My Take on the Conclusion of the Kessel Saga

What Brian Burke wants, Brian Burke usually gets.

The Leafs General Manager was finally able to obtain the 21 year-old restricted free agent from the B's, sending a first rounder in 2010, a second rounder in 2010, and a first rounder in 2011. The Leafs then signed Kessel to a monster 5 year, $27 million contract.

At the end of the day, I like the deal for both sides.

The Leafs get a 21 year-old sniper who scored 36 goals and 60 points in 70 games in '08-'09. He is a guaranteed top line winger with fifty goal potential.

The Bruins acquire three excellent picks, and nip a potential issue in the butt well before the regular season gets under way.

In what amounted to be a cold war of sorts, both Burke and Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli were able to use some tactical maneuvers to try to gain the upper edge.

Here's the series of events:

- Burke publicly admits interest in Kessel.
- Burke tells Chiarelli that he is going to re-acquire his 2010 2nd rounder, meaning he has the necessary picks to send Kessel an offer sheet.
- Burke re-acquires his 2010 2nd rounder.
- Chiarelli publicly states he has the go-ahead from ownership to match any offer sheet for Kessel, meaning he'll want a higher return than the probable 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks the Bruins would be entitled to if the Leafs were to sign Kessel to a top flight RFA offer sheet.

Some people have said Burke should've just sent the offer sheet, so as not to give up multiple first round picks. That would be a risky move on Burke's part. He knows Chiarelli can match the offer, which would result in Kessel being a Bruin for the year, since the RFA rules stipulate that if an offer sheet is matched, that player cannot be moved for that season. I honestly do believe Chiarelli wasn't bluffing, and barring a ludicrous offer would match the deal, despite the cap ramifications. Kessel is side-lined until November at the earliest, and the B's would have the time up until his return to the line-up to find a way to get under the cap. Chiarelli is a talented GM who could've found a way to make it work, as the Bruins have a lot of desireable assets they could've shifted around.

Burke went about this very well. He applied a lot of pressure on Chiarelli while still being upfront about everything. GM relationships are very important going forward, and he definitely didn't make any enemies while still getting what he wanted.

On the whole, Burke has done a spectacular job since taking over in Toronto. He's built from the net out, obtaining highly sought-after Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, and then beefing up the blue with the additions of Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, and Garnet Exelby. He's also re-stocked the pipe-line with the likes of Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, and Christian Hanson. The next step is the offense, and Kessel is a great start.

I believe two factors played into Burke's belief that he could sacrifice two first rounders. First, the Leafs shouldn't be a lottery team. That means the picks will probably not be as high as they have selected in the last two drafts - an assessment I agree with. The second factor is Burke's moves this summer. He's already added a slew of prospects into the system, easing any concerns about moving what should eventually be two quality prospects.

Those two first rounders could be busts or they could be stars.

But Phil Kessel is a sure-fire bet.