Phil Kessel: The Modern Day Jesus

September 18th, 2009 is a day that will go down in history. This, as you all should know, is the day that Phil Kessel was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Many people said from the start that Burkie overpaid for Phil when he gave up two firsts and a second for him. This argument makes zero sense to me as I fail to see how that is an overpayment for the modern day Jesus. This statement may upset some people, but the comparisons are uncanny:

• For starters, they are both human, although the jury is still out there on Kessel
• As we all know, Jesus' Earth father was named Joseph, Phil's middle name is Joseph
• Jesus was brought to us by God, Phil Kessel was brought to us by Brian Burke who is a God in his own rights
• Jesus sacrificed himself for the greater good of his people, Phil Kessel sacrificed his testicles for the greater good of... well himself
• After Jesus sacrificed himself he resurrected himself, known as his second coming. Phil Kessel is having a second coming of his own with his second NHL team
• Jesus came to save the sinners of the world. Kessel came to save the greatest franchise in sports, the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Jesus will take his followers to Heaven. Kessel will take his followers to the Stanley Cup, which is most definitely the heaven of the hockey world.
• Jesus once walked on water. Kessel walks on water daily.
• Jesus was known to preform many miracles. Kessel has made Matt Stajan productive, that is a miracle in it's own
• Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. Phil Kessel has brought the hopes of the Maple Leafs faithful back from the dead.
• Jesus received worship from demons, men, angels, disciples, etc. Phil Kessel receives worship from his own demons(opposing players), men, angels(women), and disciples(teammates).
• People go to church to worship Jesus. People go to the ACC to worship Kessel

There you have it. It is undeniable that Phil Kessel is the modern day Jesus. So, seeing as his date of birth is October 2nd, 1987 that marks the end of the AC era and the beginning of the PK era. We are now in year 22PK.

Vincent Lecavalier: Would you trade him?

Vincent Lecavalier. What a player. Although he was slow out of the gate this year, real slow by the standards he can play to, he now has a very respectable 24 points in 28 games. However, only 6 of these points are goals. Has Vincent lost the drive to play in Tampa Bay with the sudden, yet not surprising, rise of Steven Stamkos? One would think this would drive him to be a better player, as the Lightning are becoming competitive again and are looking like a playoff team this year, but he has not looked like the Lecavalier of old. Hell he might not even make the Canadian Olympic roster. If someone had suggested that just a year or two ago they would have been mocked and ridiculed, and rightly so. Sadly though, that is the reality of it. So does he need a change of scenery to rise again? I think yes, and firmly believe he is still one of the best hockey players in the world. So imagine, if you will at the trade deadline this year, all the emotion and the passion the fans of the Montreal Canadians will express when Darren Dreger announces to all of Canada that Vincent Lecavalier has been dealt... to the Toronto Maple Leafs. What?.. Oh you thought I was going to say he was traded to Montreal, don’t be so silly, they traded for Scott Gomez over the summer remember? They have their 7 million$ center.

So why Toronto? Remember just last trade deadline, Brian Burke cut a deal with Brian Lawton that saw the Maple Leafs take on the salary of Olaf Kolzig (done for the year, then retired), Jamie Heward (done for the season, and an expiring contract) and oft-injured Andy Rogers. For this, the Maple Leafs received a fourth round draft pick and only gave up Richard Petiot. Now does this trade make a whole lot of sense? Not really, but Burke did the Lightning one hell of a favour as they were reportedly in trouble financially (shocking!). So we should now all be under the impression that Brian Burke is in Lawton’s good books, thus making them good partners for a trade, not necessarily one of this magnitude but we can make one work theoretically.

So, continuing on this path (where else would I be going really?), what do the Leafs have that the Lightning want? Well, according to my hockey wisdom (and some online scouting reports) the Tampa Bay Lightning would very much enjoy the presence of an experienced offensive-minded defenseman. Well, would you look at that, the Leafs have the one and only Tomas Kaberle on their blueline. They do not come much better than that, 460 points in 766 career games with a nice +36 to boot, not to mention he is on pace for a career high 79 points this year on a sub-par Maple Leafs squad. However, clearly this is not enough for Lecavalier, but it’s one hell of a start to the deal considering Kaberle has a year left on his 4.25 million$ contract, a steal for a player of his calibre.

What else could the Lightning possibly want from the lousy Maple Leafs? Back to my genius hockey wisdom (google is great thing), the Lightning could use some young centers to fill their depth chart, especially if they are going to be losing Vincent. So, the obvious choice here is Nazem Kadri... not a chance, the Leafs are keeping this prospect. So what now? Well luckily they still have a young man by the name of Tyler Bozak who becomes expendable if they pick up Vincent Lecavalier, as Kadri would no doubt be given the shot over him for the Leafs other top six center. Bozak played for Denver in the U.S. college hockey program and scored 57 points in 60 games, which includes 23 points in 19 games in his second year with the team. Bozak is credited as a very smart hockey player with great hockey sense, he is heralded as a great two-way player as well and will surely fit in great behind Steven Stamkos as early as next season. In his lone NHL appearance this season, Bozak was impressive picking up one assist, but was sent down the following day as he was only called up to fill in for an injured player, I don’t remember who that player was at the moment.

However, this still is not enough to pry Vincent out of Tampa Bay, no matter how good of friends Burke and Lawton could possibly be. So what else could the Maple Leafs add to the package? How does 81 goals and 142 points in 118 games for the Quebec Remparts sound? Sounds pretty good to me. The young Belarusian, Mikhail Stefanovich, plays the right wing for Quebec, but is capable of playing center as well. He has the sharpshooting ability that should make him a bonafide sniper in the NHL in the next couple of years and at 6’2” and 202lbs he is not a small boy. Scouts say he could use some work on his skating but he is only 20 years old and will most likely improve on that. Besides, his stellar offensive abilities make up for those weaknesses (Luc Robitaille was too bad of a skater to make it at this level was he not?).

Along with these players, I’m sure Mr. Lawton will say these two words at some point to Brian Burke, “draft pick”. It is factual that the Maple Leafs are lacking in the draft pick department for the next two years, well for top picks anyway (Phil Kessel was most definitely worth it though). So, the Leafs might as well drop another second rounder and not pick until the third round for the next two years. Add to the trade the Maple Leafs 2010-2011 second round draft pick, assume the Leafs make another move if need be to make this trade salary cap acceptable by deadline time, and the trade looks like this:

To Toronto Maple Leafs:

C-Vincent Lecavalier

To Tampa Bay Lightning:

D-Tomas Kaberle

C-Tyler Bozak

RW-Mikhail Stefanovich

2010-11 Second Round Draft pick

If this trade were to take place, how would the line-ups for these two teams look? Something like this, depending on how the coach wants to line them up of course:

Maple Leafs:

Ponikarovsky-Lecavalier-Kessel

Blake-Grabovski-Hagman

Kulemin-Stajan-Stempniak

Mayers-Primeau-Orr

Beauchemin-Komisarek

Schenn-White

Finger-Gunnarsson

Gustavsson/Toskala/MacDonald/Riemer/Engelage/Carlton the Bear/Chris Bosh/J.P. Riccardi/etc.

Lightning:

Malone-Stamkos-St. Louis

Tanguay-Bozak-Halpern

Downie-Szczechura-Wright

Veilleux-Konopka-Foster

Ohlund-Kaberle

Hedman-Meszaros

Walker-Krajicek

Nittymaki/Smith

Sure, the Lightning’s offensive doesn’t look as good without Vincent Lecavalier, but if he isn’t producing like he used to then I believe this trade helps the Lightning. Kaberle is a stellar defenseman and will help a lot on the powerplay especially. In time Bozak will be a very capable second line center, not Lecavalier, but paying your second line center 7+million$ is ludicrous. This also gives the Maple Leafs a legitimate first line for the first time in far too long a time, and will surely help that franchise become respectable again. Do both teams make the playoffs this year after this trade? No. I believe the Lightning will make it in either the 7^th or 8^th spot and lose in the first or second round. Although the Leafs will be better, adjusting to life after Kaberle on defense will take a bit of getting used to, but it will come in time, especially if Gunnarsson keeps developing well. However, the Lecavalier-Kessel duo up front will produce some much needed spark up front. Leafs finish in the dreaded 9^th position, take it for what it’s worth.

Boston selects 13^th and pick big left winger Quinton Howden.

Leafs-Hurricanes Swap and Flyers make swap of their own

So I guess I have to start somewhere and I guess that somewhere will be with the recent transaction between the Toronto Maple Leafs and The Carolina Hurricanes. The trade was a minor move for both clubs, but could have a big impact for the future. As you most probably know by now the trade was as follows:

To Maple Leafs:
C - Phillipe Paradis

To Hurricanes:
LW - Jiri Tlusty

Looking at it from the Leafs point of view, Jiri Tlusty (drafted 13^th overall in 2006-by JFJ) was not coming along as they had hoped. He showed that he could play in the AHL scoring 103 points in 105 games with the Toronto Marlies. However, he never really showed that he could translate those skills into the NHL game. Aside from scoring 2 goals in his NHL debut Tlusty only managed 18 points in his next 73 games at the NHL level. Can Tlusty develop into a solid NHL player? No doubt, the kid is 21 years old, he can handle himself with the rough side of the game and he can score. I think he will develop into a perennial 20 goal scorer for the Hurricanes. So what about Paradis (drafted 27^th overall in 2009-was ranked 40 or below by most scouts)? Well.. he’s big?? I personally do not see where Brian Burke is going with this trade. Sure Paradis has the potential to be a decent power-forward in the NHL and the boy has a canon of a shot. However, he is not even scoring a point-per game in the QMJHL, scoring just 92 points in 127 games for Shawinigan, and how does that old saying go again? “Do you want to know how much a Q prospect will score in the NHL, just take his Q points total and divide by 3”. Now, that being said he is just 18 years old and has plenty of time to turn into a great NHL player, but there is a reason most hockey analysts were left scratching their heads when the Hurricanes went off the board to pick him in 2009. This is not a move you can really judge a GM on but Brian Burke could be looking back on this one as a mistake in a couple of years. Hurricanes win this trade.

Continuing with the Hurricanes, well not really, but Peter Laviolette is the new bench boss of the Philadelphia Flyers as John Stevens has been given the boot due the Flyers recent struggles. The Flyers have indeed struggled as of late with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games, topped off with being shut-out in back-to-back games by the Canucks and the Thrashers. This has resulted in the Flyers dropping to 11^th in the eastern conference. This simply is not acceptable as the Flyers roster should be capable of much better performances with their only weakness on paper seeming to be between the pipes, but even Emery has been to the finals before. So changes were necessary, was this the right change? Let’s take a look:

John Stevens:

GC-263 W-120 L-109 OTL-34

Peter Laviolette:

GC-487 W-244 L-188 OTL-30 T-25

So Stevens has won about 46% of the games he has coached and Laviolette has won about 50% of the games he has coached. +1 to Peter.

Stevens has been to the playoffs twice in his coaching career, losing once in the conference finals and once in the first round. Laviolette has been to the playoffs 3 teams, losing twice in the first round and once winning the Stanley Cup. +1 to Peter.

Stevens, realizing that the team was flailing in the standings, was trying to bring new ideas to the team, and was even juggling lines in practice before learning that he was canned. But Laviolette could be just the change Stevens himself was looking for. Laviolette is known to be a tougher coach and he brings an up-tempo, aggressive style of play which should suit the Flyers really well with their roster. I do believe that this is a good move for the Flyers and I do believe that Laviolette will bring them back into a play-off position; they have a very good team. Personally though, I would have hired MacT.

Welcome.

Hello to you all, probably no one reading yet though.

This is just a quick hello. My first blog will be posted either tonight or early tomorrow. Basically I like hockey a lot so i`m going to write about it. I hope you all enjoy it from here on out, and I hope it goes well.

Write to you soon.