All Frans-on Deck!

So there I was enjoying a meal from yet another long weekend BBQ when I quickly see across the ticker scroll: "Leafs trade Brett Lebda and minor-leaguer Robert Slaney to Predators for Matthew Lombardi and Cody Franson." My immediate reaction was, "This has to be a joke -- there's no way we got Franson alone for those two scrubs." But yes, indeed, the Leafs sure did.

Well, as my reaction suggests, this was one heck of a deal for the Leafs. Here's yet another instance of the Leafs "buying" a highly touted/talented young defenceman, as they did when they "bought" Jake Gardiner from Anaheim by taking on Joffrey Lupul's salary in exchange for Francois Beauchemin. It's nice to see them flex their financial muscle around in a salary cap world. The Predators did not hold insurance on Lombardi, so the Leafs and the money bags they possess, swooped right in and said, "Hey, we'll help you guys out -- just make sure you throw in Franson."

Now, as much criticism as Burke gets and deserves for not yet obtaining a true #1 centre (sorry Tim Connolly), he has turned his defence into one that not only is good today, but can be even better tomorrow. We should have known as Burke has repeatedly said he builds from the net out. Phaneuf, Schenn, Aulie, Gardiner, Franson, Gunnarsson -- that has the makings of one heck of a blue line in a couple years. Throw in Liles for this year and perhaps beyond and there is a great mix.

Now, Franson obviously can't be viewed as a saviour. But let's look at the bigger picture here: deals like this add depth to the system. Piece by piece, the Leafs will go from a bare cupboard (thanks JFJ) to one that is chock-full of capable NHLers. With that, instead of being forced to hold on to the one or two rare nuggets, the possibility will be there to grab a few of the "jars" from the cupboard and turn it into something real good.

Knowing Burke, he is far from done. And if he's shown anything, it's that he is not afraid to make the big deal nor have it come from left field. So just as free agency has started, so has trading season. It's still a long ways 'til training camp, and the dog days of summer are upon us, but I don't doubt this is the last we hear about any Leaf doings during that time.