With the preseason rapidly approaching, Leafs GM Jason Taylor was working tirelessly with his coaches and scouts. They were analyzing every piece of data and video they have for their current roster. The goal was to classify their players into three groups: those with further upside, those at their peak and those at risk of regressing.
Earlier in the summer, the Blues and Flames made a 7-person trade focused on two star players: Doug Gilmour went to Calgary, and Mike Bullard went to St. Louis. But the “mad scientist”, Blues’ GM Ron Caron, was still moving his chess pieces. In a shocking move, he traded Bullard (coming off a career-best 103 points, including 48 goals) to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for 20 y/o Pat Elyniuk. None of the Norris division teams were truly in “win now” mode, and no one was a lock for the playoffs. This was definitely a blockbuster trade: and a week later, Taylor made his own blockbuster trade that would be his signature move.
Taylor had made his priority clear: he was looking for teams with undervalued players who were young enough to have unrealized potential, but also talented enough to play on a rebuilding NHL roster. An ideal trade partner would be a team firmly in Win Now mode, which might be willing to sacrifice upside for here-and-now. And that team was the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens were coming off a season where Lemieux had scored 168 points and was the first player other than Wayne Gretzky to win the Hart trophy since 1979. The team had finished with 81 points, which was good enough to make the playoffs in any division… except the Patrick, where they finished one point behind the New Jersey Devils. Pittsburgh GM Tony Esposito advised Taylor that they were looking to add some veteran talent, and an upgrade in net. And with that, a blockbuster deal was born.
Pittsburgh traded
C John Cullen, LW Kevin Stevens, D Zarley Zalapski and LW Phil Bourque for C Tom Fergus, LW Mark Osborne, G Allan Bester, D Brian Curran and a 12th round pick in 1990.
Here are the players Pittsburgh received:
C Tom Fergus, 26
Fergus went 19-31-50 in 64 games last year, good enough for 5th in scoring for the Leafs. Fergus was a solid second-line C for Toronto, but his points-per-game had declined each year during his 3-year stint with the Leafs. Taylor’s sentiment was that, while talented, he was already at his peak.
LW Mark Osborne, 27
Osborne was coming off a solid 23-37-60 season in 79 games, good for 3rd in Leafs’ scoring. A good physical winger, but that 60-point season was his most since he posted 67 points with Detroit as a rookie in 81-82. The verdict among Leafs veterans was that Osborne was well liked in the locker room, but he could be a hothead in social settings. Taylor felt that Osborne’s 60-point season was an aberration, with the prior five seasons seeing him in the 40-50 point range.
G Allan Bester, 24
As Ken Wregget’s backup last year, Bester went 8-12-5 with a 3.81 GAA and .884 PCT. He even took over the starter’s spot from Wregget in the playoffs, but was shelled by the Red Wings in a 6-game loss. Bester’s acrobatic style and affable personality made him a fan favourite, so his departure definitely hurt the fanbase. But Toronto saw Wregget as a better bet to be a #1 goalie in the NHL. But on the Penguins side, Bester was a solid upgrade over Frank Pietrangelo and Wendell Young.
D Brian Curran, 24
Curran only played in 29 games last year, but the prior season (86-87) he went 0-10-10 with a +3 and an incredible 356 PIM. Curran clearly adds a toughness and surliness to the blueline, but not a tremendous amount of skill. Taylor also felt that the acquisition of Craig Muni and signing of Anders Eldebrink had pushed Curran down their depth chart enough that he could be expendable. Additionally, the Leafs’ scouts agreed his upside was very limited. But he definitely added a lot of toughness (and a willingness to fight) to a Penguins blueline sorely lacking in those qualities.
Here are the players Toronto received:
C John Cullen, 24
Cullen had put up monster numbers in the IHL (48-109-157 in 81 games). The Leafs felt that while he was currently a step down from Fergus in terms of skill, Cullen’s upside could result in him surpassing Fergus within 1-2 seasons. Pittsburgh was willing to give up that upside for a sure thing in Fergus, as they were very clearly in win-now mode.
LW Kevin Stevens, 23
Stevens split 87-88 with the IHL Muskegon Lumberjacks (24-41-65 in 45 games) and the Penguins (5-2-7 in 16 games). Definitely not as talented as Osborne. He was probably 2-3 seasons away from reaching his peak, around the same time period where the Leafs were likely to be more competitive.
D Zarley Zalapski, 20
Zalapski spent most of 87-88 Canadian national team (3-13-16 in 47 games) and even represented Canada at the ‘88 Olympics in Calgary (1-3-4 in 8 games). He then had a short-but-impressive stint with the Penguins (3-8-11 and +10 in 15 games). Zalapski gives the Leafs another offensive weapon on the blueline, and helps take some of the pressure off Al Iafrate. Zalapski was the must-have piece when the Penguins asked for Bester. And with both Paul Coffey and Doug Bodger ahead of him, Pittsburgh felt they could give up his offense from the back in exchange for solidifying their net.
LW Phil Bourque, 26
Bourque had spent four seasons mainly with Pittsburgh’s AHL/IHL affiliates, with increasingly-long stints with the NHL squad. But he hadn’t yet locked in a full-time NHL roster spot. Bourque was viewed as a nice addition to the Leafs’ 4th line, and Esposito acknowledged that Bourque was a competitive guy who stepped up his game when his team was struggling. That sealed the deal for Taylor, who already liked Bourque’s ability to be an physical, “energy guy”-type player.
Esposito and Taylor finalized the deal with the NHL’s office, and wished each other well in the upcoming season. Taylor felt confident the deal would be a win-win, and was happy with what would be his signature stamp on the Leafs’ roster.