There are many "what ifs” that Leaf fans can ponder.
Would Toronto have been better off if GM Brian Burke did not make the Phil Kessel deal?
Would their future be brighter had Boyd Devereaux not scored a meaningless hat trick in the last game of the regular season and turned the fifth overall draft pick of Brayden Schenn into the uncertainty of Nazem Kadri?
How many times would Toronto have made the postseason in the last four years had Ron Wilson and his staff had been able to figure out a way to get their penalty killing to be just average, instead of the worst in the league?
These questions can never really be answered accurately. No one will ever know whether Tyler Seguin would have flourished or been overwhelmed being the centerpiece of the club in the Toronto pressure cooker or if Schenn would have suffered the same problems with inconsistency as his older brother.
After a successful regular season, a first-round victory over Ottawa and a win in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the members of Leafs Nation are probably wondering if their team could have made the playoffs and possibly still be playing had Brad Richards became a member of the Blue-and-White last July.
Burke took significant heat for going to visit Canadian troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan at the beginning of free agency, instead of being the point man in pitching to Richards and his representatives at the offices of Newport Sports, but in retrospect it is clear that his presence would have made no difference, since Toronto would not have offered the kind of front loaded deal that New York offered and that the 31-year-old P.E.I. native only wanted to play for his former coach John Tortorella and for a team that had most of the pieces in place to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
Burke indicated afterward that the Leafs made a concerted effort to sign the free agent center.
"We made a very substantial offer to Brad Richards. What we offered I don't think is material. We lost out on the Brad Richards sweepstakes for two reasons. One, we didn't offer as much money as other teams and more importantly we didn't structure the contract like other teams did. These deals that are front-end loaded and have small amounts at the back end in my opinion are designed to circumvent the salary cap. I won't do them, I never have, I'm not going to."
After the result of this failed season, the question is whether having Richards in Toronto would have been worth Burke going against his principles and topping the Rangers nine-year deal, averaging $6.66 Million per season.
The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner had a respectable year with the Broadway Blueshirts, scoring 25 goals and 41 assists in 82 games and has continued his penchant for postseason heroics, with a two point performance in an elimination game against Ottawa and an important goal in Game One against Washington.
With the Leafs, Richards would have given the young club a legitimate top flight center for the first time since Mats Sundin departed four years ago(instead of falling back to the disastrous Plan B, signing Tim Connolly) and his likely placement with wingers Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul may have been a potentially overpowering combination. His veteran leadership could have helped in avoiding the disastrous February swoon that cost Toronto a playoff spot.
The signing was perfect for New York, as Richards is still in the prime of his career and his addition may be the final piece to the puzzle for club that has an MVP candidate in Henrik Lundqvist in goal, the solid leadership of Ryan Callahan, the scoring ability of Marian Gaborik, a suffocating team defense and ample depth at forward.
In Toronto, his addition would have plugged one large hole on a ship that has many leaks, but by the time that ship is ready to set sail, Richards would likely have been past his prime.
*******
Prediction
Philadelphia(5) vs New Jersey(6)
The winner of the most entertaining series of Round One, against the winner of the most boring series of Round One.
Philadelphia outgunned, outhit and outhustled Pittsburgh, with Claude Giroux scoring a league-leading 14 points and getting impressive performances from rookies Brayden Schenn and Shawn Couturier.
New Jersey was expected to handle the Southeast Division winning Florida Panthers easily, but instead were extended to double overtime of Game Seven before rookie Adam Henrique scored the winner.
The Flyers are deeper up front and in spite of not having Chris Pronger available, have the better blueline, the great equalizer will be the goaltending. The putrid play of Ilya Bryzgalov was literally the only thing that kept Pittsburgh within striking distance during most of the series. Martin Brodeur was a Jekyll and Hyde early in the series against the Panthers, but winning Games Six and Seven to move on. If Bryzgalov continues to be a sieve and Brodeur remained steady, New Jersey could prolong the series, but Philadelphia appears to have too much firepower.
Flyers in 6
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