Lefko on Argonauts: The Jyles situation

Steven Jyles will never be confused with Phil Kessel, but their stories are remarkably similar.

The Argonauts acquired Jyles for a first-round pick from Winnipeg in March, only four months after he underwent shoulder surgery. There was no condition on the deal. The Argos knew Jyles was still in the rehab and recovery process but were fully confident in all their research and information that Jyles would be ready for the start of training camp.

It hasn’t worked out that way and his timetable is unknown at this point.

When the Argos play host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at home on Saturday, Jyles will be a spectator while Toronto’s incumbent starter, Cleo Lemon, who struggled significantly last year as a rookie, and his backup, Dalton Bell, will each play one half to make their impressions.

They need the time because if Jyles isn’t even ready for the start of the regular season — and it’s an unknown at this point — either Lemon or Bell will be the starter. That was an issue throughout the 2010 season, which is why the Argos traded for Jyles. It was paramount to their off-season plans.

Only when Jyles fully tests his wonky shoulder by throwing with some intensity will the Argos know whether or not they can count on him for the start of the regular season and beyond. The Argos have no other alternative than to take their time with him, even if it has become an issue that general manager/head coach Jim Barker has had to address in the media, to the point where it’s become a tiresome — and sore — subject.

But this isn’t anything like the Kessel situation. It is only a microcosm of it. In a nutshell it is the difference between what the Leafs and Argos have in the Toronto sports scene and media.

The Leafs dealt for Kessel, a proven goal scorer, in September 2009, trading two first-round picks and a second-round pick, knowing he wouldn’t be ready for the start of the regular season following shoulder surgery in May. They were so confident of his return — and set a specific timetable for November — they restructured his contract. His anticipated return became a daily talking point, which by comparison makes the Jyles watch a mere footnote.

Kessel returned some six months after the surgery as projected. What has happened afterwards is well known: He played well in the beginning, then sputtered and subsequent to that he couldn’t do enough to keep the Leafs from failing to make the playoffs that season and the next.

The talk of that deal will be debated and analyzed for years to come. The Jyles situation won’t have nearly the same impact. First of all, the Argos aren’t as financially committed to him.

Secondly, the value of a first-round pick in the NHL — notably second overall, which became the situation in the first year of the deal, and ninth overall this year — isn’t nearly as significant as a first-round pick in the CFL. The Argos gave up the fourth pick overall for Jyles, but this is an apples to orange situation. There are only eight picks in the first round of the CFL draft compared to 30 in the NHL. And while not in the same wheeler-dealer category as Leafs’ GM Brian Burke, Barker engineered a trade to acquire a later pick in the first round this year.

Jyles hasn’t fully established himself as a full-time starter. The body of his work with three teams over the previous five seasons established himself as anything more than a prospect. That said, for the Argos’ purposes, they knew after last season they needed to upgrade their quarterback situation and needed greater competition for the starting job. Every other team in the CFL to this point has identified its starter, to the point where some are playing little, if at all, in the first pre-season game.

When the Argos complete their first pre-season game, the story will be how well Lemon and Bell fared. It’s the reason why this pre-season game, which normally wouldn’t mean much, has significant importance, and why Jyles will indirectly be part of the overall fabric and discussion of the game.

When — and if — Jyles makes his debut, it won’t receive the reams of coverage that went into Kessel’s debut, but it will be the story. That’s the consequence of making such a deal for a high-profile player; the difference being the way the Maple Leafs and the Argos are viewed in the competitive Toronto sports market.

To this point, Jyles hasn’t been viewed as the player to take the Argos to the promised land of championship glory. It is compelling among the Argo front office, the media and Argo fans, but isn’t anything compared to Kessel and the Leafs; although there are some similarities when you piece together the storylines.