August 15th came and went, and when the tweets stopped tweeting and the bloggers stopped blogging, Tomas Kaberle was still a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. This has many fans asking that big question: Now what?
Is Burke content to go into the season with $27 million tied up in defenseman payroll for 8 NHL blue-liners? Even if you shift Jeff Finger’s salary to the AHL, did Burke really sign Brett Lebda knowing that he would not get regular playing time? After the Lebda signing, it was assumed that Leafs fans everywhere could turn the page on the last of the old guard, the Muskoka Five, the pre-Brian Burke era Maple Leafs, who had not seen the post season since 2004.
To me, Kaberle represents all of the failures of the previous regime. Burke has stated that he wants to rid the team of the culture of losing surrounding it, yet he could not bring himself to part with a player who seems content no matter what the scoreboard says. Kaberle is a fantastic skater and you will be hard pressed to find a better first-pass in the league. However, Kaberle has gotten so comfortable in his role with the blue and white you can see it in his play.
We’ve all seen him nonchalantly collecting the puck on a dump in, ticking away precious seconds of the Leafs power play. Constantly making return passes, pressuring the forwards rather than trying to create new offensive opportunities. He is nowhere to be found when a scrum breaks out. But the biggest thing, to me, is that he just does not fit with the new group that Burke has brought in.
Dion Phaneuf is the polar opposite of Kaberle and has basically replaced him as the leader of the locker room, a position Kaberle never wanted in the first place. He is loud, abrasive, and does not half-ass anything when it comes to his on ice performance. He is regularly at the center of attention and scrums on the ice. He is the catalyst to light the fire under this team.
Offensively, Kaberle saw his point totals drop big-time once the two blockbuster moves on January 31st were made, scoring just 3 points in his final 22 games. Yes, at times other Leafs players did struggle, but this was a period when the Leafs were sporting a record above .500 and had vastly improved goaltending and defense. This was a period where Tyler Bozak and Nikolai Kulemin were putting up points at previously unseen levels. Kessel had just regained his scoring touch. Grabovski had come back and put up multiple game point streaks.
Everyone was buying into the new system, except Kaberle. The power play, Kaberle’s main contribution to the offense, went south in a hurry. He was no better at even strength and Burke had several better options on the penalty kill. Kaberle finished the season with a career low -16. This probably had a lot to do with the quality of offers Burke was fielding.
So while I will go on record as saying that I am not happy that Kaberle is still in the blue and white, the bigger question is what now? Does Burke try another avenue, perhaps Luke Schenn, to get his top 6 forward? Would Burke move Beauchemin or Komisarek, his two acquisitions from last season? Does he extend Kaberle’s contract or try to move him within the confines of his no trade clause?
Ultimately this could end up going down as a tremendous missed opportunity if Kaberle is left to walk away from the team for nothing next July, but it could be a lot more than that. It could be a missed opportunity to turn the page for Leaf Nation, another sign that the rebuild is being fast-tracked, but at the cost of long-term success.
No one really knows what kind of offers Burke was getting, but ultimately, is one season of slightly better performance, knowing that the Boston Bruins possess our first round pick, really worth passing on what was being offered? Does Burke need to save face on the Phil Kessel trade so badly that he was willing to pass up an opportunity to get decent picks and prospects back for a rental player?
While another opportunity may soon present itself, I think Burke will be hard-pressed to sign Kaberle to an extension that does not include another no-movement clause, so perhaps saving face in one way may end up costing him in another as he is forced to go back on his word to ask a player to waive his no trade clause. Then again, depending on how things go this year, Kaberle could save him the trouble and do it for him, as he clearly does not fit here any longer.
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Born and raised in Northern Ontario but currently living in Toronto, Tyler wouldn't have it any other way. Home to his two favourite sports teams, Tyler revels in the day to day sports experience that is Toronto. 
I always felt that Kabby was overrated, and that Burkie was asking too much for his services. The lip service that “we’ve got lots of deals, but want a better one” is jsut downright disrespectful to the fans. Get the best deal, and go from there. It’s not like the Leafs are going to be this year’s Montreal Canadiens and make it to the semis. Hell they’ll be lucky to finish in the top ten.
Well, he was true to his word. He maintained that if the offers weren’t what he was looking for he wouldn’t be moved. Now we go into the season with 8 NHL defensemen and 2 in the minors that are ready to be called up in Aulie and Lashoff.
He’s just assuming someone will get injured, but this means that guys like Finger and Lebda will be spending significant time in the press box. It’s a logjam and he should have fixed it by now.