Your thoughts????
Let me theorize here.....the fact that the news of Tim Thomas waiving of the no-trade clause is being talked about widely today makes me think that he might be the goaltending target of the Maple Leafs. Burke likes to go against the grain....and while everyone is talking about Luongo, Luongo, Luongo, he could have been working on getting Thomas under the radar.
Either way, this is good news for the Leafs, because they can be more hardline with Vancouver if they truly want Luongo because they can threaten to go another way and pursue Thomas, who has only one year left on his deal as compared to Luongo's ten years.
Sportsnet's Matt Brown is reporting that Burke got to the Consol Energy Center early and has already talked with Vancouver's Mike Gillis and Boston's Cam Neely.
Will update.....
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TSN's Jonas Siegel speculated that the Leafs may not be in on the big fish(Nash or Ryan), but that Burke may try to make a deal for a young player like Matt Duchene, who is an RFA on July 1 and is said not to be getting along with Avs coach Joe Sacco.
The Sergei Bobrovsky deal to Columbus may help Toronto in their pursuit of Luongo, as Columbus was rumored to be in the market for a goalie and could have been used by Vancouver as a potential suitor for the veteran.
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Draft Day is finally here for the Toronto Maple Leafs and everyone is wondering if today will be a buildup to disappointment or if GM Brian Burke can pull off a deal or two to improve his club's future prospects.
This morning, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos says that he is skeptical that the Leafs will get a deal done for Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo over the next couple days and floated the possibility that they would entertain other options, like signing Canucks RFA Corey Schneider to an offer sheet on July 1.
Both Burke and Senior VP Dave Nonis are publicly stating that the prices on the market for the big names being shopped are extremely high and unless the prices come down to a more reasonable level, that the Leafs will select fifth in the draft tonight and stay with James Reimer and Ben Scrivens in net for the upcoming season.
These comments that are likely posturing to avoid the appearance of desperation on the Leafs part, but it is clear that if Toronto comes back from Pittsburgh with only Filip Forsberg or Teuvo Teravainen added to the fold, that this weekend will be labeled as a failure.
There has been no mention of any connection between the Leafs and talks with Columbus over Rick Nash in the last couple days, as the San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators have been rumored to be offering packages for the disgruntled winger.
Bobby Ryan’s name has been floated the last 24 hours, with Philadelphia and Buffalo being speculated as destinations and after reportedly turning down a 10 year offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, center Jordan Staal is now in play, but his status as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2012-13 season and the rumors that he only wants to play in Carolina with brother Eric may scare many teams off.
As has been the case with Burke, while everyone is looking in one direction, he is usually working on something that no one has shined a light on.
Do you think that Burke and the Leafs will stand pat or do you think that they will do something impactful at the Draft?
I’ll be posting updates throughout the day.
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