Since the day Phil Kessel was infamously traded from the Boston Bruins to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the same question has remained: Who is going to be his set-up man?
More specifically, who can be the man in the middle to feed Kessel the puck?
And the answer to these questions has been the same: Only time will tell.
But as the preseason continues on, two things have become very apparent about the first line. First, Kessel, Tyler Bozak, and Kris Versteeg's names are in ink as the starting trio on Oct. 7.
Second, Versteeg might just be better than advertised, and a more useful set-up man than many have given him credit for.
Coming from the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks to the second-to-last place Maple Leafs might not have been the most exciting thing the 24-year-old has ever had to deal with. But since he stepped foot on the exhibition ice, he's been nothing but outstanding.
Flanked on the left wing, and essentially given free rein on the ice by the coaching staff, he has been one of the best Leafs on the ice in each game he's appeared in thus far.
His speed is obvious immediat ...
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Article written by Jon Neely
Maple Leafs’ Missing Piece? Kris Versteeg Could Be Answer for First-Line Success
September 28th, 2010 by Jon Neely Leave a reply »
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