Leafs acquire stempniak

[RomaniaLuvTR]

for alex steen and colaiacovo..i`m sad to see steen go but i like this trade http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=257162& ... Story_main

[Shammgod_]

lee is good......

steen is my boy tho, struggling this year. colo, i think we slightly overpayed but good trade for where we are.

[NeverGoingToWin]

I have always had high hopes for both them so I am extremely disappointed with the trade. It is more because of how good I thought they could be then what they have actually showed so far.

[Crowned]

Both teams won here IMO. I like every player involved in this deal, so there's no bias on my part. I honestly think Lee has a ton of potential still, as does Steen and Carlo.

This deal could go either way for the Leafs. Steen really wasn't developing at the pace we expected and hoped for, and Carlo really needs a change in scenery. However, both could absolutely realize their potential in St. Louis.

As for Stemp, I'm looking forward to his offensive production. He's been hot lately. The potential is there for a consistant 65-70 point player.

[kcheleb]

how come the maple leafs forum barely has any posts?
the toronto raptors forum has so much
i would think the leafs would too
but anyways on topic,
ive never really seen stempniak play but i hope hell be a good addition
i hope the leafs get sundin back and then burke (is he gonna sign in toronto?) makes a couple moves and the leafs become better

im upset at always seeing them lose

[durka]

The thing with Steen and Carlo is that they were hyped up to be more then they actually can be by the Toronto media. They were both looked at as top prospects but the expectations were way to high. Steen had some really high expectations coming in after the lockout and Coliacavo, even if he does have the talent, just never had the health. I don't know much about this other guy, but hopefuly he's solid.

[Snayr]

Excellent move by the Leafs. Those two were never going to realize their potential in a Leafs uni (Especially Carlo with his countless injuries) and in return bring in a solid player in Lee Stempniak.

@ kcheleb: Sorry man, but Sundin is no longer in the plans for Toronto, and not on his "list". He'll go where he feels he'll have a chance of legitimately winning a cup (unless he chooses Vancouver for the money, and even then he'll make the playoffs most likely).

[Griff83]

I like the trade.

Both sides get very good pieces in the deal and who wins the trade prolly depends on how healthy Colicovo can stay in St. Louis. In the end, I think Stempniak fits our roster better for our needs of a top 6 forward, with speed and right handed. Hes very good on the powerplay, and prolly as good of a natural goal scorer as anyone on the current roster. This was a clear by high bUy Toronto and buy low by St Louis so it will be interesting if Steen or Coliacovo bust out in St Louis. I think when this finally gets around to competing Stemp will make for a perfect second liner good for 55-60pts a season and can be used on any one of the four lines and strongly used on the PP.

[bryant08]

I like the trade for the right handed shooter, especially a quick and very offensively oriented one. But from what we've seen so far, playing him on the PP/3rd line isn't enough IMO. You've got to give this guy a chance to shine, although I know we're a little scared of replacing him in any of our top 6. He was out there a couple of times with Stajan-Antro (not sure if it was just because of a late shift change), but I think that line should be explored as well. That line would have a few very different playing styles, or you could replace Kulemin on the 2nd line with Stemp and see if it works out. That line would be more suited towards the quick, grinding and goalscoring type play, so we'd be following one them. I've liked Kulemin so it would be hard to bump him off that line, but I hope to see RW using Stempniak as much as possible to truly see what we've got here. So far, I've really loved his ability to get the puck in the zone AND keep possession of it, I'm tired of seeing us losing valuable PP time because the puck carrier can't find the space to get it in the zone without having it sent back into our own end. Stempniak keeps his head up, finds a gap, and skates in with speed.

On a sidenote, Andre Deveaux looks like an NHL enforcer to me, the guy has enough skill to warrant an NHL roster spot while bringing that toughness along with him.