Why Tomas Kaberle To New Jersey Won’t Happen
Reports have surfaced indicating that Lou Lamoriello has significant interest in acquiring Tomas Kaberle.
Positive for Brian Burke is that the Devils are one of several teams believed to be interested in the 32-year-old Czech blueliner. The bidding war for Kaberle is in full swing, and there will be several solid offers on the table heading into the NHL Entry Draft.
Tomas Kaberle would undoubtedly be a perfect fit in New Jersey. Since the departure of Scott Niedermayer, beginning with the post-lockout season in ‘05-06, the Devils have won their division four of five years, but have advanced only two playoff rounds.
As key defensemen have left the New Jersey Devils’ organization, onlookers are left continually scratching their heads, not able to comprehend how the Devils win so many games with very little star power patrolling their back-end.
But considering the Devils have won two rounds without Niedermayer, it’s no wonder Lamoriello has expressed interest in Kaberle. Come playoff time, the minute-munchers and puck carrying specialists see more ice time and are vital to any team’s playoff success. Especially valuable are defenseman of Tomas Kaberle’s ilk, who possess the ability to skate the puck out of trouble and create offensively.
Unfortunately for New Jersey, they probably don’t have the assets Brian Burke is looking for in return for Kaberle.
Of interest to Burke are first round picks and forwards who can step into the Leafs’ lineup this upcoming season and improve the team. More specifically, a big, young centreman would be ideal.
The Devils don’t own any first round picks in this draft so that immediately lessens the chance for a deal. Having dealt their first round pick to the Thrashers in exchange for Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey’s earliest draft pick in 2010 is slotted for 38th overall.
This pick would be of interest to Burke as a starting point for any deal. He’s said time and again that his desire to acquire picks stems from his respect for his scouting department — he hates the idea of watching them sit idly until the 62nd selection of the draft. You get the feeling he’ll somehow acquire a pick between 10-61 on draft day.
Beyond the lack of a first round pick, only David Clarkson and Travis Zajac would seem to be of interest to Burke from the current Devils roster.
Clarkson could be had, but the 26-year-old Toronto native is a second-liner at best, but more of a third-line talent. His physical style and size are attributes that Brian Burke covets, but his offensive ceiling is very limited. It’s difficult to imagine Clarkson ever topping 50 points, so for a team like Toronto that’s in the market for high end skill, Clarkson and a pick alone wouldn’t be enough to pry away Tomas Kaberle.
Zajac would be a dream pickup for the Leafs. He’s a 6′2″ Canadian centreman who has recently scored 67 points and still has plenty of upside. Unfortunately for Brian Burke, Zajac is New Jersey’s current number one centre and one of the few young components of their aging roster. It’s unlikely that Lamoriello would consider including him in a deal.
However, Brian Burke has been known to execute blockbuster deals, so if Zajac were to be part of a deal, here’s how it would have to be structured:
First, Burke would need to surrender either Nazem Kadri or Tyler Bozak to help ease the blow to New Jersey. Kaberle for Zajac is a lopsided deal in favour of Toronto when you consider age and contract status. That said, for Burke to give up his current number one centre or a future number one centre in addition to Kaberle, he’d expect more coming back from New Jersey. Kaberle and Bozak for Zajac, Clarkson, a top prospect and a couple of draft picks might look fair on paper, assuming Kaberle would be willing to sign a contract extension in New Jersey. Any deal involving Travis Zajac would probably involve a lot of assets changing cities.
Don’t expect a deal of this scope to go down, though. If Lou is interested in centring the deal around a prospect like Mattias Tedenby or Jacob Josefson, his offer will probably fall to deaf ears. Despite the argument that a short-term mindset has plagued the Leafs organization for decades, Burke has repeatedly told the media that he’s not interested in a slow rebuild. He’s looking to re-tool, and to be back in the post season in the Spring of 2011.
The fact that Lou Lamoriello and/or Brian Burke have allowed New Jersey’s interest in Kaberle to become public information creates some intrigue. Does Lou seem like the type who would express interest without a fair package for Burke to mull over? The Devils are a winning franchise because of Lamoriello’s ability as a GM. Perhaps he’ll find a way to make the trade work.
Theories vary on how much Tomas Kaberle is worth on the trade market, but certainly, as the offers pour in, his value continues to rise.
James Quall Jr. on Sat, 12th Jun 2010 3:27 pm
Am I alone in thinking that Kaberle + prospect for Zajac isn't nuts? Think about what a #1 defenseman is worth to a team. A guy who plays 28 minutes every night and can move the puck. The Devils can let langenbruner play #1 centre and have clarkson back him up at #2. Don't undervalue Kabere, people.
Sean on Sat, 12th Jun 2010 6:33 pm
Yes, you are alone…
James Quall Jr. on Sat, 12th Jun 2010 7:02 pm
Alright dude let's hear your reasoning then. Zajac isn't a top-20 centre in the NHL and Kaberle is a top-10 d-man. Defensemen commonly play into their mid to late forties and don't lose a step.
bob clarke on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 12:57 am
id say yes don't undervalue kaberle but don't think that zajac is moving anywhere. i agree with the writer of the article. Lou doesn't have what burke is looking for – and if he does, hes probably not willing to move him
EMP on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 1:16 pm
Yes he can move the puck, but Kaberle didn't play even close to 28 minutes "every night". He averaged 22 minutes a night until Phaneuf arrived. After the Phaneuf trade he averaged less than 20 minutes.
I agree that some people tend to undervalue Kaberle, but you're also wildly overstating his playing time and his role on the team. Kabs is not the #1 on our or any other team.
EMP on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 1:31 pm
Again, that's blatantly not true. He's only a top-10 d-man if you consider one category (points):
Kaberle:
Points (49, #10 in the league)
+/- (-16, #287 in the league)
PP Goals (3, #45 in the league)
Time on Ice/Game (22:21, #58 in the league)
Once again, he's not a top-10 d-man in the league so let's try and temper our expectations here. Getting Zajac is going to take a lot more than just Kaberle.
James Quall Jr. on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 3:17 pm
Well when it comes to plus/minus you have to look at players on teams who aren't AWFUL first of all. the Leafs goal differential this year must have been what, minus 40 or 50? Look at Jeff Schultz in Washington with a PLUS-50!!! Here's an average defenseman with a great defense partner who looks like a stud because of circumstances. Kaberle is top-5 in defenseman points since the lockout and we all know how well he moves the puck. I'm pretty sure we take him for granted in that department. I also doubt Zajac is coming but I'm saying that Kabby is seen around the league with really high regard.
James Quall Jr. on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 3:21 pm
Are you JOKING?!!??!?! He walks onto SO MANY rosters and is the #1. Observe:
Atlanta: Kabs > Kubina
Buffalo: Kabs > Myers (for now)
Carolina: Kabs > Gleason
Colorado: Kabs > Quincey
(are you not getting this yet!?)
Columbus: no explanation needed
Edmonton: Kabs > Whitney
Florida: Kabs > McCabe (hahaha)
New Jersey: no explanation needed
NYI: Kabs > Streit
Tampa: Kabs > Ohlund
Vancouver: Kabs > Salo
beLEAFer on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 8:51 pm
OWNED! Amazing post haha
Kabs for Zajac straight up?!? Kabs plus prospect for Zajac and a late round pick??!?
Bicker Dick sr on Mon, 14th Jun 2010 10:33 pm
HEY QUALL JR YOU KNOW NOTHING! KABS IS AN UNMOTIVATED CEZCH WHO HASNT BEEN IN THE PLAYOFFS FOR 5 Years WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP FROM HIM!
EMP on Tue, 15th Jun 2010 12:33 am
Wow you are so far off with some of those …
Carolina:
What about Pitkanen? 46 pts? -11 (on a terrible team this year), 27+ mins/game??
NYI:
Streit had the same points as Kabs, was even for +/- (on a terrible team), and averaged 25 mins/game. Sounds like you’d have to give him the edge too.
Edmonton:
Kabs > Whitney … are you sure about that one? This year Whitney actually played really well. He put up ten less points than Kabs but managed to be +1 on the year. He was -6 with the Ducks (terrible team this year) and then went to +7 in only 19 games with Edmonton (worse even than the Leafs this year). Not to mention his size, physical style, and younger age than Kaberle I think you’d have to be Sutter to rank Kaberle as a more valuable all around d-man than him.
Atlanta:
Kubina? Ever heard of Enstrom? The guy’s been offensively improving for three years now and had more points than Kaberle (and Kubina) as well as a -5 on a pretty bad team (though admittedly one that was better than the Leafs).
Myers:
There is absolutely no way you can tell me Kaberle is better than Myers. I know you qualified that one with (for now) but Myers was monstrous for Buffalo. The guy is a huge physical presence (something Kabs has never been), and put up only one less point than Kaberle as well as playing almost two minutes more per night. If you think that Kaberle is a better all around d-man than Myers you need to get your head checked.
Salo:
What the hell are you even talking about? Salo is not the number one on Vancouver. Have you ever heard of Erhoff? Edler? Both put up point totals near Kaberle and had considerably better +/- (+36, 0) and they played about 2.5 minutes more per night than Salo. So again, what the hell are you even talking about?
As for Colorado, Columbus, NJ, etc sure you probably have a point that he might edge out the others in some of those cases and I don’t care to look into it. Besides, I was initially responding to your blatantly false statement that he’s a top-ten d-man (when there are clearly tons more than ten who are better than Kabs when you look at more well-rounded stats) and that he plays “28 minutes every night” when he in fact plays around 22 and wasn't even first in that category for our team. He was behind Phaneuf, Beauchemin, and White for average TOI/Game.
And you certainly have a point that +/- needs to be considered in the context of the team he played for. If you play for a goalie that couldn’t stop the puck if it was the size of an economy-class car (Toskala) the stat will be exaggerated. But Kaberle was also part of the problem for the Leafs defensive issues and he’s been one of our least defensively responsible d-men for years now. I’m not saying he’s a terrible player because he’s clearly not and he has value to a team with a struggling PP, but he is at the very least a more one-dimensional player than many others out there and that poses problems for anyone that doesn’t have a half-responsible person to put on his pairing.
Believe me I am a huge Leafs fan and I wish you were right but Zajac is too talented and young for NJ to consider trading him for only Kaberle or Kaberle and a prospect that isn’t Schenn or Kadri.
James Quall Jr. on Tue, 15th Jun 2010 3:29 am
Oh my god man ENSTROM better than Kaberle????????? I know Leaf fans have a tendency to Over-value their own players, but you're compensating way too much by doing the opposite. Tobias Enstrom is a talented defenseman but he's a #3 on most teams, including his own.
Ask ANY COACH IN THE NHL if they'd rather enter a playoff series with either Myers or Kaberle, right now.
Oh, Christian Ehrhoff… you mean the defenseman San Jose decided to give away to make room for Dany Heatley to make their Cup push? He's had one good statistical season. Come on dude. Alex Edler is a child compared to Tomas Kaberle.
Ryan Whitney was given away by Pittsburgh and then they won the Cup. Then he was given away by the Ducks, who have ZERO depth on defense, but somehow, they felt he wasn't valuable enough to retain.
I appreciate the way you reference statistics but you're being very selective. I've watched Kaberle for years and watched hundreds of games in recent seasons (NHL GameCenter) and I believe 25 teams would love to have Kaberle. He's simply the most valuable trading chip the Leafs have so he will be dealt.
beLEAFer on Mon, 21st Jun 2010 11:24 pm
it's really HIS fault that they havent been in the playoffs???
REALLY???
That's like saying Roy Halladay is a bad pitcher because the Jays never made the playoffs in 10 years with him on the team…
Kabs will fetch a top six forward, in Burkie we trust.