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On a day that was all about prospects, the Maple Leafs couldn’t resist adding a little punch.
General manager Brian Burke got a warm and burly body that he feels will be able to help the team immediately when he dealt a fifth-round pick to Anaheim for burly forward Mike Brown.
“We didn’t get him for shootouts,” Burke deadpanned, when describing the role the 5-foot-11, 201 pounder will have with the Leafs.
“We’ve been trying to get Mike Brown for a while. I like my teams to play with the bottom six forwards. Having one guy that likes to do all the heavy lifting doesn’t work for me.
“This is a guy who knows how to look after his teammates.”
So check off secondary toughness from Burke’s off-season wish list. The 25-year-old Brown played 75 games for the Ducks last season and piled up 106 penalty minutes, six goals and one assist.
“He gets around, this kid can skate,” Burke said. “He’s an active forechecker. When things get physical, he’ll scrap. This is our kind of guy.”
rob.longley@sunmedia.ca
