If you were making a list of Maple Leafs players who you thought might be traded, Mike Brown probably would not have been on it.
Gritty, hardworking, versatile, and well-liked by his teammates, the fourth-line winger seemed to possess all the characteristics head coach Randy Carlyle holds in high regard.
So it came as a bit of surprise on Monday at the Air Canada Centre when news broke at the team’s morning skate that Brown had been dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft, a pick that could improve depending on how the Oilers fare.
In his 112 games over two-plus seasons with the Leafs, Brown did everything that was asked of him, including standing up for his teammates. He could not have done any more for the type of player he is. But, in the end, it didn’t matter — Brown became the victim of an increasingly deepening Leafs roster.
