TheLeafsNation Top 25 of 2020: #13 — Revisiting the Phil Kessel trades
By Zach Laing
3 years agoWelcome to the yearly wrap up of the top read articles over the last year!
In the early days of the pandemic, there wasn’t a whole lot to write about.
But on March 13, I took a look back at the Phil Kessel trades and how they shaped the Leafs over time.
That piece was the 13th most-read article this year.
The Kessel era started with his acquisition on Sept. 18, 2009, and ended with his trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2015.
Acquired for a first-round pick in 2010, and 2011, as well as a 2010 second-round pick, those draft picks turned into Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton, while the second-round pick turned into Jared Knight.
To end the era, the Leafs got back Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington, Nick Spaling and conditional 2016 first (Sam Steel) and third-round (James Greenway) draft picks.
Was it worth it? Here’s what I wrote about the deal:
There’s no denying that Kessel was a key cog in the engine that drove the Leafs. He drove offence for the club, but they never did much when it comes to having success. But was the deal even worth it in the first place?In the deal that brought Kessel to Toronto, the Leafs ended up losing out on both Seguin and Hamilton — both of whom have been extremely productive players during their time in the NHL.Seguin has scored shy of a point-per-game and been a great driver of play. Hamilton, meanwhile, has been a solid defenceman everywhere he’s been and has truly come into his own in recent years with the Carolina Hurricanes.Hindsight is of course 20/20, but if you could go back to 2009, would you make the Phil Kessel trade again?
On Twitter: @zjlaing
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