Farewell Beauchemin, hello rebuild

Yesterday in a move not I nor any supposed Leafs insiders saw coming, Brian Burke made a deal with the Anaheim Ducks (surprise!) that saw him shipping out top defenseman Francois Beauchemin for left winger Joffrey Lupol and defensive prospect Jake Gardiner who was drafted 17th overall in 2008.

Bye, bye Beauchemin

Gardiner is reportedly a "world-class skater" and was ranked just after Cam Fowler among Duck defensive prospects. As a fan of Cam Fowler, I take this to be fantastic news. Also fantastic: Burkie has finally made a deal that doesn't intend to bring immediate results for the team. By shipping out one of the Leafs top two defensemen in terms of average time on ice (23:45) for no immediate replacement, Burke seems to finally be looking to the future. 

Most trade recaps I've read have given Gardiner another year or two of development either at the college level or the minors before he makes the roster. Ideally this means that by the time he makes the team, he'll hit his stride as a top-four defenseman (as Burkie believes he can be) just as the team is actually getting competitive. Of course, the other side to this is that the redistribution of Beauchemin's minutes will likely result in more ice time for Komisarek and (god help me) Brett Lebda, which can only spell disaster in the short term. But even if this does completely torpedo the Leafs playoff chances this year, the likelihood of them actually having made it had Beauch stuck around was more of a longshot than Sidney Crosby growing a respectable mustache. And this is me being optimistic.

I am pleased with the trade, despite not really having a read on Lupol and what he may or may not be capable of coming off of a missed year due to back surgery.  This is what I have wanted all along -- for Burke to admit that a full rebuild was necessary and stop trying to pass off some big trade (cough, Phaneuf) as the move that will make the Leafs ready for the post-season right now. Rebuilding on the fly was always a terrible idea, and his desperation to push it as a solid plan made me hate him. And I don't want to hate him; he has great hair and a top-notch "back-the-hell-off" face that I have always admired.

Interesting note: In the post-trade presser he gave yesterday, Burke mentioned that he was in a position at the trade deadline last year to have traded Luke Schenn in a move that would certainly have gotten the Leafs into the playoffs. He went on to explain that he didn't do it as his longterm goal is not just to get into the playoffs only to get eliminated in the first round; it is to build a championship. Despite sounding a wee bit like hyperbole (pretty sure the Leafs were around 15 points out of 8th spot at the deadline last year), at least the point he was making is a good one; the only goal is the Stanley Cup.

I leave you with this: I cannot pretend that I was Beauchemin's biggest cheerleader. I cursed him out many a night for those inevitable boneheaded moves that always resulted in goals against. That being said,  I know his numbers were good, especially given his TOI and the competition he was facing. I truly believe that if the Leafs had a roster in which Beauch could have played second-pair minutes rather than first I would have been a bigger fan, which he probably deserved. 

So in this, the time of his departure, I give you Beauchemin's Gordie Howe hat trick against Calgary from last season. Because the only thing better than a Gordie Howe hatty is a goalie fight.

Speaking of:

And also:

Man, even though they keep getting the Leafs' first round picks, I just can't hate the Bruins. That game was absolutely insane.