The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Sign Adam Mair

So Brian Burke wants to add more depth to the Leafs' bottom six, and he's looking at both Raffi Torres and Adam Mair (credit to Todd Cordell).

I wasn't so surprised to see Torres' name but I was shocked to see Adam Mair's name. If Brian Burke is trying to sign Adam Mair, than I am officially Burke's No. 1 fan.

You see on a dark day in Leafs history, March 13th 2001 to be specific, Pat Quinn traded Mair and a second round pick (that became Mike Cammalleri) for... Aki Berg. Mair was my favorite prospect coming up in the Leafs system at the time, so when I heard about that trade I wasn't too happy.

Everyday since then I've hated that trade more, although it was probably strengthened by the massive failure that was Berg. Now, ten years later and me a lot wiser, Burke is actually thinking of erasing that transaction, or at least halfway. I'd also like to have Cammalleri back too.

Now before I start to sound like a massive fanboy, let me give you a few reasons why I think Mair could be a big help to the Maple Leafs' bottom six.

Mair has developed into a strong defensive player, he hustles every shift and can agitate opponents easily. He might not light it up offensively, but he'll chip in with a few goals. He has averaged 100 penalty minutes per season in his seven seasons as a full-time NHLer, so he's definitely a Burke-type player.

Also, at 31, he's old enough to mentor some of the Leafs up-and coming grinders. He would probably sign here no problem considering that he is from my hometown of Hamilton. Trust me, most of us are Leafs fans.

He would also be a lot cheaper than Torres. He made $775,000 last year with the Buffalo Sabres and would probably come to Toronto for that same amount or maybe even cheaper.

Let's say that Burke is able to sign both Mair and Torres. That would enable Burke to include a player like Freddy Sjostrom or the more likely option, Mikhail Grabovski with a defensemen like Francois Beauchemin for a top six forward.

Here's how the Leaf's roster would then look.

1st line

LW-Kris Versteeg C-Tyler Bozak RW-Phil Kessel

2nd line

LW-Nikolai Kulemin C-Nazem Kadri RW-New Acqisition or Raffi Torres

3rd line

LW-Freddy Sjostrom C-Adam Mair RW-Colby Armstrong

4th line

LW-Mike Brown C-John Mitchell RW-Colton Orr

Defensive Pairings

Phaneuf & Gunnarsson

Kaberle & Schenn

Lebda & Komisarek

That roster doesn't look too shabby to me, and who knows it could be one that just might fight its way into the playoffs.