A Good day to be a Leaf Fan?!

Well, it started out being just another ordinary day in Leaf land. I got up, fed kids, dressed kids, brushed kids teeth, and put my wonderful six year old boy on the school bus.

The Leafs however weren't so lucky. Thursday night was their second in a string of 4 games in four nights, a game in which Toronto scored four un-answered goals and saw good performances from all including Leaf hopeful Jason Allison, who reportedly got 2 assists in the 4-0 shutout victory. It was an entertaining affair, that saw the much maligned Mikeal Grabovski take a couple of really good hits, and bounce back immediately. This is good because last year, those kinds of hits would have taken him out of the game!

Friday night saw the boys in blue on the ice again, this time from London Ontario, where they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another day, another victory! This one in the guise odf a 4-3 come from behind win on the backs of Jason Blake and John Mitchell , who each posted a goal and an assist. Joey Macdonald and James Reimer both turned in solid performances, stopping 10, and 15 shots respectively.

I, don't remember if anything else happened of note today.......OH, that's right, the Maple Leafs got Phil Kessel from the Bruins today. Amid a whirlwind of speculation, that the deal to get him was in fact going to wind up being a 3 way deal involving either the Rangers or thrashers, at the end of the day, the Leafs acquired him for what is the standard compensation for presenting an (*)offer sheet to a restricted free agent of Kessels pay scale. Which incidentally was according to Leafs president and GM Brian Burke was a steep price of two number one and a number two draft pick.

This in my opinion was a good deal,( although he is not expected to join the Leafs until mid-november as he is still rehabing from having shoulder surgery in June ).Kessel signed a multi year deal with the Leafs following the acquisition. Although only 21 years old, Kessel is already a proven NHL Star, and looks to be a big part of the Leafs plans for the future.

My only concern in regard to the deal is, what to do with him. Kessel is a very talented young winger, the problem is, in Toronto , there isn't that #1 kind of center to feed him the puck. Certainly not of the calibre that enjoyed in Boston. I wonder though, could this signal the return Matts Sundin to Toronto? Hmmmmmm.

(*) When compensatory picks are awarded to a team who is losing a restricted free agent, the number and quality of the picks varies with that particular players pay scale. Because Kessel is scheduled to make around five and a half million dollars this season, that compensatory package consists of, 2 first rounders and one second rounder. If however, Kessel was to make over 6.4 million, they Leafs would have been forced to give up 4 first round picks