The Toronto Maple Leafs (still featuring Kris Versteeg) hit the ground running on Wednesday, Feb. 9, acquiring Joffrey Lupul, Jake Gardiner and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2013. Making moves in late January and early February isn't something new for Leafs GM Brian Burke.
"I've always tried to beat the deadline," says Burke.
This year's move brought plenty of speculation that another trade was going to be completed that day. Reliable sources such as Pierre Lebrun, Darren Dreger and James Mirtle all stated they expected an additional deal to be announced at the press conference.
As time wore on, they all retracted their statements saying there was a deal on the table, but no movement.
The question is: Why?
Many speculated that the reemergence of Jonas Gustavsson's heart problems perhaps nipped any deal scheduled for that day. While this remains to be seen, Burke has stated that there will be more moves to come. The question remains, what will Burke do next?
The dream of acquiring a top-line centre to complement Kessel are nothing more than exactly that, a dream. The Leafs simply do not have ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Cale Loney
NHL Trade Rumours: Toronto Maple Leafs Moving Kris Versteeg for Top-6 Centre?
February 12th, 2011 by Cale Loney Leave a reply »
Advertisement