Toronto Maple Leafs and '08 Draft Fallout

For Leaf fans (of which I am one), picking Luke Schenn 5th overall was an excellent pick. Drafting either him or Filatov in my opinion was win-win. The Kelowna Rockets fans have been chanting LUUUUUUKE after his trademark big hits since he was 16 years old, and before long the ACC will have the next 15 years to do the same.

How can you not love the idea of having the next Adam Foote, with a bit more offensive skill? With that said, many in Leafs Nation are already calling for him to play in the NHL this year, and frankly, the idea of that happening is ludicrous. How often do 18-year-old defensemen make the NHL?

In addition, when they do, how often are they good? For anyone remembers who Chris Pronger, he was abominable his first three years in the league, whether he was in Hartford or had Al MacInnis holding his hand. It wasn't until halfway through his fourth season that Pronger really started to show any defensive acumen.

Schenn may be able to dominate the junior league now, but that doesn't mean he's ready to take three steps up hockey-wise, let alone mentally. He's still a baby. Let him play another year there and allow him time to develop his offensive game. He can also learn how to play on offense without letting his defense slip, not to mention mature as a person and mentally adjust to the idea of playing pro in the near future.

As nice as it would be to see either John Tavares or Victor Hedman get picked by the Leafs in next year's draft, the Leafs don't need Schenn screwing up repeatedly this year, and staying in the juniors will only make him better in the future. And anyone who disagrees with me, remember that Luke Richardson (7th overall, 1987 entry draft, taken ahead of Joe Sakic) was once a highly thought-of defensive masher himself.

Staying with the Leafs, the team drafted Mikhail Stefanovich in the 4th round, which in my opinion was a massive steal. He fell because he's seen as a project, but he's a 6'2", 200 lbs project with superlative offensive skills who has a legit shot at being a 1st line center in the NHL, though that may be five or six years down the road, if not more. TSN's Bob McKenzie had him early in the 2nd round & THN had him 20th overall for a reason.

 Elsewhere around the NHL, Marian Hossa is a moron to reject $7M+ from Pittsburgh, and for what, $8M? So he takes home $500,000 or less a year extra after taxes to play on a team that won't make it past the 2nd round, and he doesn't get to play with Crosby anymore.
For all the heart he showed in the finals, taking over that offense & being their best forward from the start of the finals to the end, this is a joke on his part. Call me crazy, but if I'm already a multi-millionaire, and I've publicly stated that I want to play for a winner, and I know that my UFA market value is $7-8 million dollars, I'm okay with only taking $6.5-7 million for the chance to play on a perennial Cup contender and the chance to be Sidney Crosby's RW through both of our primes.
 
Not to mention Hossa doesn't like to be the lead player, and in Pittsburgh, he's #3. It all fits together, and let's hope he sees that before he makes a huge mistake. The Phoenix Coyotes definitely won the Olli Jokinen deal, however it's not like they gave up nothing to get him.

Nick Boynton is a rough-&-tumble shutdown defender who you don't hear a lot about because unless you're Adam Foote or Robyn Regehr, those guys don't get much play. Wayne Gretzky himself said that Boynton was a tremendous team player that will be greatly missed.

And he isn't even as good as Keith Ballard, who was next in line for the captaincy from Shane Doan, and may very well take it ahead of the ultra-quiet Jay Bouwmeester in Florida who may or may not be playing his last season with the Panthers. Last season, Ballard had too many other offensive defensemen with him to put up a ton of points last year, as well as too much defensive responsibility on a team trying to achieve a .500 record.  
This year however, watch for him to put up 40+ points (as he did two years ago) on top of his good d-zone play.