Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke made a bold move prior to the start of the 2009/2010 regular season. He traded two first round picks, along with a second round pick to the Boston Bruins in exchange for sniper Phil Kessel.
At first blush, even for the most casual of hockey observers, that trade seemed like a lot to give up for a team that was supposed to be rebuilding. Before the season started fans and pundits alike were all in agreement that while the price paid for Kessel was indeed very steep, it would be worth it should he help the team contend for a playoff spot and keep the Leafs out of the bottom five of the league’s standings. 20 games into the regular season, the Leafs seemed poised to do exactly what they hoped wouldn’t happen – hand the Boston Bruins a top five pick in next year’s NHL draft.
The Leafs currently sit in the 29th position in league standings. They are on pace for 12 wins and 47 points on the year, and as good as Kessel has been for the Leafs thus far, it will not make the pain of seeing Boston draft a skilled young forward who should have been theirs any easier to swallow.
It can’t be as dark as it appears in Leaf land, can it? There has to be a silver lining, doesn’t there? Yes! There is!
Toronto Maple Leafs Draft History
The Leafs have been notoriously bad at drafting and developing draft picks in recent memory. In the past 20 years, the Leafs have had 18 first round picks, 5 of them who still are still employed by NHL teams and only 1 of them that can be considered a star player – who incidentally, never played a game for the blue and white.
Maple Leafs 1989 First Round Draft Picks
Scott Thornton, 3rd overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 33 games, 1 goal, 4 points
Rob Pearson, 12th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 192 games played, 49 goals, 91 points
Steve Bancroft, 21st overall.
Never played for Leafs
Maple Leafs 1990 First Round Draft Pick
Drake Berehowsky, 10th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 132 games played, 7 goals, 35 points
Maple Leafs 1991 First Round Draft Pick
No pick: Traded to New Jersey for Tom Kurvers
Maple Leafs 1992 First Round Draft Pick
Brandon Convery, 8th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 50 games played, 7 goals, 17 points
Maple Leafs 1993 First Round Draft Pick
Kenny Jonsson, 12th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 89 games played, 6 goals, 35 points
Maple Leafs 1994 First Round Draft Pick
Eric Fichaud, 16th overall.
Never played for Leafs
Maple Leafs 1995 First Round Draft Pick
Jeff Ware, 15th overall.
13 games played, 0 points
Maple Leafs 1996 First Round Draft Pick
No pick: Traded to Philadelphia for Dmitry Yushkevich
Maple Leafs 1997 First Round Draft Pick
No pick: Traded to NY Islanders for Wendel Clark
Maple Leafs 1998 First Round Draft Pick
Nik Antropov, 10th overall.
Maple Leafs Stats: 509 games played, 125 goals, 291 points
Maple Leafs 1999 First Round Draft Pick
Luca Cereda, 24th overall.
Never played for Leafs
Maple Leafs 2000 First Round Draft Pick
Brad Boyes, 24th overall
Never played for Leafs
Maple Leafs 2001 First Round Draft Pick
Carlo Colaiacovo, 17th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 111 games played, 12 goals, 33 points
Maple Leafs 2002 First Round Draft Pick
Alex Steen, 24th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 253 games played, 50 goals, 126 points
Maple Leafs 2003 First Round Draft Pick
No pick: Traded to San Jose for Owen Nolan
Maple Leafs 2004 First Round Draft Pick
No pick: Traded to NY Rangers for Brian Leetch
Maple Leafs 2005 First Round Draft Pick
Tuukka Rask, 21st overall
Never played for Leafs
Maple Leafs 2006 First Round Draft Pick
Jiri Tlusty, 13th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 74 games played, 10 goals, 20 points
Maple Leafs 2007 First Round Draft Pick
No pick: Traded to San Jose for Vesa Toskala
Maple Leafs 2008 First Round Draft Pick
Luke Schenn, 5th overall.
Maple Leaf Stats: 89 games played, 2 goals, 16 points
Maple Leafs 2009 First Round Draft Pick
Nazem Kadri, 7th overall.
Never played for Leafs
If there is any reason for Leafs fans to be optimistic about not owning a first round pick in the next two drafts, it should be because historically, first round picks have not been kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dan Leggieri - Hockey runs in this man's blood. From the first time he laced up his first pair of skates, he was hooked and there was no stopping his ...
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