It’s time to end the charade

Over the summer a small news story broke in relation to some comments made by Tomas Kaberle’s father, Frantesik Kaberle Sr., stating that his son did not like to play for Ron Wilson and would not be back with the club next season. Tomas Kaberle denied the allegations, re-affirming his position of being a player that loves Toronto, a player who wants to stay a Toronto Maple Leaf for the rest of his career.

Under the surface however, things aren’t so crystal clear. With the arrival of Dion Phaneuf just over a year ago, Kaberle knew there was a distinct possibility he was being shopped. His name has appeared in trade rumours since Brian Burke’s arrival in November of 2008, and Kaberle has said and done just about nothing, other than his usual blanket ‘I love Toronto’ statements when asked about his status. While Burke may have overvalued the Czech blue liner in the past, we are fast approaching Burke’s final opportunity to get any sort of return for him.

I’m not going to downplay Kaberle’s abilities. He’s a smooth-skating power play quarterback with as nice of a first pass as any player in the league. On bad Toronto teams, Kaberle has averaged about a 0.61 PPG, good for 50 points per season, and around two thirds of those will come on the power play. Having said that, you’re not going to get much else from Tomas.

The Toronto fans and media roundly criticize Phil Kessel for floating on the periphery, being a one dimensional player and not being responsible in his own zone. Yet these same fans seem to allow Kaberle a free pass even though he is doing essentially the same thing, made worse by the fact that he is supposed to be a defenseman, not a forward.

Kaberle has had several good seasons here, but his performance in his own zone has gone downhill in the three years Wilson has been coach. Missed assignments, bad turnovers and no physical play to speak of has often led us to seeing Tomas scooping the puck out of our net after a goal. He is certainly not the only player to blame for our defensive shortcomings, but when you’re on the ice for almost 20 even strength minutes per game, you need to lead by example.

Kaberle was stripped of the alternate captaincy last year without a word. Many were upset at this decision, but not Kaberle. He is not a leader, and never has been. He doesn’t speak up on the ice or in the dressing room. He quietly goes about his business, which brings me to his contract situation. If Kaberle were sincere regarding his statements about wanting to remain in Toronto, why has he not shown that with his play on the ice? Why has he not shown that through leadership or a willingness to help the team?

As of now, it is unknown whether or not any contract negotiations have been conducted between Kaberle and Burke. Nicklas Lidstrom took a $1.2 million dollar pay cut last year to help the Red Wings field another winning product, and he’s been even more productive this year than he was last year. Daniel Alfredsson re-signed in Ottawa for well under his market value to help the team attract more star players. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and even Marian Hossa all signed deals for less than market value to play with Detroit, because they wanted to win.

Where is our home team discount Tomas? I’m sure if you would have approached Burke with a deal paying $3.5 million per season, the ink would already be dry and I wouldn’t have anything to write about. Now, it’s not Kaberle’s fault that Burke has added almost $15 million in blue line salary and that not all of it has panned out. While Burke will try to remedy this situation, the reality is that Kaberle and Beauchemin are the only players that can be moved from the blue line.

Komisarek is untradeable, Phaneuf is the new captain and is beginning to show signs of his old self. Luke Schenn is the best shut-down defender they have and his entry level contract is expiring. Carl Gunnarsson’s meagre salary won’t alleviate the problem. Should Burke be able move Francois Beauchemin and his $3.8 million salary, he can’t just turn around and give both Schenn and Kaberle raises, negating any cap space gained.

So, if Kaberle wants market value for his talents, he knows he is going to have to sign elsewhere. This is most likely why we have heard nothing on the contract front while other stars re-up with their current clubs. If Kaberle knows he’s moving on at the end of the season, why stay? What kind of a hockey player says ‘no’ to the chance to play for a contender in the playoffs? What kind of player would miss an opportunity at the Stanley Cup, out of spite?

Is Kaberle really so disinterested in winning? Is he a prime example of ‘blue and white disease’, that culture of losing and entitlement that Burke has tried so hard to eradicate from the organization? When he was stripped of the alternate captaincy we saw just how interested he was in helping this team. His reaction was more of relief than anything, as he was only losing a job he never really wanted in the first place.

So, Tomas, I ask you as a fan, to end this charade that you’ve been perpetrating for the past few seasons. If you really do love the city and the organization, sign a cap-friendly contract extension and let Burke get to work on helping this club. If we don’t really mean that much to you and you’d like one more big contract before you retire, then feel free to head up to Burke’s office with a list of teams. At least that way you’ll have something to play for.

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