Toronto Maple Leafs’ Trade for Phil Kessel Remains a Smart One

While the future is obviously never certain despite whichever numbers a player might put up in junior hockey, trading away as many assets as Burke did in order to get Kessel still left some people disgusted.

Kessel, a young power forward who some consider to be a world-class talent, was acquired because the Leafs needed some scoring and they wanted it immediately. Since he was also still extremely young, some considered this deal to be for the Leafs’ future franchise player, although some would say that this title should be given to Dion Phaneuf.

Let’s take a look and see where each of these four players are now and what they have accomplished since the trade.

Phil Kessel

To start off with the big fish, so to speak, Kessel has done nothing but perform since becoming a Leaf. There will always be critics who will harp on Kessel’s one-dimensional play and work ethic, but it cannot be denied that Kessel consistently puts up points, even without anyone who’s nearly as good as Marc Savard to dish him the puck.

The Leafs traded for and got exactly what they were expecting: scoring and point production. Although his scoring has been described as “streaky” since he tends to disappear from the score sheet from time to time, he is one of a small handful of players to have scored 30-plus goals in each of the past four consecutive seasons.

There is still one question that remains: Could Kessel be a 50-goal scorer if the Leafs were to bring in a Ryan Getzlaf-type centerman Only time will tell.

Total regular season NHL goals scored: 165

Total regular season NHL points scored: 327

Tyler Seguin

At age 20, Seguin has already captured Lord Stanley’s cup. Many believe that Seguin alone made this deal laughable for the Leafs because he is already “better” than Kessel. As great of a player as Seguin is, I wouldn’t give him that distinction just yet, although he may be a more complete defensive player.

Kessel has proved that he can put up points despite a lackluster roster of talent around him. Not to take away from Seguin, but Boston has always been a strong team since he arrived. If Seguin were to have remained a Maple Leaf, I think his success wouldn’t have been so bountiful.

Seguin has excellent vision and should be a force for Boston for years to come. At the same time, we all saw what happened to Phaneuf, among others, who shared great success through their first couple of seasons before dropping off. I’m not saying that Seguin will become fourth line material, but there is no guarantee that he will remain elite.

Until Seguin can put up a couple more seasons of great numbers, it’s hard to say he has already eclipsed Kessel in skill.

Total NHL regular season goals scored: 40

Total NHL regular season points scored: 89

Jared Knight

As a point-per-game player in the OHL for the last two seasons, young Jared Knight has shown a lot of potential. However, as I’ve said before, junior numbers don’t always translate into strong NHL numbers.

If Knight develops into a top-six forward, there will be no doubt that the Leafs have lost this trade. On the other hand, the Leafs traded for immediate help as opposed to future aid and Kessel has delivered. Only time will tell if this part of the trade has worked out for Boston or not.

Total NHL regular season goals scored: 0

Total NHL regular season points scored: 0

Dougie Hamilton

As a very noted blue chip defensive prospect, Dougie Hamilton was the last piece the Leafs sent over in exchange for Kessel.

Putting up 17 goals and 72 points in just 50 games from the point in the OHL this season, Hamilton looks to be an offensive-minded defense star on the rise. If he were to develop into a top-four defenseman, it would be safe to say that Leaf fans everywhere will be kicking themselves.

At the same time, it’s not too hard of a loss, in a sense, given the depth of defensemen as well as defense prospects the Leafs already have. Hamilton’s development may be slower since defensemen don’t usually peak until around 28-32 years of age, but anything can happen.

Total NHL regular season goals scored: 0

Total NHL regular season points scored: 0

In conclusion, the Leafs obviously gave up a lot of assets in order to acquire Phil Kessel. After a few strong seasons for the Leafs while also finishing in the top-five league leaders in scoring this past season, some would describe this trade as a “trade of a lifetime.”

Why? Simply because being able to trade prospects for guaranteed top-end scoring talent is harder than it seems these days. When you also look at trades such as the recent Rick Nash deal, you realize that maybe getting a player like Kessel for what the Leafs paid is worth it after all.

Kessel is still quite young himself and has many more years in which to flourish in the NHL. While all of the prospects the Leafs traded have enormous potential, we can’t forget that Kessel’s potential is also still there.