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Sources tell TSN that the Toronto Maple Leafs have sent forward Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a pair of draft picks, one of them being a first round pick.

More to Follow…

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=353885

Trading a 50-60 point winger for a bottom 5 pick in the first round is a bad deal.

darth_federer wrote:

Sources tell TSN that the Toronto Maple Leafs have sent forward Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a pair of draft picks, one of them being a first round pick.

More to Follow…

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=353885

Trading a 50-60 point winger for a bottom 5 pick in the first round is a bad deal.

he underperformed. he was kind of a waste. so now Hanson or some stiff from the minors will be called up.
Versteeg was a 3rd liner for most teams. so its not a horrible trade for Toronto.
i think Burke is more convinced than ever that he can get a skilled forward as part of a salary dump. i wonder if Vinny Lecav is someone he's eyeing. horrible horrible contract, but perhaps he's angling Toronto to absorb such a craptastic contract to try to *snicker* win now.

A lot of people underperform here. Not sure about the draft class this year, but wow, selling mode begins.

Burke just doing what the fans want. DRAFT PICKS, DRAFT PICK!!

He's dumping salary and acquiring picks. I think he realizes his attempt at a quick turnaround was a disaster and he has to tear everything down and build from the bottom up.

Keep Schenn, Aulie, Kulemin, Kadri, Reimer, and Grabo... the rest can all go IMO. Yes even Kessel who I think could thrive in a market where he doesn't get much attention, he can't handle Toronto pressure.

I didnt like the Lupul deal. He has a bad contract and he isnt good enough offensively to be worth 4.25 million for the next two years. Versteeg can give you those kind of numbers on the third line (20/25 goals) or whatever Lupul has got the past few season when hes been healthy. But this is supposed to be a very weak draft and getting a pick near the end of the first round for a guy who can put up 50-60 points makes no sense to me. A lot of hockey guys have questioned the return too.

darth_federer wrote:

Sources tell TSN that the Toronto Maple Leafs have sent forward Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a pair of draft picks, one of them being a first round pick.

More to Follow…

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=353885

Trading a 50-60 point winger for a bottom 5 pick in the first round is a bad deal.

Yes and no. We also clear Versteeg's salary, so that money respent can make up most of his production anyways. I read a good post on another board - Lupul replaces Versteeg, Aulie replaces Beauchimen, and we end up with a 1st and 3rd and less contract going forward. If seen like that this is a decent deal, it helps us move in a direction of financial prudency and stockpiling picks, which is a much better strategy than what Burke has done so far

Dr Mufasa wrote:

darth_federer wrote:

Sources tell TSN that the Toronto Maple Leafs have sent forward Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a pair of draft picks, one of them being a first round pick.

More to Follow…

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=353885

Trading a 50-60 point winger for a bottom 5 pick in the first round is a bad deal.

Yes and no. We also clear Versteeg's salary, so that money respent can make up most of his production anyways. I read a good post on another board - Lupul replaces Versteeg, Aulie replaces Beauchimen, and we end up with a 1st and 3rd and less contract going forward. If seen like that this is a decent deal, it helps us move in a direction of financial prudency and stockpiling picks, which is a much better strategy than what Burke has done so far

Don't forget the young defenseman. Gartner I think. So it's a lateral move player wise plus a couple of picks and a good defenseman prospect.

Atta boy, Burkie! Keeping up the great work!

This deal doesn't really make sense, especially since we don't have our own first to fall back on.

I don't think we'll get a player of Versteeg's calibre with those picks, and if we do it won't be for another 5 years.

This makes me think that both picks are in play leading up to the deadline and possibly has something lined up

Realistically Versteeg's value would have wasted away the longer he stayed on the Leafs. He is a great third line player, a great piece on a winning team. If he couldn't hack it as a top 6 forward on the Leafs, he won't anywhere else. Getting a 1st and 3rd pick for him is not that bad. I'm sure Chicago would rather have that now than Staalberg, DiDomenico and Paradis.

Good immediate value for Philly.

Here is the salary cap estimate for the Leafs: http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=4

Apparently, expect the third round pick to be parlayed into a player as early az today.

Yes yes another plugged/grinder coming back. That is exactly what the Leafs need.blerg

I will reserve judgement until the end of the trade deadline.
Hopefully, this is one of many moves Burke will make to reshape this roster....because it is not a playoff roster.

Versteeg never impressed me this season I'm cool with this trade.

I like Versteeg as a player, and love the skillset he provides for his age/salary. At 24 years old, he's still going to improve. However, with the current roster we have, I don't think he was the greatest fit. He'll succeed in Philly, or wherever else he goes, but I'm happy to get some picks in return. Although it's not the greatest draft, we're still going to add a decent prospect with the first round pick, and at this point, we should be focused on building our prospect pool.

So the Leafs have about 15 million to spend apparently and Burke is expected to throw boatloads of cash at Brad Richards and a top 4 defenseman. Hopefully they can move Komisarek to get more cap space.

darth_federer wrote:So the Leafs have about 15 million to spend apparently and Burke is expected to throw boatloads of cash at Brad Richards and a top 4 defenseman. Hopefully they can move Komisarek to get more cap space.

I know they will badly over pay Richards.... but he is the player available that this team needs. A good two way player that is a leader and can be the face of the franchise. Kessel is too shy and Phanuef too gruff to be out there the way Mats, Gilmour, and Clark were.

Crowned wrote:I like Versteeg as a player, and love the skillset he provides for his age/salary. At 24 years old, he's still going to improve. However, with the current roster we have, I don't think he was the greatest fit. He'll succeed in Philly, or wherever else he goes, but I'm happy to get some picks in return. Although it's not the greatest draft, we're still going to add a decent prospect with the first round pick, and at this point, we should be focused on building our prospect pool.

Do players become better scorers as they age? Maybe they can get a few more bounces, but Versteeg strikes me as not a natural goal scorer. He knows how to play the game, and get open to get shots, but he just doesn't have the touch. To me, you either come into the league that a goal scorers touch or you don't.

J-Roc wrote:

Crowned wrote:I like Versteeg as a player, and love the skillset he provides for his age/salary. At 24 years old, he's still going to improve. However, with the current roster we have, I don't think he was the greatest fit. He'll succeed in Philly, or wherever else he goes, but I'm happy to get some picks in return. Although it's not the greatest draft, we're still going to add a decent prospect with the first round pick, and at this point, we should be focused on building our prospect pool.

Do players become better scorers as they age? Maybe they can get a few more bounces, but Versteeg strikes me as not a natural goal scorer. He knows how to play the game, and get open to get shots, but he just doesn't have the touch. To me, you either come into the league that a goal scorers touch or you don't.

Not quite a better goal scorer, but a better all around player. Versteeg is, and never will be a natural goal scorer, he'll get you 25 goals a year. However, he'll give you a good defensive game and kill some PK's while he's at it. As he ages, he'll become more experienced, stronger, maybe even faster. You're right, it's very rare that a player will display goal scoring attributes later in his career, but it does happen.