Leafs send a panic message with trade

Vesa Toskala

Pierre McGuire

6/23/2007 1:18:33 AM

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquisition of Vesa Toskala sends a little bit of a panic message to the players, the team and to the fans. 

They traded Tuukka Rask, the 21st overall pick in 2005 and one of the best prospects outside the NHL, to the Boston Bruins to get Andrew Raycroft.  And after one year, Toronto decided Raycroft wasn't good enough and they want to go with this new thing, a 1A and 1B goalie arrangement. I don't know if that's good enough.

The Maple Leafs better hope this move doesn't backfire on them, because they are not building up any internal depth, they are not building up any strength on their back-end, and they are not helping out their anemic penalty killing. This is going to be a big issue for the Maple Leafs and their coach, Paul Maurice.

Pierre's Favourite Picks

I like what the New York Rangers did by stealing Alexei Cherepanov.  Some people thought he was the most NHL-ready player coming in to the draft.  He is skilled, he's bigger than you think, he's only going to get stronger and he's already played against men in the Russian Super League.  Alexei Cherepanov is a big-time home run for the Rangers.

How about Angelo Esposito going at number 20 to Pittsburgh.  He's a kid with spectacular offensive skills.  Maybe he doesn't make the players around him better, but when you play with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, they will make you better.  Don't worry about Esposito, he'll find the back of the net often.  He's a steal at 20 for Pittsburgh.

The biggest thing for me, though, is seeing Patrick Kane going to Chicago. Think about him playing with Jonathan Toews and Martin Havlat and Tuomo Ruutu.  Think about where this organization is going now.  It's all positive energy for Chicago.  And Patrick Kane merited the number one pick.

Pierre's Pans

What about the host team in Columbus taking Jakub Voracek?  Now I know the people in Halifax are going to be upset with me, and he is going to be a good player, but when you think about what is going on with the Blue Jackets - having a new general manager and hosting the draft - you've got to make a splash.  You've got to get something better than a solid, two-way guy.  You've got to get a guy who is going to dominate in different situations.  He's a safe pick who absolutely does some good things, but I wish he could do a litle more.

Then there is the Boston Bruins.  Zach Hamill ripped it up in the WHL playing for a defensive coach in Kevin Constantine in Everett.  All that being said, there is a huge knock on him - a lack of overall footspeed.  He's got heavy feet, and if he doesn't pick up his skating, he could be a guy down the road that everyone looks at and says, "How come Boston didn't do better?"