Where do the Leafs go from here?

So, in case you haven’t noticed, Tomas Kaberle is still a Toronto Maple Leaf and the team remains inexplicably thin at forward.

If the season started today, the team’s top three centres would be Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri — who has played one National Hockey League game — and Mikael Grabovski, who may or may not be capable of standing up on skates for more than 20 seconds at a time.

Leafs general manager Brian Burke did everything in his power to increase the defenceman’s value, insisting to the media that a bidding war would evolve as his no-trade clause deadline approached, Sunday night at midnight.

But, in the end, the pricetag was more than anyone wanted to spend. Burke was widely reported to have wanted two players — a top six forward and a prospect. Now he doesn’t have either, but he still has a few options.

Here are three places Burke could go next:

1. Stand pat
Burke has made a career out of finding trade allies who are either desperate or, to put it mildly, not particularly well suited to their jobs (see: Sutter, Darryl). He got the better end of deals for Chris Pronger and Dion Phaneuf (presuming Ian White doesn’t make the all-star team this season). He wrangled the Sedins out of the abysmal 1999 draft. And he was smart enough to recognize that Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was never going to fit Phil Kessel under the salary cap — he just ended up paying too much for the winger.

So the question is this: has the rest of the league gotten wise to Burke? Perhaps GMs are seeing Kaberle for what he really is — a puck-moving defenceman who doesn’t hit and barely shoots — and not what Burke is advertising him as. Perhaps they want pieces to level the playing field — a Leafs prospect such as Keith Aulie or Jesse Blacker — and Burke isn’t willing. Maybe, in the end, Burke simply says, “This is our team for the year.” And if he does, the Boston Bruins will pick in the top five of the 2011 NHL draft.

The silver lining Burke is surely aware of: centres on the unrestricted free agent market next summer (unless they sign extensions) include Brad Richards, Joe Thornton, Patrice Bergeron (at 25), David Backes and Brooks Laich.

2. Trade Kaberle
This isn’t over. You know it isn’t over. Kaberle knows it isn’t over. And Burke certainly has created a situation where it doesn’t seem to be over by poisoning the well with his two-month “Trade Tomas” media campaign. Kaberle, through his agent Rick Curran, has made it clear he is not amused. And Burke probably wants it that way.

Sure, now that the no-trade clause is back in effect, Kaberle controls his own destiny. He can move if he likes the destination, he can stay if he doesn’t. But Curran had implied that was always sort of the case. Kaberle is in the final year of his contract, and if he is unwilling to sign an extension with the team that wants him, it lowers his value immensely. Still, you had better believe that Burke is still talking to every interested party, trying to get the deal he so desperately wants. As the season draws nearer, h

Read more: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2010/08/16/where-do-the-leafs-go-from-here/#ixzz0wy0lXCpp