They are the sleeping giant of the NHL. They play in a major market. They have a long — if not always illustrious — history and a rabid fanbase. They play in a 10-year-old arena downtown.
Yet the Toronto Maple Leafs can never put it all together. This franchise should be the NHL’s equivalent of the Red Sox or Yankees. With a population of 5.5 million, Toronto ranks No. 8 among metropolitan areas in North America — bigger than Washington, bigger than Boston.
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Instead, the Leafs are a (slightly) better-run version of the NBA’s New York Knicks. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2004 and haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967. Brian Burke, the general manager who led the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup in 2007, is trying to change all that. His latest move? Trading for Boston Bruins star right wing Phil Kessel, a 21-year-old who tallied 36 goals last season.
It is the kind of trade the Yankees and Red Sox pull all the time. Find a player who is unhappy with his financial situation and make him whole. There are more risks in the NHL, where the salary cap limits how much money a team can spend. And fair or not, Kessel has a reputation for being immature off the ice. But talent is talent. And the Leafs used draft picks — two first-rounders and a second-rounder — to grab a restricted free agent they likely couldn’t pick up any other way. It’s a step in the right direction.
