Kaberle on the block, sort of

[Deleted]

Must be great for a player's psyche to know that he could be traded, only to hear that he's going to be staying put. I wonder if this will affect Thomas' performance in the upcoming season?

He's a really good defenseman. What is Burke trying to earn by trading him?

[Skilly]

I'm guessing he is trying to avoid another Mats Sundin situation. Having to keep the player to make the playoffs (if they are close, and Burkey as GM will always think they will be close), and knowing he is is UFA come JUly 1, 2011.

He doesn't want to lose Kaberle, with a NTC, for nothing ... and now Kaberle has to agree to the trade, so Burke's list of team's just became a whole lot smaller, which means the return could be a whole lot worse then having (he was hoping) 29 teams interested.

[CrocRob]

Kaberle has to provide a list of 10 teams. That's a significant portion of the playoff field which is still available for trade.

[seventeen]

But the return isn't going to get any better. Burke's between a rock and a hard place. Kaberle's a UFA after this season, so anyone trading for him is not going to give up a great deal for a good offensive defenseman who may only play one year for them.

[CentreHice]

Burke said that he had many interested teams (8-10, I think I heard on the radio)....and he said, "If this is as good as they get, he's staying here.)

Well, that tells you a bit about how valuable "one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the league" is, doesn't it? Did I hear correctly that Burke was looking for a Top 6 forward or a first-rounder in return?

If he's so valuable, he'd be gone. But, as seventeen says, he's a UFA after this season.

Trading his as a rental at the deadline might be an option, but he'll garner an even smaller return then.

[roke]

I'll be honest, I haven't followed much hockey since the Habs lost out to the Flyers, but I thought this deadline was a Burke ploy to try to create a bidding war for Kaberle. I didn't know he had a limited NTC from August 15th onwards.

[Skilly]

Aug 16, 2010 11:47:45 GMT -5 CrocRob said:

Kaberle has to provide a list of 10 teams. That's a significant portion of the playoff field which is still available for trade.

Assuming those 10 teams are in the hunt ....

[Skilly]

Aug 16, 2010 13:39:54 GMT -5 seventeen said:

But the return isn't going to get any better. Burke's between a rock and a hard place. Kaberle's a UFA after this season, so anyone trading for him is not going to give up a great deal for a good offensive defenseman who may only play one year for them.

I've already hear many Leaf fans compare this to the Sundin saga ... something is better than the nothing they got for Mats.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

I'm kind of grateful that this didn't get the attention here on the boards as it did in the media. This Burke Kaberle story got a lot of media attention over the last few weeks.

Cheers.

[jkr]

Here is the take ( a rather critical one) from SI:

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/allan_muir/08/17/kaberle.maple.leafs/index.html

[CentreHice]

Kaberle's father, quoted in the Czech hockey magazine "Hokej", says he can't see his son playing for Toronto next year, not if Ron Wilson continues to be the coach.

TSN

And no need for a "tape", apparently.

"I think that during the course of the year he will be traded to another club," Karberle said. "There is only one chance for Toronto to get something back in return for Tomas now. In my opinion, I can't see Tomas entering a new contract with Toronto. Not if Ron Wilson continues to be employed there."

For a deal to happen, the defenceman would have to tell the team which clubs he would allow a trade to. In the meantime, Kaberle's father expects his son to remain quiet on all the potential trade talk.

"I think that Tomas won't even comment on (trade possibilities) anymore.", the elder Kaberle said. "He is content in Toronto with both the club and the city.

"I still think though that some change would be welcomed."

Kaberle Sr., also weighed in on how the Maple Leafs rebuilding efforts might be hampered by the passion and expectations of 'Leafs Nation'.

"I have been following Toronto for a long time," he said. “I didn't believe it much in the beginning, but it seems that the best players don't want to go to this club.

"The reason is because of the huge pressure from the fans, and especially the media. Not every hockey player is able to deal with it."

What a nightmare it could be for Kaberle in that dressing room. Can't you just hear Wilson..... "So, your daddy doesn't like the way I treat his little boy, eh Tomas?"

[CrocRob]

I don't think Kaberle will have to deal with it when the Leafs open the season 5-15 and Wilson is fired.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Aug 20, 2010 15:12:39 GMT -5 jkr said:

Here is the take ( a rather critical one) from SI:

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/allan_muir/08/17/kaberle.maple.leafs/index.html

I actually agree with the opinion, JKR. The media has put Burke front and centre in the Kaberle situation, so I thought it was good that I could read some criticism on the guy as well.

Just after the deadline I read that Burke said there were some top-six forwards being dangled for Kaberle. "They were out there ... believe me ..." he said (paraphrase), but it's hard to know exactly who or what was available. But, if there were some viable options out there you'd think Burke would've taken them.

Red, I do hope you're right. The Leafs have a good defence corps (not one of the best in the league as Cherry would have us think) but they don't have any scoring. I don't know where the optimism comes from but here at work I'm talking to Leaf fans who feel their team is marginally weaker than Montreal. Others feel they're going to be a playoff team.

Well, it wasn't too long ago we were in the same mindset I guess. Mind you, it wouldn't bother me in the least to see them go 5-15 to start the season. Hopefully we're one of the reasons for that.

Cheers.

[seventeen]

I guess it shows just how much fans overvalue their own players and team. For those who think TO is marginally weaker than the Habs, I might agree that their defense could be marginally stronger than ours. They don't have anyone as good as Markov and no youngster nearly as good as Subban. They are tougher than we are on the back end, no question there, but skill wise, I think we're better. In goal, we both have question marks, though ours has huge upside, they don't. Offensively, Our 2nd line would be their first line, and quite a bit better than their first line.

So, I don't see the Leafs as marginally worse than us, they're a quite a bit worse than us. Bear in mind I'm looking at our team through rose coloured glasses too.