Leafs deadline trades after a few days of review

After taking a few days to take a good hard look at the Toronto Maple Leafs trades on deadline day March 3 , 2010 I have come to the conclusion that for what we had to do, we came out just fine, I know many Leafs fans are thinking what is this guy talking about. We Stink!, fair enough but with the players we had we sat in 29th place in the NHL and after the trades we still sit in 29th place in the league are we worse? Are we better? Time will tell. 

The one thing we do know is that Burke traded a bunch of UFAs that the team did not want to keep and got back mostly picks that with some good scouting, not always a Leafs strong point, maybe just maybe we can find a gem in the later rounds. 

The teams current state is depressing to Leafs Nation but can any argue that they did not enjoy Thursdays game against Boston. The team worked hard and played well together twice coming back from a goal down and if not for the Bruins goaltender being quite sharp the team could have stolen two points instead of earning just the one.

Taking a look at this weeks trades:

Alexei Ponikarovsky to Pittsburgh for Luca Caputi & Martin Skoula

Review: The fact that Stajan just got 3.5 million a season from Calgary could mean that Poni-boy may be looking at $4 million a season a very scary though if you ask me, Burke did well in getting the Penguins to give up power forward Caputi a die hard Leafs fan who is right on the cusp of being NHL ready and will have the heart and pride every game that he slips on the Leafs jersey at 21 years old and a 100+ point scorer his last year of junior the upside to Caputi looks good especially since he is willing to pay a price physically by going to the net to get his goals. Caputi needs to work a bit on his skating and add a few more pounds to his 184 at the moment.
Skoula was a throw in as the Leafs needed to take some salary off the Pens hands.

Martin Skoula to New Jersey for a 5th round pick in 2010

Review: Skoula a throw in when the Leafs sent Ponikarovksy to Pittsburgh was quickly shipped out of town spending less then 12 hours as a Maple Leaf, I and many Leafs fans wondered what the Leafs were doing getting Skoula, did this mean that Finger and Exelby were on their way out? The answer was no and the Leafs get themselves an additional pick this draft year.

Lee Stempniak to Phoenix for a 4th round pick in 2010, 7th round pick in 2010 and Matt Jones

Review: Stempy did not bring what Leafs Nation expected when the team acquired him last season, even though his play was a bit better this year its hard not to think that his time in Toronto was a complete failure. This was a great trade for Toronto getting two more picks in this years draft while also acquiring 26 year old defensemen Matt Jones who looks like a depth move for the team as he currently has 106 NHL games under his belt and will be added to the Marlies roster.

Joey MacDonald to Anaheim for a 7th round pick in 2011

Review: The Ducks needed to add a goalie for depth after trading two goalies on deadline day and Burke was happy to oblige with the development of James Reimer this year the funny thing about this trade is that MacDonald will continue to play for the Marlies as the Ducks do not have an AHL team.

A 6th round pick in 2010 to Pittsburgh for Chris Peluso

Review: This was possibly the strangest trade of the day as Burke gave up a pick for a player who was taken 7th round in the 2004 draft is 23 years old and currently plays in the NCAA. This looks to also be a depth move for the teams AHL team.