 | HTR Feature Article: Burke waits, but the end seems near |
More and more, this is looking like the end.
There are only so many bullets you can dodge. And with the deadline on his no-trade clause fast approaching, it is becoming increasingly evident that Tomas Kaberle will not be continuing his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Of course, this is all speculation. But the trade offers — six teams reportedly remain interested — are coming in almost daily now, each one seemingly better than the next. So while Brian Burke continues to say, “this is not an auction” and that he “has no problem keeping the player,” what are the chances that the Leafs GM actually allows this window to close for good?
Because if the Leafs do not move Kaberle before Aug. 15, when his no-trade clause goes back into effect, then Burke risks losing his biggest asset.
From Aug. 16 onwards, Kaberle gets to call the shots. If he wants, he can play out the entire season, become an unrestricted free agent, and leave the city in a similar fashion to what Mats Sundin did a few years ago.
That is the reality of this situation. Burke knows it. And the league’s 29 other general managers know it, too.
This could be the reason why the offers have yet to entice Burke enough to make a move. Or it simply could be he is asking for too much.
“We’re not asking for anything,” Burke said. “We’re fielding offers. We’re either going to get an offer that makes sense for Tomas Kaberle or we’re going to keep him.”
The difficulty is figuring out what offers might make sense.
It is no secret the Leafs, who appear to be starting the season with sophomore Tyler Bozak and rookie Nazem Kadri as their top entres, are thin up front. The team needs players who can put the puck in the net. So any deal would have to include a top-six forward.
But with 180 top-six forward positions in the league, the quality varies.
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/Burke+waits+seems+near/3339268/story.html#ixzz0vBGj33Er
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| "Burke waits, but the end seems near" | Login/Create an Account | 111 comments |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by mojo19 on Friday, July 30
(User Info | Send a Message) | | I still like Voracek! He's good and would be part of this team for a long time. |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by psoviero (dirtyvegas23@hotmail.com) on Friday, July 30
(User Info | Send a Message) | | This might be completely off topic here, but I've been reading a lot of different Maple Leaf related posts, and there seems to be a lot of people who believe that Jeff Finger will be banished to the minors.
From a money perspective it makes perfect sense, but this move doesn't do much to help Burke's reputation, or the Maple Leafs organization for that matter.
Burke often refers to deals that were in place before he arrived, mainly in regards to no trade clauses, and talks about how its important from an organizational standpoint to respect those agreements. Well Fingers contract is an agreement too. I think doing this would send a bad message to players in the league and potential free agent signings about how the Leafs handle these types of situation.
This guy gets a lot of flack for his paycheck, but honestly is he really that bad? I can't honestly say we ever lost a game solely due to his play. I don't get why we don't just play the guy in the bottom defence pairing and get a little of our moneys worth out of him.
The other obvious arrangement would be a trade for sure, but somehow I don't see that happening. I wish we had more cap room too, but doing this to a player may have worse reprercussions down the road.
Thoughts?
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by albertateams on Friday, July 30
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Ian White signed a 1 year deal for just under 3 million with the Flames. It's not a bad deal for the Flames I just wish it would have been a 2-3 year deal at the same cap hit. I'm just glad it didn't go to arbitration as those proceedings sometimes get messy. In terms of value I think the dollar amount from an arbitrator would have been higher as well. The only problem is Sutter has until the trade deadline to get along term deal in place or move him because he becomes a UFA next summer, at any rate he bought himself more time. |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by leafit2me on Friday, July 30
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Damien Cox notes that the cap hit for Stajan and White is $6.5M, same as Phaneuf. |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by mojo19 on Saturday, July 31
(User Info | Send a Message) | Bobby Ryan back on??
The Ducks just traded James Wisniewski, who averaged over 24 mins per game, posted over 30 pts, and earns $3.25 million to the Islanders for nothing more than a 3rd round pick.
The Ducks defense now looks like this:
Lubomir Visnovsky - Toni Lydman
Cam Fowler* - Sheldon Brookbank
Danny Sevrett - Luca Sbisa/Bret Festerling
Fowler and Sbisa still have to make the team out of camp, as both could still be considered prospects (especially Fowler). Does this not look like the type of team that could use a veteran defensman? |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by lafleur10 on Sunday, August 01
(User Info | Send a Message) | THIS IS A BIT OFF TOPIC............BUT I'D LIKE TO ASK ALL THE HTR MEMBERS
WHO'S THE BEST TEAM IN THE CFL? AND WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE CFL TEAM AND WHY?
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- Re: Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near by mojo19 on Sunday, August 01
- Re: Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near by Leafs_the_word on Sunday, August 01
- Re: Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near by lafleur10 on Sunday, August 01
- Re: Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near by TheLeafNation91 on Monday, August 02
- Re: Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near by leafy on Tuesday, August 03
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by Kramer on Sunday, August 01
(User Info | Send a Message) | I saw aliens in my back yard last night.
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by leafit2me on Sunday, August 01
(User Info | Send a Message) | | I know this sounds obsessive, the longer BB takes to trade Kaberle, the lesser I can resist thinking up trade ideas. BB sls save me!!
DAL: Grabo + Kaberle + Stefanovich + Leafs 2nd & 3rd rounder ($7.15M) TOR: Neal + Richards ($7.8M - $11.8M) |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by BLUE_AND_WHITE (spam_proof_eh@hotmail.com) on Sunday, August 01
(User Info | Send a Message) | | on August 16 when kaberle is a Maple Leaf, remember that I was the only one who said it. |
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by reinjosh on Monday, August 02
(User Info | Send a Message) | Who takes a stab at Niemi now that he is free? Obviously they couldn't trade his rights or they would have pulled the same thing the Ducks did.
I honestly can't think of anyone as it seems most are set with goaltending. Maybe the Oilers? Or the Capitals? But even both have possibilities they might be more comfortable with.
Maybe a team like Calgary pulls a huge move signing him and trading their number one (like Kipper)? I just can't see much of a market for him right now.
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Re: Burke waits, but the end seems near (Score: 1)
by TimTheBone on Monday, August 02
(User Info | Send a Message) | Are there really that few true hockey fans here....
numerous articles on this site get shoved to the way side because its not a leafs article...
and hey i'm not saying being passionate for your team isnt a good thing.... but the way this site goes now it shouldnt be called hockeytraderumors.....
it should be called Leafstraderumorsagainandagain.....
I mean come on how many times can you say the same thing.... its always the same theres never a fresh leafs article.... unless a trade or signing goes through.... how many articles are there about "Burke's got something up his sleeve"... "Burke's not done working"./..... "Burke's on vacation"....... "Burke just took a big dump"...... "Burke is thinking today".........
I mean my point is ppl keep writing or posting the same damn article day after day.... and it always gets more than 75 comments.... but other interesting articles never get more than 5 comments and maybe 100 views.... It's rather disappointing seeing the same comments on the same articles all the time and nobody bothers with the fresh news..... I know there are some true hockey fans on this website posting but i'll tell ya i see ALOT more leafs fans with little overall knowledge about the game posting dumb comments frequently... and its become an epidemic.... the more knowledgable leaf fans here consistently call them out too on their stupidity but thats besides the point...
I'd just like to see more talk about everything on the whole...... not just about what Burke is gonna have for breakfast today |
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