Toronto Maple Leafs acquire David Steckel in exchange for future draft pick from New Jersey Devils
Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired a valuable veteran centre, David Steckel, on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, in exchange for a future fourth round pick in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft.
The 29-year-old, a former 30th overall selection during round-one of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by Los Angeles Kings, was the player who had hit Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, ultimately giving him a season ending concussion earlier
in January.
Taking responsibility for the hit, Steckel still feels bad about the hit, on which no penalty was called when it happened, and hopes that Crosby will eventually make a full recovery.
Toronto on the other hand, thinks that by adding the experienced forward, head coach, Ron Wilson’s team can benefit from his faceoff winning skills, which have made him one of the best in the league at what he does.
“Winning faceoffs will help our penalty killing”, said Wilson, whose penalty-kill unit ranked 28th overall last season. “If he can continue to win 60 per cent of them rather than some guys taking 42 or 43 per cent, that improves your odds of getting the
puck down the ice”,
Standing at 6-foot-5, not only does the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States native, bring a dominating presence in the faceoff circle but is also a very physical player that can allow Toronto Maple Leafs to take control of the puck on offensive plays more
often.
Since New Jersey Devils were strained in regards of salary cap space, Steckel knew that it would just be a matter of time until his team of one season would want to either place him on waivers or trade him.
“No surprise, we sat down and had a meeting with management in New Jersey and it was obvious it wasn’t going to work out . . . so I’m fortunate enough that something got done”, Steckel said.
At the moment, David Steckel has two seasons remaining on his three-year contract worth $3.3 million. Having played 309 games in the major league and boasting a point record of 59 (24 goals, 35 assists and 115 penalty minutes), Steckel can provide more than
enough defensive action that Maple Leafs are looking for.
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