Draft Day

Maple Leaf fans have reason to hope today and tomorrow will signify positive, new beginnings for their favourite hockey team.

The Leafs have the No. 7 pick in tonight's draft, and by 9 p.m. or so there will be a new teenager with "saviour" tattooed on his forehead. There are all kinds of trade rumours, including some linking Pavel Kubina to San Jose when Kubina's trade window opens this weekend. There's an intent to at least try again to move veterans Darcy Tucker and Bryan McCabe, whose only professional aspirations currently seem to be to live in Toronto, whether the hockey club wants them or not.

So lots of intrigue, many possibilities.

And what a strange little move with which to see the hockey club start off.

After resourcefully picking up a third round pick, 70th overall, from Florida at the trade deadline for Chad Kilger, Fletcher peddled that moderately useful pick to St. Louis last night for 33-year-old winger Jamal Mayers.

Mayers is a local fellow, a big, grinding winger who again played for Canada at the recent world championships in Quebec City and Halifax. The Leafs have been eyeballing him for years as a useful third or fourth line player. Mayers is under contract for the next two seasons at the very affordable $1.4 million.

The question, however, would be why is the team selling off newly acquired picks, even third rounders, for aging veterans who can at best play supporting roles?

It's not a big deal, that's for sure. But isn't this where the Leafs want to be hoarding as many young prospects as possible, not dealing off picks? Or is the plan here to patch together a lineup that can qualify for that exalted eighth and final playoff berth in the east?

While first and second rounders are obviously the most useful, any pick in the top 100 has value. The idea was to move Kilger to start the rebuilding process, yet the pick acquired in exchange for him has now been flipped to land another older player.

Curious. Let's see what the rest of the weekend brings.

Comments

[Wes]

I see many of those who responded to this dribble, I mean article swing the same purses at Cox does. The Leafs bring in a fantastic team guy who will bring nothing but energy, work ethic, and accountibility to the lineup, and you fools have a problem with it? Wow. I bet you're all still crying inside and out about the club telling John Pohl he won't be back.

[Vincent Clement]

This team has had plenty of 'veteran presence' over the last five years and what has that presence accomplished? Nothing. It's time to start adding some youth to the team and focus on building a contender not an 8th place team.

The salary cap is a moot issue. Detroit doesn't seem to have a problem with it? Stop worrying about the cap and start building a team - including the management side.

[Rob]

"Grit" was the season before lasts fad (Anaheim), puck posession is this years style.
Sadly, the Leafs are once again neither fish nor fowl.
Character players are important, but do the Leafs even have a first line anymore? This team makes the Devils look like the late 80's Oilers.
Jammer is a good player and a gritty competitor, but there wasn't a younger player of this type available?
"Draft, shmaft" or "Grit, shmit"?

[jimmy, the one knowledgable leaf fan]

This is a good to great trade. 3rd round picks are generally useless, and its not like it was our only one. Anyone who has ever wathched hockey can tell you that kilger for mayers is a freaking steal. You rebuild by making good hockey moves on a consistant basis. IF the leafs are terrible, mayers (appearently a strong charachter guy) may be good for the dressing room, b/c, newsflash: if youre "rebuilding" and you put 23 "kids" on your team, and lose 70 games, those kids arent going to develop at all.
If you think this is a bad trade, you need to realize you are one of the annoying leafs fans who give me and the other intellegent fan a bad name.

[Terrible Ted]

The Leafs are an easy team to play against. Mayers will bring toughness and a never say die attitude. This is something that is severely lacking on this team. People can criticize this move all they want but I predict Mayers will be the teams most popular player by November. Damien seems to forget the Leafs need to ice a team this season.

[Montgomery C. Burns]

"Jammer" is a good pickup for the Leafs. He gives the team much needed grit and he is a Penalty Killing specialist. For a team that was pushed around often and had the second worst PK teams, Mayers will be a shot in the arm.

[FRT]

If the Leafs are going to be younger next season...you have to have a few veterans in the line-up. Mayer is a tough gritty winger that will play 80 games a year. Believe me he would not have been on the past 2 World Championship teams if he didn't have the intangibles that they wanted. He can fore-check; take face-offs and more importantly back-check...something a lot of the deadwood on last years team had no idea how to do. Was it a bad decision when the Pens brought in "golden aged" Roberts to bolster their young line-up? NO! And Mayer has a lot of good hockey left in him. Good trade Fletch!

[jb from Detroit]

Leaf Fan

Please don't forget for every Zetterberg and Datsuk the wings have there is a Draper and a Drake. Watching the leafs I never saw much value in Kilger but Jamal Mayers is someone most every team needs. Grit was a lacking commodity in the wings in the past and now with some they have reached the holy grail again.
As far as having management issues in Toronto take a look at the Wings pre Yzerman. The leafs can and will turn it around. I know hockey fans in Detroit sure hope so we are tired of CBJ and Nashville.

[Brian]

I think that it is pretty obvious that this team is being assembled in the Brian Burke mold. Big, tough and goonish. Look at every draft choice. There should be a pool on when Burke arrives. Leaf fans are in for old fashioned goon hockey. Wow!!!!!! What a surprise!!!!!