To qualify for this list, a player's NHL rights must be owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he must be born in 1987 or later. Although overall potential is considered, the rankings are biased in favour of older prospects who have a significant chance of contributing playoff-calibre performances over the next 3 to 5 years.
The final bias would be toward players in the NHL, AHL and OHL, as it is harder for me to access and assess US college and foreign statistics.
Top 25 Young Toronto Maple Leafs
1. D: Jake Gardiner
2. RW: Phil Kessel
3. G: James Reimer
4. RW: Matt Frattin
5. C: Nazem Kadri
6. D: Luke Schenn
7. RW: Carter Ashton
8. G: Mark Owuya
9. D: Cody Franson
10. RW: Tyler Biggs
11. C: Joe Colborne
12. D: Jesse Blacker
13. LW: Brad Ross
14. LW: Josh Leivo
15. C: Greg McKegg
16. C. Josh Nicholls
17. RW: Sam Carrick
18. RW: Jerry D'Amigo
19. D: Korbinian Holzer
20. G: Jussi Rynnas
21. G: Garret Sparks
22. D: Stuart Percy
23. D: Simon Gysbers
24. LW: Marcel Mueller
25. LW: Nicolas Deschamps
Summary: Leafs need help on Left Wing and at Centre. Trading for 27 year old RW Rick Nash, a $7.8 mil player, may not be as wise as signing 27 year old LW Zach Parise for the same amount of money as a free agent, without having to give up anything.
28th in NHL scoring:
Zach Parise - 62 points
76th in NHL scoring:
Rick Nash - 48 points
Now, if Burke were to arrange for both of them to come to Toronto, most fans would be willing to give up a few names from the above list, especially below the top dozen.
Altogether now:
BB, please be a hero...
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