They got their trade and free agent signings – to a lesser extent – however the vastly improved roster they so desperately desire still needs some tinkering if the Leafs are to be viewed as a playoff contender.

The off-season began with an announcement two years in the making. The Maple Leafs finally appointed a successor to Mats Sundin’s vacated throne when on June 14, 2010, Dion Phaneuf was named as the 18th captain in franchise history. With former captains George Armstrong, Darryl Sittler and Wendel Clark in attendance, the gravity of the announcement was palpable. Whether or not Phaneuf will be able to live up to the 17 names that precede him on that list remains to be seen.

Then, on June 25, 2010, Maple Leafs fans had to grit their teeth and bare the indescribable embarrassment of watching their much-deserved second overall pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft turn into highly touted Plymouth Whalers prospect Tyler Seguin and land with their division rivals, the Boston Bruins – the Bruins obtained the pick in the Phil Kessel trade. It was a devastating blow for a team desperately seeking out offensive help and has forever linked the careers of Seguin and Kessel – not to mention whoever the Bruins select with Toronto’s first round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

With no picks in the first two rounds heading into the draft, Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke did manage to obtain a second round pick (43rd overall) from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Toronto’s second round pick (60th overall) from 2008; Jimmy Hayes. With that pick they selected Portland Winterhawks forward Bradley Ross. Last season in 71 games with the Winterhawks Ross scored 27 goals and finished with 68 points. Regarded as a Darcy Tucker clone, Ross was one of the biggest agitators in the WHL this past season. He isn’t afraid to mix it up in front of the net and in the corners and if push comes to shove, won’t hesitate to drop his mitts.

With their third round pick, the Maple Leafs surprised many by selecting Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg over highly touted QMJHL sniper Kirill Kabanov. McKegg scored 37 goals and 85 points last year to finish 11th in OHL regular season scoring. He is already being compared to Colorado’s Ryan O'Reilly who cracked the Avalanche big league roster as an 18-year-old last season. The pick was considered a steal by many and added some much needed depth to an organization that has perennially been short on prospects.

The Buds added five more players, Norwegian Sondre Olden (third round), Swede Petter Granberg (fourth round), Brampton Battalion centre Sam Carrick (fifth), Swedish winger Daniel Brodin (fifth) and then Saskatoon Blades winger Josh Nicholls (seventh). The team also traded a fifth round pick in the 2010 Draft to Anaheim for checker Mike Brown who should make the big team out of training camp.

The draft also represented the opening of the much talked about Tomas Kaberle trade window. This meant that Burke could actively pursue a Kaberle trade without being mandated to request Kaberle’s permission before reaching a deal. The draft proved uneventful on that front but the two picks the Leafs did obtain are nothing to scoff at. Both players could develop into prime contributors over the next couple years.

Then just four days after the draft, things started to happen and in rapid succession. First on June 30, 2010, Burke pulled off the blockbuster trade that Maple Leafs fans had been anticipating. Taking advantage of the salary cap constrained Chicago Blackhawks, he acquired versatile forward Kris Versteeg and the rights to prospect Bill Sweatt in exchange for Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis. Ultimately, the Leafs ended up walking away from Sweatt’s contract demands but in Versteeg, the team got the legitimate top-six forward that they had pined so hard after.

The 24-year-old Versteeg had 20 goals and 44 points in 79 games played for the Blackhawks during the 2009-10 regular season. He followed that up with six goals and 14 points in 22 games played in the 2010 NHL playoffs en route to the 2010 Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship.

The day after the Versteeg acquisition, July 1, 2010, free agency opened and the Maple Leafs were one of the first teams to make a splash, signing 27-year-old former Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Colby Armstrong to a three-year, $9 million deal. Not known for his scoring prowess, Armstrong is one of the league’s premier instigators with the ability to contribute to the tune of 15 goals and 29 points during the 2009-10 campaign – a down year by his standards. Armstrong will immediately step into a top-six role with the Buds.

The day after the Armstrong signing on July 2, 2010, Burke answered another of the team’s biggest question marks; would Nikolai Kulemin be back in blue and white? The answer of course was yes when he signed him to a two-year, $4.7 million deal. Kulemin had broken out in the second half of the 2009-10 season; creating in the offensive zone and playing extremely responsible hockey in his own end. In 78 games played last season he scored 16 goals and finished with 36 points and an even plus/minus rating on a minus Maple Leafs squad. The Leafs are hoping that with another NHL season under his belt, he will continue to progress and his numbers will rise with that progression.

Then, on July 7, 2010, The Maple Leafs added to an already deep defensive corps when they signed former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brett Lebda to a two-year $2.9 million deal. Lebda brings a wealth of playoff experience to a Leafs team desperately in need of it. He is a dependable shutdown defenseman that can log important minutes as exhibited by his back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup Final with the Red Wings in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

The final major shoe to drop thus far in the Leafs off-season was the impending trade of Maple Leafs blue line staple, Tomas Kaberle. With the majority of the Leafs forward corps young and relatively unproven, Kaberle was supposed to net an established forward that could come in and contribute immediately, helping the Leafs to finally return to postseason play. Unfortunately as with countless seasons past, the clock ran out once again on Kaberle’s trade window and it looks as if he will – at least for the time being – start the season in Blue and White.

There is no doubt that the Toronto Maple Leafs have improved their roster since they last played a regular season game. With the arrivals of Versteeg and Armstrong, they have added two top-six forwards. That paired with the incumbent ascension of prospect Nazem Kadri to the big club is argument enough to assume that the team will be able to light the lamp significantly more than fans were used to last season.

The back-end however, is where the Maple Leafs are at the head of the class.

With a defensive corps that can be measured against any other in the league and a tandem in net that includes a former Conn Smythe trophy winner in Jean-Sebastian Giguere and a goalie who in his rookie season posted a 16-15-9 record with a .902 save percentage and a 2.87 GAA in Jones Gustavsson, the Maple Leafs look poised to ascend from their 29th overall finish last season and could challenge for a playoff spot. Beyond that however, the Leafs won’t be able to challenge for anything more than a first-round dance until they find a way to add one or two more impact forwards.

With eight defensemen under contract for this upcoming season and a handful of AHL/NHL interchangeable forwards it would be safe to assume that Burke may still have some wheeling and dealing ahead of him. Either by way of trade or another potential free agent signing, the lineup as it is shaping up now could be noticeably different by the time the puck drops on the Maple Leafs 2010-11 regular season.

Other Notable Acquisitions:

Jussi Rynnas, G: The six-foot-five, 205 pound 22-year old from Pori, Finland had the top save percentage (.929) during the 2009-10 season while playing for Assat in Finland (SM-Liiga). In 31 games this past season, he posted a goals-against-average of 2.50.

Ben Scrivens, G: Coming off of his last season at Cornell, the six foot two, 192-pound netminder finished his four-year collegiate career as the schools all-time leader in shutouts (19), saves (2,873) and games played by a goaltender (117). He also finished tied for first in wins (65) and was fourth in both goals against average (1.93) and save percentage (.930).

Marcel Mueller, LW: The 22-year-old Mueller appeared in 53 games with the Cologne Sharks of the German Elite League (DEL) in 2009-10, registering 24 goals and 56 points. In 198 games in the German Elite League with the Sharks and Berlin Polar Bears from 2005-06 to 2009-10, the 6-3, 220-pound winger recorded 43 goals and 61 assists for 104 points with 316 penalty minutes.

Joseph Crabb, RW; Mike Zigomanis, C; Danny Richmond, D

Notable Departures: