Mike Komisarek and Tomas Kaberle are completely different players stylistically, but as the Maple Leafs take on the Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montreal tonight for the second and last time this season, both face very uncertain futures.

The 31 year old Komisarek, selected seventh overall by the Habs in 2001, will be a healthy scratch for the fourth game in a row, as Coach Randy Carlyle opts to dress Mike Kostka, Korbinian Holzer and Mark Fraser, who have spent most of their time in the American Hockey League the last few seasons.

The 34 year old Kaberle, Toronto’s 204th pick in the 1996 draft, similarly will sit out for the fourth game in a row against his former club, as P.K. Subban is back in the fold, Andrei Markov is healthy and leads the team with 10 points and Swiss import Raphael Diaz has a club high nine assists.

Both blueliners appear to be on shaky ground, as they are high priced holdovers from prior management teams, do not appear to be part of the equation for the new coaches and their respective clubs are loaded with defensive prospects.

Montreal has two promising prospects with the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs, in former first rounders Jarred Tinordi and Nathan Beaulieu, while Toronto has Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly, Matt Finn, Stuart Percy and Jesse Blacker in junior or with the Marlies.

Komisarek has another season to go on his five year, $22.5 Million deal in Toronto, where he has been labeled(fairly or unfairly)a bust by the fans and media. Kaberle, who won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins after being traded by the Leafs in February 2011, signed a three year, $13.5 Million deal with Carolina but was quickly moved to Montreal for Jaroslav Spacek after Canes GM Jim Rutherford realized that Kaberle’s best days were behind him.

New Habs GM Marc Bergevin has already used one of the two compliance buyouts made available to him by the new collective bargaining agreement on Scott Gomez’s hefty contract and Kaberle looks like a prime candidate for the other one.

Leafs GM Dave Nonis is in a very enviable cap situation, as Toronto stands to have over $17 Million in available cap space for 2013-14, but if there are avenues of improving the club through free agency or acquiring a high salaried player in a trade, he can open up an additional $4.5 Million in cap space with a buyout of Komisarek’s final year.

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James Reimer will make his second consecutive start for Toronto. Tonight is the first time that the 24 year old has played at the Bell Centre since an errant Brian Gionta elbow threw his career into doubt in October 2011.

Carlyle will not make any changes to the lineup that won in Winnipeg on Thursday night, but shook up the line combinations in the morning skate, shifting Leo Komarov to the wing on the Mikhail Grabovski-Nikolai Kulemin line and moving Jay McClement to center between Frazer McLaren and Colton Orr. Dion Phaneuf also has a new defense partner in recent callup Korbinian Holzer, while Mike Kostka has been paired with John-Michael Liles.

Carey Price will start for Montreal.

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