Kubina Will Not Be Traded Before March 4th: Report

According to Howard Berger, Pavel Kubina has not and will not provide Brian Burke with a list of ten teams he would waive his no-trade clause for before the March 4th trade deadline.

“Pavel wants to stay with us; he doesn’t want to waive his [no-trade] clause or give me a list of teams, and that’s fine with me,” said Burke on Sunday night as the Leafs took on the New York Rangers.

This is in line with my trade predictions from February and January. I did, however, anticipate that Kubina would provide a list of ten teams, so this news surprised me slightly.

Keep checking back for further speculation and reporting. The trade deadline is just nine days away.

In other news, further evidence that Prime Minister Harper is a Leafs fan.

Kubina, Kaberle Set the Table for Trades

Multiple sources are reporting today that both Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina will waive their no trade clauses, if asked.

So far this season, Burke has been very civil about the matter, stating that he will never ask them to waive their no trade clauses because they were earned.

Now it seems that Kaberle and Kubina would rather choose where they get traded to now, before Brian Burke is given full control in the summer. You see, the no-trade clause gives Kaberle and Kubina the leverage to approve where they go. However, a part of this clause states that if the Leafs fail to make the playoffs, they can be traded in the summer.

Kaberle's agent has already made it clear that they will cooperate with Burke's plans, were he to get a trade offer that benefitted the Leafs organization.

Kubina and his agent are a few steps behind, but it is believed that they will follow suit. Kubina and Kaberle have been friends for many years, and Kaberle was part of the reason Kubina came to Toronto. Kubina reiterated after the Leafs Skills Competition this weekend that he would be happy to stay, but willing to cooperate with Burke's plans, if that meant trading him.

As excited as I am for the Leaf's youth revolution to begin, I will feel a little deflated seeing Kaberle and Kubina go. They've been, for the most part, a treat to watch, and it will be sad to see such talent go elsewhere.

Kubina exercised his no trade clause in 2008, preventing a trade that would have sent him to the San Jose Sharks.

Kaberle also exercised his no-trade clause last year, preventing the Leafs from getting Jeff Carter, but he can be forgiven. He was simply following in the footsteps of the other players, who agreed to continue with the Leaf's 2008 playoff push. A quality guy like him will be hard to replace, but I will respect whatever Burke chooses to do.

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?

Kaberle Makes First Move in Fuelling Trade Rumours

Earlier today Tomas Kaberle was asked by reporters about his no trade clause, and he admitted that if asked, he would waive it. This isn't surprising to me, really. Kaberle knows that if he chooses not to waive it, he'll just be a lame duck with a team out of the playoffs.

For a guy who's career future probably doesn't lie in Toronto, that's not a very good game plan. Burke has the right to move Kaberle after the June draft (as well as Kubina) if the Leafs do not make the playoffs. Kaberle and Kubina know that they are both big parts of whether the Leafs make the playoffs, but they also know that they are not in the team's future plans.

I feel like the breaking point for these guys like Kaberle and Kubina was when it became apparent that Mats wouldn't be returning to the team this season. There's one thing all players want, and that is to win, and have some security. Without Mats, and within an organization that wants to restock its prospect cupboard, its not hard to see why Kaberle knows that his time in Toronto is reaching its end.

Like McCabe before him, Kaberle is likely to make a list of teams that he's interest in and present it to Burke, before he chooses to waive his no trade clause. I really don't expect this to happen any time soon, as I know Burke will first try to create a race throughout the league for his assets - Kubina, Kaberle, Ponikarovsky, Toskala, Antropov and perhaps Stajan.

To Leafs fans - I ask you to be patient with Burke. There will be lots and lots of rumours about potential trades in the upcoming weeks, but Burke knows how to play his cards right. He will wait until teams are desperate, and perhaps out of other options.

Burke Busy With Family; Ron Wilson Speaks About Possible Trades in Leafland

Today Ron Wilson was approached about whether the Leafs have had any contact with the Blue Jackets, and he essentially said that it's not his job to deal with that stuff.

That being said, Burke is busy right now moving his family from Anaheim to Toronto. Indeed, Wilson also made a good point by saying that right now the teams that want to make an upgrade to their rosters can't because of cap restrictions.

That's why it's understandable that Columbus is a primary target for Columbus-Toronto trade rumours. Columbus has a decent amount of cap space left, about 6.4 million. Just enough to fit a puck-moving defenseman like Pavel Kubina, or an Antropov plus someone else.

Columbus is a team that wants to prove to its fans that its committed to making the playoffs, and their fanbase and attendance is slowly easing away after a long honeymoon since they began as a franchise in 2000.

Kubina and Antropov to Columbus...Could it go Down?

Here's something to mull over. I'm hearing from a few sources that Blue Jackets scouts were watching the Maples Leafs game when they took on the Buffalo Sabres tonight. Who might they be looking at? Some around the web are saying they are looking at Antropov and Kubina.

Burke and Columbus might be a good mix - a GM who wants to make a mark and an organization that wants to show its fan it wants to once and for all make it to the post-season.

This could get interesting.