With only a couple of weeks left on the Tomas Kaberle trade window, it seems like Leafs fans are becoming a little uneasy who will be in blue & white next season. Most people, myself included, choose to forget that Brian Burke will not deal Kaberle unless he receives exactly what he’s looking for in a forward. So, again, we have to re-visit some trade opportunities that don’t include Kaberle.
It’s funny, but the more this Kaberle saga drags on, the more I just want Burke to re-sign him and deal someone else. The only problem with that scenario is that the Leafs probably won’t receive anything that resembles top six forward talent on the way back. But wouldn’t it be funny if Burke didn’t trade Kaberle after all the words that have been written/said about him? I can find humor in that.
Though I probably won’t find much humor in the Leafs mid-season record if Phil Kessel is the only guy who can put the puck in the net.
Like many out there, I try to stay away from the crazy trade scenarios in Leafland. But I will say that the possibility of a multi-player deal with the Buds seems like a possibility, especially if Burke goes the non-Kaberle route. The only question is, who seems like they could hit the road?
The only real possibilities I see are Francois Beauchemin and one of the Leafs young goalie prospects. Burke could easily flip one of those goalies and still have a fairly full cupboard.
Some would like to argue that Mike Komisarek or Tyler Bozak could be potential trade bait. Obviously it depends on the return, but Burke could get burned on a Bozak deal and the market for Komisarek is likely non-existent with his current salary, and injury from last season.
So if we look at a Beauchemin + Reimer (or Rynnas or Scrivens) type of deal, what’s a fair return?
This is not to suggest that these guys are on the block, but if Kaberle stays, someone from the back-end leaves. And in order to get back some sort of return worthwhile, Burke will likely have to package something of decent value. Right now the Leafs simply don’t cut it.
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Original Story:
http://maplestirup.com/2010/07/burke-...
