Toronto Maple Leafs: Could Brian Burke Land Jagr?

When I first heard that Jaromir Jagr was playing in the Olympics, I must admit it didn't even make me blink. Don't get me wrong, he was by all accounts a great player. It had simply been so long since I heard his name, I though for sure he had retired by now.

He hasn't, and he is looking really good.

As much as it is my job to write about the Toronto Maple Leafs, I am also a huge fan. So, as soon as I saw him play today, I did a little snooping around and I discovered that not only was Jaromir Jagr not retired, but also that he wanted to make a return to the NHL.

He is also available at the end of this season.

Without doing too much digging though, I also discovered that he would most likely consider signing with the Edmonton Oilers ahead of anyone else. Of course my reaction was something along the line of  "bah!, who the hell would want to play in Edmonton when they could play in Toronto?"

I did a little more digging, made a couple of calls, you know, to my "peeps."

I was able to surmise that the most likely reason for Jagr to want to play in Edmonton, would be to play alongside his friend, Ales Hemsky. There was also the notion that he wanted to give the Oilers first kick at the can partly because they had expressed a keen interest in 2008.

This information of course got my wheels turning. What if Brian Burke was to make a trade for Ales Hemsky?

Ok, here's where I might lose Nelson again. To acquire Hemsky, Edmonton would likely want a roster player, who posts at least similar numbers. Ok, Ponikarovsky. Poni is three years older, half the cap hit, little better numbers...that might work.

Maybe not.

Ok, Ponikarovsky and Stepniak, a little more scoring, with a little potential. That would probably work. Now however, Brian  Burke is saying, wait a minute, too much of a cap hit so here's the deal.

To Edmonton: Ponikarovsky, Stepniak and Jonas Frogren.

To Toronto: Ales Hemsky and the Oilers second round pick in 2011

Alright, you can all stop heckling now. It's funny, everyone has been gunning for a No. 1 center all season to play with Kessel, including me. I, along with everyone else, forgot, that the Leafs potentially have some pretty talented up and comers in that position in the guise of Kadri, Bozak and Hanson.

Let's all use our imaginations for a moment  and dream up a couple of line combinations that could result from this deal.

Kessel, Kadri and Jagr. (Oh come on! Don't tell me you didn't see that coming!)

Stalberg,Bozak and Hemsky.

Kulemin,Grabovski and  Jerry D'Amigo

Sjostrom, Hanson and Colton Orr

While I know that I may be dreaming a little, or a lot, as a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, how can you not love that potential?