In a move that can only be described as interesting , the Toronto Maple Leafs traded their 2nd and 3rd round picks in the 2011 entry draft for Chicago's (originally held by the Make me laughs) 2nd round pick in 2010.

You may be saying to yourself at this point, what does this have to do with the Bruins? Well quite a bit actually. It is no secret that current Bruins hold out, Phil Kessel has been involved with a few trade rumours between the Bruins and the Leafs. With this latest move by Burke in Toronto, the speculation is that Burke will make an offer sheet to Kessel that the Bruins probably won't be able to match due to the B's current salary cap situation.

Now there are some out there who may think of this situation as doom and gloom but to me, this could end up great for the Bruins. If the offer sheet is high enough, which the Leafs may have to do in order for the Bruins not to match the Leafs deal, the Bruins could end up with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick in the 2010 entry draft as compensation for Kessel because he is an RFA.

Kessel is an explosive player but, knowing what we all know now, is he really the guy everyone thought he would be? Until this past season, Kess has been a second line guy at best and watching him all last season, it seemed he only had one move; take it outside the defender and try to blow by him with speed and that worked for him...... Until after the All Star break. After that the Thrills scoring touch seemed to disappear at times as the other teams around the league took notice that Phil almost seemed afraid to cut inside a defender.

With Marco Sturm coming back and the possibility that he could return to his form from 07/08, we really wouldn't lose any scoring without Kessel on the team. Now granted Sturm returning to form is a big if but it's not like Sturm came out of no where and scored 30. Personally I'd rather have those picks that Toronto would have to send our way instead of overpaying Kessel because he finally decided to start playing up to his potential in his contract year.

Edit: According to Darren Dreger's Twitter page, Peter Chiarelli has told the Leafs that the Bruins are going to match any offer they make. So much for getting a 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounder for a guy who should have probably been taken a lot later in the first round the year he was drafted. :(