Phil Kessel Traded to Toronto Maple Leafs

Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe had a nice piece on the Bruins Blog that paints a clear picture of why this trade went down. It’s interesting to here Peter Chiarelli speak about the process and just how unwilling Kessel was to negotiate.

Chiarelli deserves a lot of credit for getting as much as he did in this trade. It was clear that Kessel didn’t want to play in Boston and it was clear that no team other than the Leafs could be the destination. It works out for all parties involved, Kessel is a Leaf, the Leafs get their man and the Bruins score a couple of first round draft picks.

There is no doubt that Phil Kessel is a dynamic player. how much will he do to help the Toronto Maple Leafs and how long will it take? James Mirtle explains that the Leafs will have much higher expectations after making this trade. Contending for last place will not be good enough anymore.

The Leafs have made a huge jump here and who thinks that Brian Burke is done? He may have his team that will start the season but if we know anything about Brian Burke, he is not patient. He will do whatever it takes to make the Leafs better and that plan is starting to come together.