The End of an Era

The Tomas Kaberle era in Toronto is over. Today, the veteran blueliner waived his no movement clause and agreed to a trade to the Boston Bruins. In exchange, the Leafs will receive 2008 16th overall pick Joe Colborne and the Bruins 1st round draft choice in the 2011 NHL entry draft, as well as a conditional 2nd round draft pick in 2012. The Leafs will only receive that conditional pick should the Bruins advance to the Stanley Cup final or re-sign Tomas Kaberle in the off-season.

Kaberle was the most tenured Maple Leaf, first joining the team in 1998, playing in 878 games for the blue and white. He was almost and afterthought, going in the 8th round of the 1996 draft, but his smooth skating and passing abilities eventually developed to make him one of the top 10 offensive defensemen in the NHL today. He was the last remaining Leaf from the pre-lockout era, the last time the Leafs made the post-season.

So how did we arrive at this point exactly? When Brian Burke was brought on board as the new GM of the Maple Leafs in November of 2008, he immediately went to work improving the club defensively, looking to add size and toughness, qualities that Kaberle lacked. Kaberle was often the butt of several jokes for his propensity to pass at all costs, rather than shooting, and his tendency to avoid any physical play. Burke brought in former Anaheim Duck Francois Beauchemin and former Montreal Canadien Mike Komisarek, signing them to hefty contracts in free agency.

Neither player ever really lived up to their expectations, and in front of a struggling Vesa Toskala, the club was horribly inept in its own zone. Burke continued to re-tool the blue line, dumping Garnet Exelby and Jeff Finger in favour of Dion Phaneuf and now Keith Aulie, both acquired in a 7 player deal with Calgary last January. Due to a clause in Kaberle’s no trade provision, there existed a window of opportunity for Burke to trade the blue liner during the offseason if the Leafs failed to make the playoffs, and fail they did.

An earlier trade to Boston that included Tomas Kaberle fell apart on the draft floor, as Burke was attempting to acquire Phil Kessel, but both sides were confused as to who was to receive an additional draft pick in the deal. Burke later made his move to acquire Kessel, surrendering two first round picks and a second and signing Kessel to a lucrative 5.4 million dollar offer. This deal was met with much scrutiny in Leaf Nation and the pressure placed on Kessel was immense.

Burke was also listening to offers for the veteran blue liner this past off-season, but as the August 15th window came and went, it was clear he could find no buyers willing to meet his price. At this point it had become common knowledge that Kaberle would not look to re-sign with a Western Conference club, which would narrow Burke’s available suitors somewhat and diminish his value. However, with both teams looking to make some moves as the trade deadline neared, rumour was put out that Kaberle would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Boston Bruins.

Over the past several days reports had surfaced that something was imminent, and Tuesday’s 4-3 Leafs win over Boston saw all parties involved in the same building. Even though Burke was in a compromised negotiating position with the knowledge of Kaberle’s intentions out in the media, he was still able to recoup some of his losses on the Phil Kessel trade and acquire a promising young prospect, a first round pick and another potential asset. While this move will not entirely put to bed any chatter over the Phil Kessel deal, it will certainly help take some of the sting off it and take some of the pressure off of Phil.

Ultimately, Kaberle was one of Burke’s biggest trading chips, but he was also the last remnant of a bygone era. Burke had talked about the culture of losing that had grown in Toronto and Kaberle was a big part of that. Many credit Kaberle for helping along Schenn’s game, which could be true to some extent, but considering both have very high giveaway totals it could also be having the opposite effect.

With Kaberle gone, the immediate effect will be felt on the power play, but the Leafs power play is currently 24th in the league anyhow and could benefit from a shakeup. They will also need to work on changing their defensive strategy to get the puck out of their zone a little easier. Brett Lebda is expected to step in and take up some minutes in Kaberle’s absence, with a long term goal of slotting in one of their top prospects like Jesse Blacker or Jake Gardiner.

Kaberle was the last of the fabled ‘Muskoka Five’, a list of five former Leafs players with a no trade clause, all of whom refused to waive their clauses in the 2008 season, not wanting to give up on their playoff hopes. Bryan McCabe, Mats Sundin, Pavel Kubina and Darcy Tucker were the other four, and Kaberle is the only one who has netted us any kind of significant return. McCabe got us Mike Van Ryn, who ended up retiring due to injury. Sundin left as a free agent, Tucker was bought out (we’re still paying him) and Kubina only got us Garnet Exelby, and through another deal, Wayne Primeau. Both were not re-signed.

Ultimately, Kaberle will be fondly remembered by Leaf Nation, and this final farewell, helping the team build towards the future, will only cement his status as one of the better Leaf players in recent memory. His career Leaf numbers rank him up among players like Borje Salming and Tim Horton. He developed into a top tier blueliner and had many good seasons with the Leafs. Now, there is no ill will left between him and the fans of Leaf Nation, myself included.

Thank you Tomas, and I wish you all the best in Beantown.

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