Before the skates were even sharpened for the pre-season, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson, intentionally, sold his team short.

In his daily media scrums, the Windsor, Ont. born coach stuck to the Maple Leafs party line. He was convinced, or so he said, that his hockey club was at their most distressing point in recent history.

In an effort to quell the thirst of 41 years of futility, Wilson made a brilliant P.R. move with the Toronto media.


He used the dreaded word no fan wants to hear, whether it's true or not.

Rebuild.

That word sent ice through the veins of an impatient, yet loyal, fan base.

Former general manager Cliff Fletcher was even piling heaps of misery on the club he assembled. Fletcher went out of his way to say that his team had one top six player in the line-up.

Following a opening night 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings, all those carefully prepared doom and gloom speeches by Wilson set the ground work for a team that isn't as bad as advertised.

Today, that presents an interesting quandary for the Leafs.

After 29 games played, the Leafs are 11th in the Eastern Conference, five points behind eighth place Buffalo and 11th in the NHL in scoring with 83 goals, one behind ninth place Calgary.

They are neither good or bad and you can't say they are clearly out of the play-off race.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) hired Wilson and Burke on the proviso that they were going to strip the team down and build it back up into a contender.

So what does new GM Brian Burke do with this team?

Does he stand pat or does he trade away assets in return for valuable draft picks?

Although there are four or five movable assets on the Leafs, Tomas Kaberle is clearly the diamond in the coal mine.

The Czech is a rarity in the league: a highly skilled, puck moving defenceman. No doubt several teams, who fancy themselves as Cup contenders, are salivating at the chance to grasp Kaberle from the hands of a new GM looking to make a early splash.

However, it's not going to be easy to move the defenceman. He has a three year no-trade clause that won't expire until July 1 of 2009.

The upside of moving him would be worth the effort.

Since the lockout he has led NHL defenceman in scoring with 49 goals and 169 assists, 30 points more than Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle.

Kaberle's $4.5 million (US) salary is a bargain considering Boyle earns $6.6 million (US) with San Jose.

According to Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons, Kaberle has been looking over NHL rosters to see where his style of play best fits in.

Simmons also says that one possible rumour has Kaberle going to Washington for Karl Alzner and a first and second round pick.

The draft is a crap shoot but given Burke's track record and the Leafs need to acquire assets, the risk may be worth the reward.

Kaberle has a reasonable salary and is young enough to play for three to five more years. If he waives his no-trade clause, he may find himself with a chance to win now and Burke gets what he needs for later.