or all of those things.
The Maple Leafs rebuilding plan (the road chosen by Team President Brendan Shanahan last February) and being positioned to draft franchise players over the next couple years would have been undermined had the club not traded Kessel for defenseman Scott Harrington, forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Nick Spaling and the Penguins 1st and 3rd round pick.
After the worst goal total since his 2008, Kessel very well may have bounced back and reached the 30-goal plateau for the sixth time, but his scoring prowess may have kept the Leafs in that zone of purgatory outside of a playoff spot but not finishing low enough to be in a position to select top prospects.
“I signed 8 years here, expected to be here. I guess the Leafs had different plans.… Kessel said after the morning skate.
The speedy winger has four goals and two assists in 10 games with Pittsburgh, which for the offensively challenged Leafs could have given them more victories instead of starting the season at 1-6-2.
ICYMI As of Friday, Leafs had no tribute planned for Phil Kessel's return tonight. And more with @FriedgeHNIC https://t.co/5NdIn8uKY5
— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) October 31, 2015The Maple Leafs under Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello have decided to do away with the past practice of a video tribute and the former Leaf is not expecting a warm reception from the Toronto fans as well.
"I figure there'll be some boos. That's always how it is, right?" Kessel said after the morning skate. “I loved my time here, I don’t regret anything and it should be fun tonight.…
The Leafs are expected to stay with the same lineup against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Scott Harrington is out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and Brad Boyes will be a healthy scratch.
Jonathan Bernier made 23 saves on Friday in his sixth straight loss but will get the start in goal, while Marc-Andre Fleury will be between the pipes for the Penguins.
After starting the season with Crosby, Kessel has enjoyed more success on a second line unit with David Perron and Malkin, who has made a career out of destroying the Maple Leafs, with 15 goals, 36 assists in 28 games.
*******
Toronto put forth a good effort but could not manage a consistent offensive attack against the New York Rangers in a 3-1 loss at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Mats Zuccarello scored a hat trick for the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves for his fifth victory of the season, while Joffrey Lupul scored late in the third period for Toronto’s only goal.
The result of the game may have been altered after a Lupul tally that tied the game 12 seconds into the third was waved off for goaltender interference.
“I saw the shot coming through and I didn’t feel like I touched Lundqvist, but obviously (the officials) thought different.… Lupul said.
*******
The Toronto Marlies have been the mirror image to the Maple Leafs struggles, as the club’s AHL affiliate notched their sixth victory with a 6-1 decision over the Grand Rapids Griffins at Ricoh Coliseum on Friday.
William Nylander scored a pair of goals, Richard Panik registered four assists, Josh Leivo had three points (1G, 2A) and Garret Sparks made 38 saves for Sheldon Keefe’s crew, who move to 6-3-0 on the season.
Toronto now embarks on a seven-game, 18 day road trip against Albany, Hartford, Utica, Binghamton, St. Johns(2) and Rochester before returning home against the Amerks on November 21.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.