I dunno man. That year you had Kessel first off he was guaranteed to miss 10-20 games due to a surgery and the team was pretty weak. (I loved Phil and the only reason I was OK with the trade was that Lucic-Savard-Kessel wouldn't be able to pick up where they left off b/c of phils surgery that was the best line we've ever had in my time.)
It wasn't trying to put a playoff team over the top either it was trying to make a team likely to miss the playoffs a 7-8 seed. Hamilton is skinny and might not be a first liner but he'll be on the power play immediately and should put up points even if he disappoints defensively and ends up a second pairing D man. Knight is icing on the cake I think hes more of a project than most Bruins think and gets hurt a lot but give him a few years and he'll be playing on some NHL teams 3rd line.
Some Leafs fans were wearing jerseys in our arena for a preseason game that year against another team (not TO) and I was thanking them for Taylor Hall.
Burke has taken a struggling franchise and killed it. Sure he wins some trades like JVR (or getting more than most GMs would for Kaberle) but that team doesn't have a prayer of making hte playoffs or winning a round and he's had 5 years.
But I guess he is the man b/c he has a gay dead son and said he wasn't leaving the draft without the Sedin sisters when he was Vancouvers GM.
If a good team gave up that package for Phil they'd have won the trade because you can bank on him for 40 goals a year he's a good player just Burke had an awful team and gave away future building blocks. And somehow still has his job.
