3 Best Moves By Brian Burke as Toronto Maple Leafs G.M.

#2. Trading Luke Schenn for James Van Riemsdyk

There just aren’t a lot of hockey deals like this that happen anymore.

A one-for-one, young player for another young player type of trade, where maybe a change of scenery will help turn these players into the dynamic player they’re meant to be.

During Schenn’s first year with the Leafs, he looked great and like someone deserving of the fifth overall selection, but by year-four, it felt like fans wanted him gone. He seemed slow and his defensive play dropped.

Van Riemsdyk on the other hand, was a former second-overall draft pick who had already had a 20-goal season in only three years in the league. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, the big-body frame of “JVR” was something that would become very valuable in-front of the net, but the Flyers decided to move on from him for some defensive help instead.

Eight years later, they clearly regretted that move, as the Flyers recently signed him back to a five-year, $35 million contract, while Schenn has played on five more teams, struggling to get an NHL contract.

If you were to submit this trade in NHL 20, the video game would laugh at you and the computer would not allow it to go through.

Burke absolutely stole JVR away from the Flyers.

During JVR’s time in Toronto, he scored 154 goals in 413 games (0.37 per game average), and had two 30-goal seasons.

He was never going to burn past a defender and score a goal, but his ability to score in the dirty areas and on the power-play is what made him so valuable. His hands in front of the net are some of the best in the entire NHL, and it’s crazy to see how quickly he can get the puck up from such a close proximity to the net.

Kudos to Burke for being able to see the decline in Schenn’s game and flip him for an offensive talent in Van Riemsdyk.