Re-Drafting Toronto Maple Leafs History: 2011 NHL Entry Draft

The 2011 NHL Entry Draft will haunt the Toronto Maple Leafs for the rest of time.

After trading for Phil Kessel, the Toronto Maple Leafs were once again without their top-pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

The Leafs should have been selecting ninth overall, but instead they had the 22nd and 25th overall draft picks.

Although the team had two first round picks, they somehow managed to screw everything up.

In one of the worst Brian Burke trades as G.M. of the Toronto Maple Leafs (only the Kessel trade was worse), Burke sent the 30th and 39th overall selections to the Anaheim Ducks for the 22nd pick in this draft.

Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal right? Since the team already had the 25th overall selection, wouldn’t you rather have the 22nd and 25th picks instead of the 25th, 30th and 39th picks?

Well that depends on who you actually pick.

As outlined numerous times on this website, the Leafs ended up selecting Tyler Biggs with that 22nd overall selection and the Ducks picked up Rickard Rakell and John Gibson.

No matter how many times I write it, it doesn’t get easier to comprehend how awful this selection was by Brian Burke.

As the Anaheim Ducks selected a future 30-goal scorer and number-one goaltender, the Leafs were stuck with a player who couldn’t even turn into an American Hockey League lifer.

I kind of feel bad for Biggs that he’s the brunt of ever joke by being selected with this pick by the Leafs, but he never should have been a first round pick in the first place.

It’s kind of similar to the narrative of Anthony Bennett in the NBA, where these players have been painted in a bad-light, although it’s not their fault a team thought they were better than they actually were.

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs screwed up their picks, they’re not the only team that would have liked a re-do.

Here is a re-draft of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.