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Offers to Burke Improving; Who Stays, Who Goes?

According to the Toronto Sun (via. Spector), Burke admits that the calls he's getting for his assets are starting to interest him. Just yesterday, Burke was asked whether Antropov was a trade asset, to which he replied "my priority is not to improve his trade value. My priority is to get him playing better so he can help the Toronto Maple Leafs win some games right now." Right. I think we're getting a little too wordy here.

Who Stays?

Dominic Moore - F - I don't care what Eklund thinks, Burke is not going to give away Moore. Doesn't matter what the 'buzz' is, I'm sure the interest to move Moore does not exist within the franchise. He is a superb role player who works hard and has decent hands. A perfect third liner; that is, if he's truculent and beligerent enough for Burke. He's quickly winning over the fanbase, and despite what rumour gatherers might hear about who may or may not be inquiring, he's probably one of the players who stays put through the rebuilding phase. That is, unless he can tangibly prove his intangible assets as a player (read: Mike Commodore at 4.3 mil, Ryan Malone at 4.5 mil) and seek money elsewhere.

Jason Blake - F - I just don't think anyone wants that contract, despite his recent strong play.

Vesa Toskala - G - Contract is a problem. As is the market for shaky goaltending. I think Burke fails with this one, but not for lack of trying.

Pavel Kubina - D - Burke will not part with both Kubina and Kaberle at once. Kaberle will bring the picks, Kubina will keep the team respectable.

Lee Stempniak - F - Burke won't want to hurt Fletcher's feelings by undoing his last move as interim-GM.
He'll let Stempniak show what he's worth next season.

Well that's just ridiculous! I thought Burke was going to burn this roster to the ground? Well, he may. But it won't all happen before the trade deadline. When the summer comes, the roster changes will continue.

Other shoo-ins for the stay list: Schenn, Hagman, Kulemin, May, Mitchell, Grabovski, Finger, Van Ryn.

Who Goes?

Nik Antropov - F - Perfect time to trade Nik to a market that contains no big-time forwards. A desperate GM will have to roll the dice on Nikky.

Tomas Kaberle - D -Will attract some seriously eye-popping offers. We'll never get a Jeff Carter offer again, though. *sniff*

Ian White - D - White's age, contract and strong two-way play makes him a nice addition to any team. Shouldn't bring much back in return, though.

Alexei Ponikarovsky - F - Will bring back a lot less in return than people expect, but likely to be traded.

Jamal Mayers - F - A lot tamer than the Mayers of past seasons. Might attract some interest from teams looking for leadership.

I Just Don't Know

Matt Stajan - F - I have no idea if Stajan is going anywhere. For the most part, he's avoided the trade talk because he's had a good season and is seen as a solid team player. Whether he fits into Burke's plans really remains to be seen.

Your Two Cents

At this point I'm going to ask you to put yourself in Burkes shoes. What do you do with this roster? What do you expect to get in return for our assets?

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