It looks like Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke could be at it again. Is there another blockbuster trade incoming?
Upcoming Free Agency Period Will Help Decide Kaberle's Fate
It's not entirely certain Tomas Kaberle will even get traded, but the overall prognosis is that he will be dealt before his August 15 trade window closes.
Free agency will help give teams an idea which players are available, slowing the trade process slightly as teams get a better feel who and what exactly is out there. Once the big fish on the market have settled, which usually happens within the first few days, it may become Burke's best opportunity to strike when the surplus of top defenseman plunders and Kaberle becomes one of the best players available. Offers should increase in value as the market dwindles and teams are left scrambling to acquire any last scraps.
Maple Leafs Recent Trade History with Boston Less Than Stellar
After trading Dennis Wideman to Florida for Nathan Horton, Boston will be looking to add a puck moving defenseman, exactly what the Maple Leafs are said to have available, in Tomas Kaberle, whose no-trade clause has been lifted from June 28 to August 15.
Remember this is also the team Toronto acquired former Calder Trophy winner Andrew Raycroft from and all hockey fans know how that turned out. Raycroft was average at best in his two years in Toronto and Leaf fans couldn’t get him to leave fast enough.
The man Raycroft was traded for, Tuukka Rask, Toronto’s first round pick in 2005, had statistically one of the best, if not the best, season in the NHL last year and figures to only get better. He may have garnered Vezina consideration had he played more than 45 games.
If the Leafs are Interested, Savard is Available
Burke insists he wants a top-6 forward, something Marc Savard definitely is, and his biggest bargaining chip would be Kaberle.
The Leafs could certainly use a playmaking centre of Savard's stature but the thoughts (and hopes) regarding the Phil Kessel/Savard duo possibly rekindling past magic may be a bit far-fetched considering the change in scenery. Kessel posted career numbers and Savard came close to matching his career-high in points on a Boston team that finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2008-09. Although rosters are far from complete, the 2010-11 Maple Leafs still appear light years behind that '08-09 Bruins edition in terms of skill and overall depth even if they acquire Savard.
Trading Savard makes sense for the Bruins, who have an excess of skilled centres, especially with the addition of Tyler Seguin, drafted second overall this year thanks to the Leafs awful season. It’s not everyday a team has a chance to have the No. 1 draft choice and win the Stanley Cup in the same season.
Burke will be eager to make sure a similar scenario doesn’t happen again as Boston owns Toronto’s first round pick again next year. He didn’t expect the Maple Leafs to perform so badly this season but few people did.
Nevertheless, amidst all the rumours, Savard is still Boston's only true No.1 centre, even though studs Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both play a lot behind him.
Matt Cooke's blindside hit on Savard in early March kept the Boston centre out for two months (he missed the final 18 regular season games and 6 playoff games) with a serious concussion. Savard struggled upon returning from the injury in the postseason with a goal and two assists in seven games.
Savard played in 41 regular games last season for Boston, tallying 10 goals, 23 assists and a plus-2 rating. His 0.80 points-per-game last season were a far cry from the 1.07 PPG he posted in 2008-09.
Looking Back on the Kessel Trade Almost One Year Later
It's impossible to say the Leafs got fleeced in retrospect to the Phil Kessel trade but the team was expecting to give up a mid-first rounder, not the second overall pick the Bruins eventually got. It's too early to pass judgment since Seguin has yet to play a professional hockey league game. And no one knows where Boston will select with Toronto's first round pick next year.
Kessel was seen as a sure thing, a pure goal-scoring winger that Burke couldn't pass up. Kessel scored 30 goals in a injury-shortened season with Toronto last year and 36 the previous year with Boston in the same amount of games (70).
That's where Savard comes in. The obvious chemistry between Kessel and Savard makes the idea of a trade less surprising but whether there is an actual deal to be made, it's anybody's guess.
Savard wants to play closer to home (Oshawa area) so moving to Toronto or the nation's capital isn't out of the question.
Although Dealing for Savard Would Be Tempting, Burke Should Pass
A hefty long-term contract and an advancing age with health problems should immediately throw up the red flags, regardless of immediate short-term success.
The price could come cheaper than expected, but who knows if Savard has truly recovered from that concussion? At 32 years of age, the Maple Leafs should be targeting someone entering his prime, not exiting it. That's not to say Savard can't rebound from a serious concussion and still be a dominant player in the NHL but the Leafs are a rebuilding franchise entering their 44th year without Lord Stanley. They cannot afford to become desperate to bring home a winner by trying to speed up the process thinking this is a quick and easy fix. It's not.
In addition, just as injuries are a big concern, so is his long contract. Savard is due to earn slightly more than $28 million over the next seven years on a contract signed last December, roughly $4 million per annum. The annual rate isn't that pricey, it's the term that should scare Burke and the Leafs away.
A team looking for that final piece could afford to make such a move. However, judging by how recent dealings between the two rivals hasn't been favourable, this is something the Leafs are best to avoid.
Thomas Cranston - Thomas Cranston is a graduate of the Journalism (Print) program at Durham College (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada). He is passionate about a wide ...
