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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • Fan 590 •
MONTREAL (June 25) – After more than 2 ½ months of boldly proclaiming his desire to land the top-rated prospect in this year’s National Hockey League draft, Maple Leafs’ general manager Brian Burke has conceded he’s out of the John Tavares sweepstakes. “I don’t think the [New York] Islanders are moving their [No. 1] pick; the only name that [No. 2] Tampa Bay has expressed interest in is Luke Schenn, and he’s not going anywhere,” Burke told a swarm of reporters in the lobby of the Best Western Hotel Europa late this afternoon. “We’re not moving Luke. We worked hard to get him last summer and I think he may be the captain of our team in a couple of years.”
And, that’s why Burke has lost virtually any chance of maneuvering into the top three draft slots Friday night. For every logical reason, Schenn is the only player the Islanders, Lightning and Colorado Avalanche are willing to discuss in negotiations with Burke. Right now, they maintain the right to select one of the three “franchise” prospects in the draft – Tavares; Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman and Brampton Battalion forward Matt Duchene. That leaves Atlanta and Los Angeles – in the four and five slots – as potential trading partners. Burke is said to be very interested in Schenn’s younger brother, Brayden, but he’ll almost certainly have to move up two spots from No. 7 to select the Brandon Wheat Kings’ centre.
“That’s something we still have lots of interest and optimism in doing,” acknowledged the Leafs’ GM. But, when asked what his optimism is based on, Burke generated laughter by replying “blind hope.” He said he stopped at a church next to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel here in Montreal and “lit a candle”, adding, with a smile, “I’ve made my kids go to mass when they’re here, but it hasn’t helped yet.”
Burke also confirmed he had received “an unsolicited and unexpected” trade offer for veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle – one that he is seriously considering. “It was not my intention to look at moving [Kaberle] while we were here in Montreal; we thought the best strategy was to wait and see where Jay Bowmeester ended up [in free agency] and then get to work on teams that were unsuccessful in that courtship,” Burke said. “But, we got an offer that we have to take seriously. We’ve notified a bunch of other teams that that’s the case and we’re going to see what happens.”
Burke said the Kaberle offer is “totally unrelated” to his attempt at moving up in the draft. “At least a player and a pick are involved [in the Kaberle talks] and it could get bigger tomorrow.”
Three other teams are said to have expressed interest in Kaberle, which comes as no surprise. As mentioned in this corner the other day, a large part of Burke’s restructuring plan over the summer will likely involve trading veteran components of the disappointing Leaf clubs that have missed the playoffs a record four consecutive seasons since the lockout of 2004-05. No player has greater market value than Kaberle – the splendid, puck-moving defenseman who badly requires a change of scenery to kick-start a career that stagnated last year. Two more seasons at a modest $4.25 million in salary and cap commitment enhances Kaberle’s trade value. The Czech native has a limited no-movement clause that is nullified between the start of Friday’s draft and the middle of August as a result of the Leafs again missing out on the post-season.
Though the offer for Kaberle caught his attention, Burke said he isn’t yet satisfied. “My inclination still is that someone is going to have to blow our doors off for us to make this deal,” he said. “It’s going to be a trade we absolutely feel we have to make. We’re listening now. The name that was thrown at us is important enough that we had to huddle on it.”
Burke said he has not yet received an offer of value for Pavel Kubina – the other veteran defenseman whose no-movement clause is temporarily lifted this summer.
The GM shot down a Globe & Mail report from Wednesday that suggested the Leafs were interested in veteran defenseman Wade Redden of the New York Rangers. “I don’t know where that started,” Burke said. “Wade Redden is a good guy and a good hockey player, but we’ve never talked to that team. We’re not in discussion for that player at this point.” It might have something to do with the fact Redden – coming off a pair of dreadful seasons – is guaranteed $31 million over the next five years by the Rangers, with a cap hit of $6.5 million per season.
But, Burke continued to insist he’d be willing to take on a “bad” contract in a deal that would also land the Maple Leafs some value for the future. “We have cap room and cash; we’ve made that clear to anyone who will listen and if that’s news to any [other] hockey team, they’re not paying attention,” Burke said. “You only have so many assets in a cap system – players, draft picks, cash, cap room, and an ability to sign free agents. So, yeah, we’re interested in anything along these lines.”
With a firm grip on the hockey scene in Toronto, Burke knows that Leaf fans hang on his every word. Given that he rarely hesitates to discuss his grand plan for the hockey club, I wondered if he’s created a level of expectation he may not be able to match. Is he concerned about disappointing the Leafs’ legion of followers? “No, people should read my quotes very carefully… all I’ve said is we’re going to try and move up with no bold predictions or projections,” he replied.
Some may argue his evoking of Tavares’s name in a post-season news conference at the Air Canada Centre was extremely bold, and that it threw expectations out of whack. But, he disagrees. “If we’re not successful, I’ve said all along we’ll pick at seven,” Burke countered. “We do things a certain way and it doesn’t always work out. So, there’s nothing wrong with stating what you’re intentions are and failing to meet them. I’m happy to do that.”
E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com
And, that’s why Burke has lost virtually any chance of maneuvering into the top three draft slots Friday night. For every logical reason, Schenn is the only player the Islanders, Lightning and Colorado Avalanche are willing to discuss in negotiations with Burke. Right now, they maintain the right to select one of the three “franchise” prospects in the draft – Tavares; Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman and Brampton Battalion forward Matt Duchene. That leaves Atlanta and Los Angeles – in the four and five slots – as potential trading partners. Burke is said to be very interested in Schenn’s younger brother, Brayden, but he’ll almost certainly have to move up two spots from No. 7 to select the Brandon Wheat Kings’ centre.
“That’s something we still have lots of interest and optimism in doing,” acknowledged the Leafs’ GM. But, when asked what his optimism is based on, Burke generated laughter by replying “blind hope.” He said he stopped at a church next to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel here in Montreal and “lit a candle”, adding, with a smile, “I’ve made my kids go to mass when they’re here, but it hasn’t helped yet.”
Burke also confirmed he had received “an unsolicited and unexpected” trade offer for veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle – one that he is seriously considering. “It was not my intention to look at moving [Kaberle] while we were here in Montreal; we thought the best strategy was to wait and see where Jay Bowmeester ended up [in free agency] and then get to work on teams that were unsuccessful in that courtship,” Burke said. “But, we got an offer that we have to take seriously. We’ve notified a bunch of other teams that that’s the case and we’re going to see what happens.”
Burke said the Kaberle offer is “totally unrelated” to his attempt at moving up in the draft. “At least a player and a pick are involved [in the Kaberle talks] and it could get bigger tomorrow.”
Three other teams are said to have expressed interest in Kaberle, which comes as no surprise. As mentioned in this corner the other day, a large part of Burke’s restructuring plan over the summer will likely involve trading veteran components of the disappointing Leaf clubs that have missed the playoffs a record four consecutive seasons since the lockout of 2004-05. No player has greater market value than Kaberle – the splendid, puck-moving defenseman who badly requires a change of scenery to kick-start a career that stagnated last year. Two more seasons at a modest $4.25 million in salary and cap commitment enhances Kaberle’s trade value. The Czech native has a limited no-movement clause that is nullified between the start of Friday’s draft and the middle of August as a result of the Leafs again missing out on the post-season.
Though the offer for Kaberle caught his attention, Burke said he isn’t yet satisfied. “My inclination still is that someone is going to have to blow our doors off for us to make this deal,” he said. “It’s going to be a trade we absolutely feel we have to make. We’re listening now. The name that was thrown at us is important enough that we had to huddle on it.”
Burke said he has not yet received an offer of value for Pavel Kubina – the other veteran defenseman whose no-movement clause is temporarily lifted this summer.
The GM shot down a Globe & Mail report from Wednesday that suggested the Leafs were interested in veteran defenseman Wade Redden of the New York Rangers. “I don’t know where that started,” Burke said. “Wade Redden is a good guy and a good hockey player, but we’ve never talked to that team. We’re not in discussion for that player at this point.” It might have something to do with the fact Redden – coming off a pair of dreadful seasons – is guaranteed $31 million over the next five years by the Rangers, with a cap hit of $6.5 million per season.
But, Burke continued to insist he’d be willing to take on a “bad” contract in a deal that would also land the Maple Leafs some value for the future. “We have cap room and cash; we’ve made that clear to anyone who will listen and if that’s news to any [other] hockey team, they’re not paying attention,” Burke said. “You only have so many assets in a cap system – players, draft picks, cash, cap room, and an ability to sign free agents. So, yeah, we’re interested in anything along these lines.”
With a firm grip on the hockey scene in Toronto, Burke knows that Leaf fans hang on his every word. Given that he rarely hesitates to discuss his grand plan for the hockey club, I wondered if he’s created a level of expectation he may not be able to match. Is he concerned about disappointing the Leafs’ legion of followers? “No, people should read my quotes very carefully… all I’ve said is we’re going to try and move up with no bold predictions or projections,” he replied.
Some may argue his evoking of Tavares’s name in a post-season news conference at the Air Canada Centre was extremely bold, and that it threw expectations out of whack. But, he disagrees. “If we’re not successful, I’ve said all along we’ll pick at seven,” Burke countered. “We do things a certain way and it doesn’t always work out. So, there’s nothing wrong with stating what you’re intentions are and failing to meet them. I’m happy to do that.”
E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com
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