If and when Perry becomes officially available, the Toronto Maple Leafs could and should have a high level of interest in acquiring him according to Damien Cox of the Toronto Star.

It’s believed that Getzlaf will get the long-term extension from the Ducks which will then lead them to shop Perry.  The timing as to when he’ll be available is still uncertain.  Anaheim could hang on to him for their playoff run and try and deal him before free-agency begins, or they’ll try and trade him by the April 3rd deadline.  Rumors are guaranteed to pick up surrounding Perry and Getzlaf over the next 33 days leading up to the trade deadline and the Leafs will surely be involved.

Cox’s article is mere speculation and it’s easy to say the Maple Leafs would like to acquire the services of Perry; every team in the league would like to have Corey Perry on their roster.  He’s a former 50-goal scorer, has been named the league’s most valuable player and has a Stanley Cup ring.  Add all that up and his price tag will be enormous.

But Cox is quick to point out that the Leafs have room to sign Perry to an extension and have the assets to deal with Anaheim.  Cox drops the name of Phil Kessel as a starting point in a potential package for Perry.  Yes, you read that right, he said Phil Kessel.

Brian Burke, the infamous former GM of the Leafs is once again working with the Anaheim Ducks.  It was Burke who continues to defend his move to acquire Kessel during his tenure in Toronto and Cox believes that Burke could see value in bringing the former Bruins draft pick to Orange County.

Cox also describes that Burke knows current Leafs GM, Dave Nonis better than any other GM in the league, something that could bode well when putting a deal together.

Randy Carlyle, the Leafs head coach was also the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks not to long ago.  He too would have insight into the Ducks players, another interesting angle.

I’m not sure I agree with Cox and his reasoning on this one.  Kessel is set to earn $5.4 million next season and while he is a free-agent in one-year’s time, his price tag won’t drop a whole lot if he were to hit the open market.  Cox writes that Perry could fetch north of $8 million on the open market and while the Ducks may not be able to afford to keep both him and Getlzaf, bringing in Phil Kessel for anything more than $4 million is not worth it.  He’s struggling this season with just 4 goals through the first 22 games.

Surely the Ducks could receive a better package than one that begins or ends with Phil Kessel if they look at moving Perry over the next month.

While all the connections and story lines between the Ducks and Leafs are nice and fun to write about, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  Anaheim will want a proven playoff performer if they look at moving Perry and Kessel doesn’t exactly fit that mold.  While a change of scenery might be what Kessel needs, Anaheim is unlikely when you look at the needs of both clubs.

For more on the Anaheim Ducks, check out Pucks of a Feather.

For more on the Toronto Maple Leafs, check out Editor in Leaf.

So when this year’s Maple Leafs team has somewhat stumbled out of the gate at 2-3, it’s understandable that fans and media personnel are already looking to the future.  More specifically, keeping their eye on the number one draft pick and securing it by having a miserable season.  Thus leading to the question if the Toronto Maple Leafs should trade Phil Kessel.

Damien Cox of the Toronto Star thinks now is the time for the club to pounce on the idea and trade Kessel by the April 3rd trade deadline.  His reasoning is simple. Trade him now while the value is reasonably high instead of having to re-sign him for gobs of money after next season or lose him for nothing to free-agency.

Cox is quick to point out that Kessel has fallen out of favor with some fans and media, wondering if he’s “ill-conditioned, isolated, troubled or simply massively unlucky, or some combination of those.”

Sure Kessel hasn’t scored yet this year, further mounting the pressure of playing in Toronto.  But Cox reminds us that over his career he’s averaged 33 goals per season, a feat only 2% of players achieved last season and only 1.4% the year before.

So the 25-year old has some talent.  That’s as obvious as the nose on your face.  And so he’s struggling this season in what is a short season so it’s difficult to say there’s lots of hockey left.

But is Cox thinking like so many Leaf fans that this season is already lost?  Sure the team lost Joffrey Lupul for a month or more but does that give them reason to expect a bottom three finish and be in play for the lottery that could land them either Nate McKinnon or Seth Jones? Their goaltending situation is a disaster, so is their season truly lost?

It would appear that Cox is thinking that very thought.  He was quick to defend his article on Twitter, stating that this isn’t about how Kessel is playing but more about managing the club’s assets.

In his piece Cox refers to the Columbus Blue Jackets trade that sent Jeff Carter to the Los Angeles Kings last spring.  Columbus received stud defenceman Jack Johnson and a first-round pick.  Surely Kessel would garner that type of return from a club desperate to add a first or second line forward for their playoff run.

It’s funny how this trade rumor has already started merely weeks after Brian Burke was released of his duties in Toronto. It was Burke who pulled the trigger on acquiring Kessel, a move that had many critics wondering if Burke knew what he was doing.  Burke always defended the move, even after he was fired.

Now Dave Nonis is in charge and like Cox says, he has no ties to keeping Kessel around.  This is his club now and he is the architect responsible for designing a Stanley Cup caliber team which may not include Phil Kessel if the Leafs can stockpile prospects for the future.

Should Nonis trade Kessel this season then we truly have our answer; that even Maple Leafs management have thrown in the towel on this season.

Burke was entering the 5th year of his 6-year, $18 million contract and he will reportedly be replaced by the Leafs assistant GM, Dave Nonis. Whether or not Nonis will be named the permanent GM remains to be seen, for now all I’ve read is that he’ll serve as the team’s GM on an interim basis.

Nonis was a GM once before for the Vancouver Canucks GM (where he actually replaced Burke) and had an above average record of 130-91-25 as GM of the Canucks. Nonis was informed of the Maple Leafs decision Wednesday morning and he reportedly spoke with Burke shortly after, “I had a brief conversation with Brian,” said Nonis, “and we go back a long ways. He’s always helped me as much as he can.”

Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The move comes as a shock to many, myself for one am surprised by Burke’s sudden firing and the timing of it. Even some Leafs players were shocked by the firing. Leafs forward, Joffrey Lupul  spoke with the Toronto Star and said he was “completely shocked by the sudden and unexpected news.” Lupul went on to say, “Why did this happen? Well, we haven’t made the playoffs in seven years, but I can tell you, all the players feel responsible for this because we didn’t get the job done on the ice.”

Burke compiled an unimpressive record of 128-135-42 during his time with the Maple Leafs. Burke’s biggest accomplishment was winning a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, the following year he became GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Which was awesome because he allowed my Boston Bruins to acquire draft picks that would turn into Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Knight in exchange for star forward Phil Kessel. Burke however got the Bruins back when he dumped Tomas “the cone” Kaberle on them and got Joe Colborne in return, along with a pick that would eventually turn into Tyler Biggs (could’ve been goaltender John Gibson).

Did you know Brian Burke was the first American-born GM in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Pretty cool little factoid if not completely useless information

Before the NHL went into lockout mode and I started rambling about trades, Burke had recently acquired underperforming forward James Van Riemsdyk from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for underperforming defenseman Luke Schenn. I’m curious to see how this move works out for both sides and think it may be a win for the Leafs.

However you feel about Burke’s deals and his tenure as Leafs GM, I’ve found I can’t decide if his firing is coming too late for the Leafs, or too soon. Time will tell I guess, one thing I know for sure is that Brian Burke probably won’t be out of work for very long.