The Tomas Kaberle trade rumors will be heating up again. We’re creating an entry/page dedicated just for Tomas Kaberle rumors. Kaberle has 1 year left on his contract at a cap friendly hit of $4.25 million. His ‘trade window’ opens at the NHL draft and extends until mid August. He can be dealt anywhere without his approval, but if the Maple Leafs want to maximize their return, sending him to a place where he’d consider signing an extension could bring back more.
August 13th: There was a rumor floating around the internet last night that the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Tomas Kaberle and Jay Rosehill to the Los Angeles Kings for Dustin Brown. The report was tied to Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider but he had nothing to do it. All of it was false. Spector’s Hockey via twitter sums it up the best: “So, to sum up, folks: No truth to rumor the Leafs were about to trade Kaberle to the Kings for Dustin Brown. Total BS.” Daniel Tolensky (of TSN) via twitter: “Does anyone really think Kings will trade their 25-year old Captain who scored 81 G over 3 yrs & has 4 yrs left @ $3.175 mil for Kaberle?”. Tolensky tweets that a top-6 forward for Kaberle would be bad contract (Malone)/project (Stafford)/prospect (Moller) and a pick, either a 1st or 2nd. Tolensky also thinks that Drew Stafford and a pick could be fair option for Kaberle.
- Jimmy Murphy via twitter: Murphy can see Kaberle going to Boston, and Marc Savard going to Ottawa. (A 3-team, inter-division trade, unheard of. I don’t know what Toronto would get/want from Ottawa’s roster.)
August 12th: James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: Sources saying Eric Belanger has reached a deal with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals might be moving out a forward for a defenseman before they announce the signing. Brian Burke has said they are not in discussion with the Capitals about Tomas Kaberle. The Capitals could be looking at Kevin Bieksa, Sheldon Souray or others. The Capitals are also said to be in on Willie Mitchell.
- Lyle Richardson of Fox Sports: The number of teams interested in Tomas Kaberle varies between 6 and 12 depending on the source, and levels of interest varies as well. The Kings and Devils may be more concerned with Ilya Kovalchuk. The Sharks may not want to part with a top-6 forward. The Ducks don’t want to trade Bobby Ryan. The Stars and Blues have their own salary cap. Red Wings are at the cap and have their top defensive corps set. Boston has cap issues, but would like to move Savard, Burke said in June he wasn’t interested in him. The Flyers have been interested in the past, but may not be willing to part with Jeff Carter anymore for him. Sabres are another team that could be interested, but they don’t make a lot moves in the off-season. Columbus has kicked tires but find the price a little high. The Lightning could be interested but they brought in Pavel Kubina earlier in the summer.
- NHL Sources Say via twitter: Teams interested in Kaberle are the Bruins, Stars, Kings, Devils, Sharks and Lightning. Sharks offering Clowe and 1st round pick, Burke not interested in draft picks. (The 27-year old Clowe has a cap hit of $3.625 million for the next 3 years. If this offer for Kaberle is true, it might be one that Burke has to consider).
- Nicholas Cotsonika of Yahoo! Sports: “The deadline is Sunday, and I don’t expect to see anyone’s best cards until probably Friday,” Burke said. “That being said, the offers improved dramatically over the weekend. We’re at a double-digit number of teams that are in. Unilaterally, without any phone calls from us, two teams dramatically improved their offer over the weekend. It’s going the way I thought it would go.”
August 11th: James Murphy of ESPN Boston: Tomas Kaberle has been link to Bruins since the 2009 draft. Marc Savard has been link to the Leafs for awhile as well, especially after Savard said he’d waive his no-trade to go there. With Kaberle’s no-trade clause kicking back in on 15th, Savard and Kaberle rumors could be heating up again. Savard’s contact being under investigation could put a damper on things though.
August 10th: Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: The Kovalchuk ruling will make is even more difficult for Brian Burke to trade Tomas Kaberle (unless the Devils and Kovalchuk have another deal close to being done). Sure other teams are interested, but 2 teams in on Kovalchuk, could also be front-runners for Kaberle, the Kings and Devils. Kaberle has made it be known in the past that he’d rather be in the Eastern Conference, Western teams may not offer up as much. The Sharks, Blues, Stars have some interest in Kaberle, as do the Bruins and Lightning. Burke has said he won’t trade Kaberle to the highest bidder, a deal has to get him exactly what he wants. If they don’t trade him, the Leafs could look to signing him to an extension, he’d probably be looking somewhere along Phil Kessell money, $5.4 million.
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: The Leafs have 5 days to trade Kaberle. The Leafs are looking for a top forward in return, but it’s unknown if teams will re-visit Kovalchuk instead of looking at Kaberle. “The situation as this week goes on is no different than other weeks,” Curran said (Kaberle’s agent). “The player is owned by the Leafs and the only way we’d be aware of a change is if we were provided permission to talk to a team or if maybe the Leafs were interested in talking about a contract extension.”
August 9th: Howard Berger on the Fan 590: 6 days remain until Tomas Kaberle’s no-trade clause kicks back in. Brian Burke has now received “double digit” offers. While the quantity is increasing, the quality may not be there, as there hasn’t been anything close to a deal make. If Burke really wanted to trade Kaberle he could have done so by now, so there is still the possibility that he’ll remain a Leaf for next season.
August 4th: Kevin Allen of the USA Today: Brian Burke has received 2 better offers for Tomas Kaberle, and expects the offers to improve next week (as the Kovalchuk saga should be settled, and the August 15th deadline date getting closer).
August 1st: Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: Brian Burke thinks things will heat up for Tomas Kaberle once the Kovalchuk decision comes down next week, but Simmons doesn’t see the correlation (The correlation could be that whoever doesn’t get Kovalchuk, Devils or Kings, could be in the market for a puck moving defenseman like Kaberle).
Burke won a Stanley Cup with a dominant defence of Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Francois Beauchemin, Sean O’Donnell, Kent Huskins and Joe DiPenta. Bob Murray’s defence in Anaheim as of Saturday: Lubomir Visnovsky, Toni Lydman and Sheldon Brookbank. Can you say Anaheim needs Kaberle, and badly?
July 31st: Aaron Portzline via twitter: The Columbus Blue Jackets are still looking at defenseman, including Kevin Bieksa and Tomas Kaberle. Eric Stephens of the OC Register: The Ducks are apparently very interested in Kevin Bieksa, also looking into Tomas Kaberle.
July 30th: Rumors involving the Toronto Maple Leafs
July 28th: Michael Arace of the Colubus Dispatch: (written before the Blue Jackets and Anton Stralman settled before their arbitration, 1 year, $1.95 million.) The Blue Jackets will look to improve their defense, and will look via trades and not free agency. 3 options could be Tomas Kaberle, Kevin Bieksa and Sheldon Souray. Arace believes the Blue Jackets have made a pitch for Kaberle, inquired about Bieksa, and made a ‘token’ call about Souray. Nikita Filatov’s name probably would come up.
July 26th: Darren Dreger via twitter: August 1st is when the Maple Leafs could be pushing clubs to make their best Tomas Kaberle offer, if not, he could remain a Leaf.
July 21st: Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: If Anton Stralman gets a ‘hefty’ salary from arbitration next Monday, the Blue Jackets may walk away from it. GM Scott Howson may start investigating other options, possibly Kevin Bieksa and Tomas Kaberle. There is a chance that the Blue Jackets could dangle Nikita Filatov as bait. For Bieksa they probably wouldn’t have to offer Filatov, a lesser prospect could work, unless the Canucks added more than Bieksa for Filatov. It’s not known if Filatov is the kind of player Burke is interested in. The Blue Jackets are reluctant to break up their top-6 forwards, which is what Burke covets for Kaberle.
July 20th: Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star: Don’t expect a Tomas Kaberle trade this week as GM Brian Burke has gone fishing for the week. He did have this to say before he left, “The number of offers are up to six but we’re not in a position where we think any of them are good enough,” said Burke. “We’re still in a holding pattern.” The Lightning at one point were dangling Ryan Malone. Burke would not comment on Marc Savard. If he is interested, he’ll most likely wait until after Kaberle is traded as he may not need a center of Savard’s caliber. Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun: The LA Kings may come calling the Maple Leafs for puck moving Dman Tomas Kaberle, to play along side Drew Doughty. Longley throws out the idea of Brayden Schenn coming back to Toronto.
July 19th: Craig Custance via twitter: Market for Tomas Kaberle to loosen up with Kovalchuk signed, Maple Leafs have up to 6 offers for him. Andy Strickland via twitter: Burke has until August 15th to move Kaberle, so there is no urgency on his part.
July 10th: Chuck Gormley of the Courier Journal: With the signing of Nikolai Zherdev, the Flyers are $1.4 million over the cap, and still have RFA’s Daniel Carcillo and Darrol Powe. They are still trying to move Simon Gagne, and have been linked to the Kings for weeks, but they could also be talking to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Flyers could package Gagne and Braydon Coburn ($8.45 million in salary) for Tomas Kaberle ($4.25 million). The Flyers might request goaltending prospect,Jussi Rynnas as well.
July 6th: Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: One report is saying the Los Angeles Kings are out of the running for Simon Gagne, and another says they are still interested. Things were quiet involving Tomas Kaberle over the weekend, but should pick up this week. Helene Elliott of the LA Times: Tomas Kaberle is an option but the Leafs probably want prospects and picks (nope … they’d like a top 6 forward, maybe a Wayne Simmonds or Dustin Brown).
July 2nd: David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail: After adding Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg the last couple days, Brian Burke will let the dust settle before adding a couple depth players. Burke could still be interested in Marc Savard and may be hoping to send out Mikhael Grabovski. The LA Kings may be the best fit for a Tomas Kaberle deal.
June 30th: Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun: “It seems I will probably be dealt this time,” Kaberle told the Czech paper Dnes (Today). “You know, a trade may be good for me and may fill me with new energy and hunger. I do not oppose a trade. Although I love Toronto, a trade is not something I will go crazy about (if it happens.)” Kaberle went on to say he’d like to go to a team and win the Stanley Cup.
June 24th: See Toronto Maple Leafs Rumors for June 24th.
June 23rd: Darren Dreger via Twitter: Dreger wonders how long it will be before Kaberle to Bruins discussions start. Nothing yet. Savard is rumored to be available.
June 22nd: Darren Dreger of TSN: Firm offers for Tomas Kaberle could start coming in on Wednesday or Thursday, but the Maple Leafs may wait until later in the summer.
June 17th: Darren Dreger on TSN: No offers have been sent to the Leafs for Tomas Kaberle yet. Teams may wait until the draft when the no-trade is lifted in fear that their proposal will be shopped to drive up the price. As many as 8 teams could put forth an offer.
June 15th: Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Brian Burke told ESPN that they are not going to be involved in Kovalchuk talks. 10 or more teams have contacted the Toronto Maple Leafs about trading for Tomas Kaberle, but nothing serious at this point, which will probably change by the draft.
June 13th: Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Stephens brings up the Tomas Kaberle-for- Bobby Ryan rumor again. Ducks GM Bob Murray called it ‘ridiculous.’ The Ducks are still negotiating with Ryan, and waiting to hear what Scott Neidermayer’s decision is on retirement. Stephens thinks if the Leafs were to included Luke Schenn or Nazem Kadri in the conversation, it might make the deal more do-able ….
June 12th: David Shoatls of the Globe and Mail: Burke also offered this regarding a Kaberle trade, “I’m going to go for the best player I can get to help my team,” Burke said. “If it’s not a good enough player, would I take a first, if it’s a second-tier player? Yes.”
June 11th: Mark Everson of the NY Post: The New Jersey Devils are reportedly looking in to Tomas Kaberle, and possibly Dan Hamhuis. Paul Martin is a UFA for them, but could be on his way out after making $4.5 million. Burke may be looking for a solid young player and a draft pick. New Jersey doesn’t have a 1st round pick this year (sent to Atlanta, along with one of their top prospects), their first pick is at #38.
June 9th: Elliotte Friedman of CBC: The Florida Panthers may take a crack at Tomas Kaberle, Nathan Horton is a Burke type player.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Sabres GM Darcy Reiger did not want to talk about the rumor that they may be interested in Tomas Kaberle. The Sabres could use a power-play quarterback, and the Leafs could use some scoring. Two players that have to mentioned because of their subpar playoff performances are Tim Connolly and Drew Stafford. There are a few things that instantly pop in to my mind on this; would Burke trade his ‘all star’ dman to a division rival? Both are not ‘Burke’ type players (no toughness). Connolly is making $4.5 million in the last year of his contract and is one hit away from his carrier being over, Stafford hasn’t lived up to his offensive talents the past 2 seasons (34 pts in 71 games this past season, 45 pts in 79 games in 2008-09).
June 6th: Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: “Would the Sabres take Kaberle and give up Derek Roy or Jason Pominville? Probably. Would the Sharks take him for Devin Setoguchi? You bet. Would the Blue Jackets for Jake Voracek. For sure. How about Dallas for Loui Eriksson or Jamie Benn? Try the Bruins for centre David Krejci?” They are not really Brian Burke type placers, but have an offensive upside the Leafs need.
June 3rd: Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: Brian Burke mentioned the other day that 2 teams have shown interest in Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle, and according to Simmons, that number may have increased to at least 6 suitors. The return they’d get for Kaberle would be higher if he were to get an extension from that team, rather than them trading for a player with only 1 year left on his contract. Burke would like add a winger in his 20s that can score and has some size. If he isn’t moved by/at the draft, Burke may look at the possibility of an extension.
June 2nd: Michael Traikos of the National Post: Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke was on the Fan590/Hockey Central at Noon yesterday. For Audio of complete interview, June 1st link, about the 1:40 mark. Highlights from the conversation … It’s not a priority to add a 1st round pick as much as the ‘media’ says it should be. He’s added a lot of assets to the team without using any draft picks. He’ll look to add a piece through trade or through free agency. “Our biggest need is we need a forward who can score, preferably a good-sized one.” Traikos thinks Patrick Sharp or Bobby Ryan would be great additions (Sharp is possible, Ryan isn’t going anywhere). Two teams have made inquiries about Tomas Kaberle that were more then just ‘nibbles’. “That’s the next step: to see what’s there. But it’s not a case of let’s take the best offer. It’s more a case of if we get something that makes sense we’re going to do it. If not, we’re going to keep him.” Nazem Kadri won’t be just handed a roster spot next season, he’ll have to earn it.
- Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star: After the 2 teams inquired about Tomas Kaberle, the Maple Leafs sent a letter out to all teams explaining how Kaberle’s ‘no-trade’ clause works. From the NHL Draft (June 25th) to mid-August, Kaberle’s no-trade clause is suspended, so Burke is able to send him anywhere without Kaberle’s consent.
