With the Draft just over six hours away, here are a couple of my internal debates I want to throw out to everyone else. I’m interested in hearing what everyone has to think on these so please leave some comments, and call my idiot directly on twitter.

  1. Is Kulemin worth a late 1st Round Pick? And if so, do you move him at the draft instead of paying his ransom of $3,000,000 a season. I don’t think I’m too far out to lunch on this one. If Kris Versteeg is worth a first and prospect, I’d expect the same for Kulemin. His numbers aren’t as good as Versteeg, but he’s younger and I think he’ll actually pass the Versteeg offensively in the near future. Why wouldn’t you keep him then, and just pay him the money? Good question, that’s why it’s an interesting debate.
  2. Of the following three defensemen, would you be open to moving Komisarek, Beauchemin, or Schenn for the right offer? For me personally, I wouldn’t consider moving Schenn, but Beauchemin and Komisarek are absolutely in play, and wouldn’t hesitate at moving either one or both. There needs to be some aspect of immediate help coming to the Leafs out of whatever deals get done this weekend, but there is also some benefit to shedding salary for picks, and allowing the Leafs to be bigger players on July 1st.
  3. Is it worth chasing down a 1st round pick, or should the Leafs try to stockpile picks in the later rounds? Despite what people are saying about this not being a deep draft, I completely disagree. It is not deep in the sense that we will probably only see 3 or 4 guys in the NHL next season, but there are a lot of great kids in the mid rounds who could pan out in 3 or 4 years.
  4. What Leafs prospects would you put in play to make a deal? The HF Boards whipping boy Stefanovich is always mentioned, but how badly are you willing to rob the Leafs future to improve in the present? I am not willing to entertain the thought of Kadri being moved, and in fact, I’m not really willing to offer anyone around unless it’s an insanely over the top talented player the Leafs land (also that player should be under the age of 30). Is it fair to say Bozak and Gunnarsson are in play?
  5. If the Leafs don’t do anything tonight, is it the worst thing that’s ever happened? I know I want to be entertained, and watch Brian Burke pull off a huge deal tonight. And it would be nice to watch him step up to the podium and select the next player we will idolize and then demand be traded. If it doesn’t happen have you lost faith that Brian Burke will make the right moves for the Leafs or do you trust that he’s going to improve the team at some point this summer? I can honestly say, my confidence in him will go down a little, but I won’t immediately call for his head.

 That’s it until draft time for me. Check out some of my other posts on YakovMironov (which will soon be YakovMironov.Com) or better yet, follow me on Twitter. If Kaberle doesn’t get traded, I promise a very interesting, overly emotional response. Have A Great Draft Day!