offside12 writes "TSN released an article that was focused on Atlanta's offseason plan. There was a quote from Ilya Kovalchuk about wanting to get good now to be contenders for the Stanley Cup and not only the playoffs. In order to keep Kovalchuk signed past this year the ownership would want to make him happy to kepp their franchise player and not lose the majority of their talent.
Bring in the Leafs.
Atlanta has a bit of cap space to sign a forward to work with Kovalchuk, but also need a good outlet pass and set-up man to dish the puck. Atlanta right now should be more worried about the present and not so much about the future. If the Thrashers can stock up this year on talent, they should have the ability to keep Ilya happy and under contract.
A potential deal could look like this:
To Atlanta:
Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto:
4th Overall Pick
Ondrej Pavalec
Spencer Machacek
Not too bad. Leaves Atlanta with a great defenseman and loads of cap space left to sign a player or two to compliment Ilya Kovalchuk."
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Re: Easy Move To Top 5 for Leafs? (Score: 1) by smokz13 on Saturday, April 25 @ 20:40:46 MDT (User Info | Send a Message)
kaberle for all that. another T.O. fan overrating there players. throw in ther 7th pick and mabey but the chance to draft kane would make this a hard one to swallow.
Re: Easy Move To Top 5 for Leafs? (Score: 1) by TheLeafNation91 on Saturday, April 25 @ 21:46:29 MDT (User Info | Send a Message)
Everyone devalues Kaberle, no one really realizes the fact that he has over 430 points in his career. And he just turned 30 last year. That is great numbers for a defenceman, and if he was on a contender he could average alot more points.
Re: Easy Move To Top 5 for Leafs? (Score: 1) by Kyleton on Sunday, April 26 @ 05:19:47 MDT (User Info | Send a Message)
Personally I think Atlanta would be much more likely to trade that pick if they were going to be getting a very good center for Kovalchuk rather than a d-man. If you look at the Free agent list it's a bit easier to fill out the Defense side this off season than it will be to get Kovalchuk caliber center.
Re: Easy Move To Top 5 for Leafs? (Score: 1) by jonnygf40(jonnygf40@hotmail.com) on Sunday, April 26 @ 10:59:59 MDT (User Info | Send a Message)
You sir are a dreamer.
Re: Easy Move To Top 5 for Leafs? (Score: 1) by cam7777 on Sunday, April 26 @ 12:26:24 MDT (User Info | Send a Message)
Okay, to all you morons who can't wait to bash Kaberle's value simply because he's a Leaf and you can't stop hating Leafnation for two seconds to think clearly, think about what the situation is here:
1.) Goalie prospects = not all that valuable. We've seen the value of goalies diminished quite badly over the last couple of seasons, to the point where Bryzgalov (a number 1 goalie moving into his prime who had just finished winning the Stanley Cup) was a waiver pick up. Why would you think that Pavelec, a 20 year old who has achieved almost nothing could not be included in a trade for an elite, all-star defensemen who has been in top 10 d for the last 4 years? It's true that Mason and Varlamov might have increased the desire for talented young goalies somewhat, but to assume that Pavalec has some insane value is absolutely retarded.
2.) Many of you argue that the Thrasher's are rebuilding and therefore would not trade a top pick. Well, the Thrasher's are always rebuilding, and they are running out of time. Kovalchuk has pretty much demanded a big trade, and some big acquisitions, or he will walk. That said, it's possible the team decides to ignore him, and trade him at the deadline rather than meet his demands. However, they've stuck with him till now, despite numerous rumors linking him to major deals. I think they might like that guy since, you know, he's one of the best goal scorers in the league.
3.) Evander Kane is only one hundred and seventy pounds. He isn't Patrick Kane, and likely won't have any NHL impact for at least 2-3 years. If the team is trying to placate Kovy, than this certainly isn't the way to do it.
4.) Some people say the Thrasher's need help at center. What? Bryan Little is a superstar in the making, and Todd White put up 70+ points this year at the center ice position (not to mention Angelo Esposito coming up the pipe). What they need is a powerplay guy, and a shutdown tandem. Really I think some of you have never even seen the Thrasher's play. The forwards are not the problem with Kovy, Armstrong, Thorburn, Peverley, Little, Kozlov, etc... They could use some role players too.
5.) Who could do what Kaberle can for that team that is potentially available? Jay Bouwmeester (arguably), but he wouldn't move from Florida to Atlanta, and the team can't afford him. Scott Niedermayer, but not a chance in hell he moves to Atlanta. Chris Pronger, but the Ducks have too much respect for the guy to move him to a South-Eastern team (he'll go to St.Louis or Boston if he goes anywhere). Brian Campbell was also reportedly going to be up for trade discussions purely because of his contract and the continual improvement of Keith, Seabrook and Barker - hey, that's a good option - Oh wait, Atlanta can't afford over 7 million a year for the better part of a decade. If they decide they want someone like this, Kaberle is both the only one that is accessible to them, and the only one who they can afford.
Ugh, honestly, I think some of you people think that defensemen like Kaberle grow on trees. There aren't a whole lot of guys in the league that can do what he does continually. On an contending team, we'd be hearing about him all the time, much like Dan Boyle, and all the others. Oh, i forgot though, he's a Leaf so he must be totally without value and the Leafs should just give him away because no one wants him....
Re: Easy Move To Top 5 for Leafs? (Score: 1) by Snyder-man on Sunday, April 26 @ 14:54:06 MDT (User Info | Send a Message)
the problem with this is ATL needs more then one player to even ben considered a playoff team. Kaberle could feed Kovalchuk but also, ATL should sign Kovalev, see how awesome kovalev and kaberle played during the all star game.
