Brian Burke speaks about possible Tomas Kaberle trade
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said this morning that he has received several offers for defenseman Tomas Kaberle, but will only pull the trigger if the deal makes sense.
Kaberle has been rumoured involved in trade rumours since Burke arrived in Toronto a year-and-a-half ago. Kaberle’s contract, which is equipped with a no-trade-clause, has a hole in it, which allows the Maple Leafs a month long window in which to trade the defenseman without his approval every year the team does not make the play-offs. The month long window ends this Sunday at midnight, causing rumours of the veteran’s departure to run rampant over the past week.
Burke spoke of the offers he’s received nearing the impending deadline.
“It’s too early to say. I know it sounds crazy because the deadline is midnight on Sunday, but the simple fact is we haven’t received an offer yet (worth acting on). We’re not going to see everybody’s best cards until the last couple of days anyhow, so I’m not surprised we don’t have anything that we would take yet, we’ll see what happens.”
The Leafs are thought to be looking for a top-six forward to fill the void currently on the team’s left-wing.
Burke elaborated on the Maple Leafs demands and possible trade scenarios stating, “We’re looking for a forward with size and scoring ability if possible, and if not, we’ve been offered some what I would call ‘future packages’, which include a high draft pick and quality young player, and we haven’t ruled out doing one of those types of deals,” Burke told the Fan 590. “We’re trying to get better right away, that’s our goal, first focus and our priority. But we’ve been offered some attractive deals that would be more future-oriented as well.”
Regardless of the outcome Maple Leafs fans everywhere are hoping that the Kaberle saga finally comes to an end this Sunday, and that whatever they get in return for Kaberle will inch them closer to an unlikely play-offs berth.
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