Leafs Take Kadri

A day of excitement and possible trades seemed to fizzle as the NHL draft yielded few surprises in the first round. This was especially true for the Leafs who tried to swing trades all day to move up in the draft and had that mix up with Boston over the Kaberle/Kessel deal. Even the hopes of the Leafs re-united the Schenn brothers did not happen when the Kings took Brayden at five and you could see a bit of the frustration in Burke’s face.

It would have been fun today to dissect all the moves that Burke made yesterday and whether the gambles where worth it. The story would have been about Burke and what he had accomplished and he would have been in the limelight. Despite his image, I do not believe that is what Burke is about. As head of the Leafs he has shown patience, and for the job of rebuilding the Leafs patience is a major requirement. There are no quick fixes with this team, and with salary cap it is all too easy to put yourself in a position that you can not easily recover from.

I did not expect the Leafs to take Kadri, but I love the choice. For a multi-cultural city like Toronto it is a great choice, but above all, for a hockey move it is a great choice. Kadri brings energy, skill, speed and character to the Leafs. Character seems to be an important component of what Burke is trying to bring to the Leafs and I applaud him for that. Kadri could be an impact player centering a line with a star winger in a few years. At worse he will be a high energy number two center with skill and a top penalty killer. Next year will be spent back in junior hockey and with the Canadian national team and then we can look toward him taking his shot at making the Leafs the following year.

As important as what Burke did with taking Kadri, is what Burke did not do in the first round. He did not take a step back and trade Schenn as part of a package to try and get Tavares. The Leafs are not in a position where they can move several assets, including Schenn, Kadri and Kaberle for the hope that Tavares will lead this team. Besides I’d rather have Schenn and Kadri lead this team instead of Tavares. Schenn and Kadri will be important building blocks for this franchise and Kaberle will be moved over the summer for additional pieces. The Leafs are not a quick fix and Burke is building a team, not trying to find a new hero for the Leaf fans to worship. Heck, Leaf fans are happy to worship a Tie Domi so that is not Burke’s goal.

I am also glad that Burke did not trade away pieces to move to take Luke’s brother. It would have been “neat” to have both brothers on the same team, but that also creates an immediate clique on the team and a dynamic that is not team focused. The Schenn boys both appear to have great character, but you do want a part of your team plan focusing on how to keep them together over the years. We already have an extreme case of that happening in Vancouver with the Sedins.

I am also glad that Burke did not waste the seventh pick for a Cowen or Kassian. We already have our shutdown defenseman in Schenn so Cowen is not a need for this team and Kassian is not a top ten pick from where I sit. Burke will pick up some of that abrasive edge in later rounds during this draft and he will add to that in the summer. Wasting a number seven pick on that would have been a shame. There is a difference between building a tough team with grit and character and just putting together a group of bullies. Burke understands that and with his handling of last nights draft I am confident that is the direction that the Leafs are moving in.