Tomas Kaberle Trade Ideas For Brian Burke To Ponder
You’re Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, sitting there in your office, staring at a plaqued black and white photograph of George Armstrong hoisting the Stanley Cup, and you realize that your rendition of the Maple Leafs aren’t about to share that glory.
Looking down your roster, you look to identify the sellable assets you have, the one name that sticks out is Tomas Kaberle. This player is one of the five best offensive rearguards in the NHL, and everyone knows it. He is on pace to score 64 points, and currently leads your team in scoring. If there’s one player who will fetch you a hefty return, it’s Tomas Kaberle.
You’ve plainly stated that you won’t ask Kaberle to waive his no trade clause, because as you say, “he’s earned it.” Fair enough Brian, but should Kaberle’s agent express to you his client’s openness to a trade, surely the offers will pour in.
Numerous GMs would love to have Kaberle. Here’s what the offers might look like if Kaberle becomes willing to move before the March 3rd trade deadline.
To Anaheim: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: Jake Gardiner, 1st Round Pick (Originally Philadelphia’s), 3rd Round Pick
To Boston: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: Blake Wheeler, 2nd Round Pick (Originally Toronto’s), 3rd Round Pick
To Los Angeles: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: Thomas Hickey, 1st Round Pick, 5th Round Pick
To New Jersey: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: David Clarkson, Dainius Zubrus, 1st Round Pick, 3rd Round Pick
To Vancouver: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: Kevin Bieksa, Cory Schneider, 2nd Round Pick
To Chicago: Tomas Kaberle, Vesa Toskala
To Toronto: Cam Barker, Brent Sopel, Cristobal Huet, 1st Round Pick
To Buffalo: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: Drew Stafford, Zack Kassian, 1st Round Pick
To Washington: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto: John Carlson, Chris Bourque, 2nd Round Pick, 5th Round Pick
To New York Rangers: Tomas Kaberle, Mikhail Stefanovich
To Toronto: Derek Stepan, 1st Round Pick, 3rd Round Pick, Wade Redden
To New York Islanders: Tomas Kaberle
To Toronto Maple Leafs: Calvin de Haan, Rhett Rakhshani, 1st Round Pick, 3rd Round Pick
Please feel free to tear these trades apart in the comments, or pitch your own Kaberle trade scenarios.
Shake'n'Blake on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 7:57 am
Uhhmmmmm not so sure about the Los Angeles trade. Hickey was 4th overall pick in 2007, so that basically means the deal is a top-5 pick and a mid first round pick for Kabs… Maybe I just undervalue him because of living in Toronto but some of these seem unreasonably high priced trades.
Chris Pronger did go for basically 3 firsts though if you include Sbisa (who was a first rounder the year before)… Pronger is in a different league than Kabs but they're still both top notch players so i guess if Burke makes a deal his price should be high.
How about Carter for Kaberle 1 for 1 HAHA Maybe Holmgren still has a soft spot for Tomas…
Dove Boy on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 8:03 am
Talk about idiocy, let's trade away our best player who is under contract at fair value and wants to STAY in a shitty losing market called Toronto!!! When Phil Kessel bolts 5 years from now, people will be so guilty for trying to boot one of the true gentlemen (Kaberle) out the door! The guy actually plays the game with class and he loves the city, so consider him a building block. He's only 31 and a player of his type can be productive to 36 reasonably, and perhaps he will still be valuable then. Let's say you make the deal with Boston and you get Wheeler who ends up being a 55-point second line player. (SOUNDS AN AWFUL LOT LIKE PONI DOESN'T IT!) and your second round pick becomes Robbie Earl or some life time AHL player, and the third round pick becomes Daryl Boyce. Okay, so you've basically just traded one of the most gifted players in FRANCHISE HISTORY in exchange for a younger Ponikarovsky, Robbie Earl and Daryl Boyce. This is what could happen when you're dealing with draft picks. a First rounder from 20-30 could be Corey Perry, or it could be Steve Downie, you just never know! Trust me all Leafs fans, you will miss Kaberle when he's gone and you'll look at his new team with envy!
James Quall Jr. on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 8:08 am
These are all fantastic trades for the Leafs because they represent a culture change. What's the common thread through every non-playoff season since the lockout? Tomas Kaberle.
also – What about the idea of taking on bad contracts? I see it in your Chicago proposal but no others. I think BB will leverage that some more if he can.
stuart998 on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 6:31 pm
my trade preposition:
Toronto gets: Brad Richards + 2nd + 3rd
Dallas get: Tomas Kaberle + Viktor Stalberg + Matt Stajan
Toronto gets the missing draftpicks and stockpiles a bit while Richards is a perfect pure passing centre that Kessell needs.
Rod Tidwell on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 10:35 pm
To Toronto: David Krejci, Toronto's Former 2nd Round Pick (Probably 34th Overall in 2010)
To Boston: Tomas Kaberle, Brian Burke's Dignity
kanata4life on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 11:19 pm
im an ottawa fan and hate the leafs and even i think that is a shitty philosophy.
kaberle is one of the rarest species in the league and if an when the leafs are contenders (hopefully never) they will be looking for the likes of him to complete a competitive team.
its like owning a struggling zoo and there is a demand for a lemur for the kids exhibit next week so you trade your endangered white tiger for one or two (to really make them happy). then when the zoo gets a better reputation there's no main attraction that i cant see at the local zoo next door
as much as he is current he can be a "part of a rebuild" for the future as he has shown time and time again he is a consisent performer and not dead weight (like doug weight and jamal mayers, and george).
hockeycentric on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 1:39 am
Never has someone so eloquently compared Tomas Kaberle with an endangered White Tiger. Well done sir!
hopelessbudfan on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 7:22 am
you're thinking too pessimistically…
kaberle himself was picked 204th overall in the 8th round… 3rd rounder from boston could become the next… Kaberle lol
hopelessbudfan on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 7:23 am
I love it! Richards is underrated, he should have made team canada this year.
hopelessbudfan on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 7:25 am
hahahahaha this guy sounded like a douche with the whole being a sens fan thing but he totally redeemed himself with the lemur reference! GOLD! PURE GOLD! hahahahsenswillnevereverwinthecuphahahah
AkiSchennberg on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 2:41 pm
you don't consider wade redden a bad contract?
AkiSchennberg on Thu, 28th Jan 2010 2:43 pm
boston gave up kessel to keep krejci…
John on Mon, 22nd Mar 2010 9:21 pm
The Kaberle to the Isles rumour is ridiclous. The small market Isles won't have any interest in taking on the expensive Kaberle. Furthermore the Islanders have an amazing future(if they don't move) as they have more young talent than anyone in the league. Why would they trade one of there best prospects(de haan) as well as a 1st and 3rd rounder(both high picks) for the aging, expensive Kaberle? There is no logic to this rumour at all. Who starts this crap anyways???