Toronto Maple Leafs: Brian Burke Made Some Great Trades

Brian Burke’s tenure as General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs was undoubtedly a failure.

However, in spite of his many missteps, Burke possessed one quality that should work to at least partially redeem his time in Toronto. That quality was his ability to absolutely rob opposing teams blind whenever they dared trade with him.

So, for the sake of nostalgia, join me as I look back at a few of the standout deals Burke pulled off while being employed by the Leafs.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Brian Burke Made Great Trades

*Disclaimer*

Before you wear out your keyboard roasting me in the comment section, hear me out.

I am well aware that not ALL of the trades Burke made for the Leafs were successful. Moves like his decision to send Toronto’s 30^th and 39^th overall picks in the 2011 draft to the Anaheim Ducks, just for the purpose of moving up to 22^nd to draft the slow and steadily terrible Tyler Biggs come to mind.

Biggs was an undeniable bust, and the Ducks turned the Leafs picks into John Gibson and Rickard Rackell. That trade was the exact opposite of how a team should manage their assets. It sucked and I get it.

That’s just one example, but you catch my drift. Also, the result of the Phil Kessel trade has been talked to death, so you won’t find that here. With that said, let’s move on.

Cody Franson from Nashville

This trade saw the Leafs deal widely loathed defenceman Brett Lebda, along with AHL forward Robert Slaney and a conditional 4^th round selection in 2013 to the Nashville Predators. In return, Toronto received defenceman Cody Franson, forward Matthew Lombardi, and a conditional 4^th round pick in 2013.

This trade was an absolute steal for the Leafs in any way you choose to view it. The Leafs got a 23 year old, 6’5 defenceman with offensive ability paired with a booming shot. Franson put up 115 points in 236 games as a Leaf, which is fantastic production from the blue line. All they had to give up for him was an ineffective defenceman in Lebda and an AHL-lifer in Slaney. If you knew who Robert Slaney was before googling him just now, you’re a liar.

Franson still remains an immensely talented player. One can only wonder just how good he could have been in Toronto had everyone’s least favourite grandpa, Ron Wilson, not locked Franson in his doghouse for 2 years.

Luke Schenn for JVR

In the summer of 2012, Brian Burke somehow avoided jail time for committing a federal crime. What crime did Burke commit? Well, he robbed the Philadelphia Flyers blind.

This was the original Hall for Larsson trade. To this day I am still baffled that it actually happened. If you played NHL 13 at the time and turned on “automatic trades”, this deal would have still been denied. I continue to have no idea how Burke pulled this off. The only explanation is that he must have had some seriously embarrassing blackmail on Flyer’s GM Paul Holmgren.

Burke somehow convinced Philadelphia to take defenseman Luke Schenn, who played with all the speed of a dial-up connection, off his hands. In return, promising forward prospect, and former #2 overall pick James Van Reimsdyk was sent to the Leafs. The optics of this deal only improve as time marches on, and it remains among the best NHL trades of the last 20 years.

Everyone knows how well JVR turned out. Paired with Phil Kessel, he blossomed into a fearsome power forward. He terrorized goaltenders in front of the net and further elevated his game during the playoffs. JVR now plays on a line with national treasure Mitch Marner, being locked in for at least 25 goals a year.

Luke Schenn only got worse as a member of the Flyers. After 3 seasons of declining play, the Flyers dealt him to Los Angeles. Schenn is currently with the Arizona Coyotes getting slower by the day.

Kaberle to Boston

Prior to the 2011 trade deadline, shook things up. He dealt long – time Leafs defenceman and first person ever to become allergic to shooting a puck, Tomas Kaberle, to the Boston Bruins. In return, the Leafs received a highly touted centre prospect in Joe Colborne, as well as a 1^st round pick, and conditional 2^nd round pick in that years draft. The Bruins paid quite the price for 1/3 of a season of Kaberle.

Pay attention, Joe Sakic. This is the exact type of trade the GM of a basement-dwelling team should make.

Burke played this move to perfection. First, he identified his club’s most valuable trade chip in Kaberle, whose playing style lacked a fit on his roster. He then found a playoff bound team in the Bruins, who happened to view Kaberle’s contributions as the final piece in their contention puzzle, which formed a seller’s market. Finally, to drive it home, Burke dealt Kaberle at precisely the moment his value had reached its peak. Doing so netted him exponentially more assets than if he had waited to pull the trigger in the offseason. Kaberle would have wasted his career away by staying in Toronto, and instead got his name etched on the Stanley Cup.

Side note: Please ignore the fact that the Leafs stunted Joe Colborne’s development, ultimately trading him for nothing in order to keep the walking fists of Colton Orr and Fraser MacLaren on the roster to please a coach who was ultimately fired. Oh, memories.

Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim

Man, the Leafs sure do love trading with the Ducks.

The year was 2011. Defence-man Francois Beauchemin was underperforming for the Leafs. So, Burke dealt him to his former team for a package including highly touted defensive prospect Jake Gardiner, oft-injured winger Joffery Lupul, and a conditional 4^th round pick in 2013. This trade was not only a success, but it may go down as the single best trade the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise has ever made.

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Jake Gardiner has blossomed into arguably the Leafs #1 defenceman. Mike Babcock is the first coach to finally allow him to play the style that made him so highly touted in the first place. In fact, the trade would have been a win for the Leafs if Gardiner was all they got back. Miraculously, they got more.

Originally included in the trade as a throw-in, Joffery Lupul provided more value in Toronto than anyone thought possible. Lupul is mainly remembered as being cursed with possibly the worst injury luck in the history of humanity, but he was so much more than that. He scored at a point-per-game pace, made an All Star team, and was beloved city-wide. He was so beloved that, at one point, fans were clamouring for him to be named captain. Lupul became a leader on a team that was desperate for one. He did everything the organization could have asked of him. Everything except staying healthy.

Winning Record

Burke’s tenure with the Leafs may have ended in failure. However, that didn’t mean flashes of success weren’t visible along the way. While the Leafs may have wasted nearly every asset Burke used those trades to acquire, he still got them in the first place. That is worthy of acknowledgement.

Next: Leafs Desperate for Upgraded D

So, if you ever run across a chapter of the Brian Burke Fan Club (it’s the internet, I’m sure it exists), you now possess the knowledge to fit right in.

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