NEW YORK (Feb. 23) — Veteran defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina have taken different approaches to the up-coming National Hockey League trade deadline — now only nine days away. Both players have no-trade clauses in their contracts that will be nullified for much of the off-season by the Maple Leafs’ failure to make the playoffs. While Kaberle has chosen to provide general manager Brian Burke a list of cities he might consider in a deal before Mar. 4, Kubina is going down the same path as last year at this time.
“Pavel wants to stay with us; he doesn’t want to waive his [no-trade] clause or give me a list of teams, and that’s fine with me,” Burke said at Madison Square Garden Sunday night, as the Leafs tripped up the New York Rangers, 3-2, on Niklas Hagman’s overtime goal. ”I like the way Kubina has played the last while and he’s a quality person. With Kaberle, his agent wants to keep some control over the process. [Former GM] John Ferguson was smart is assuring these no-trade clauses are lifted if we miss the playoffs. Pavel doesn’t want to provide me a list… he’ll take his chances over the summer. Kaberle’s agent wants to maintain some control, but it’s highly unlikely Tomas is going anywhere.”
After the victory at the Garden, in which he assisted on all three Leafs’ goals, Kubina confirmed Burke’s assessment. “I had a great meeting with Brian and he said he felt I was playing well lately,” Kubina recounted. “For me, it’s the same as last year. I knew the Leafs could trade me in the summer, but I still decided not to waive my contract clause at the deadline. I’m not the type of guy that is looking to play for another team because things aren’t going well in Toronto. That’s just not me. I couldn’t live with myself if I felt that way. If Brian and Ron [Wilson] don’t want me here anymore, I’ll be ready to move on in the summer. But, Brian didn’t ask me for a list of teams.”
Kubina put the kibosh on a trade at the deadline last season that would have sent him to San Jose for fellow defenseman Kyle McLaren. He has staunchly maintained a desire to play out his full contract with the Leafs — a four-year pact worth $5 million a season that he signed as a free agent in the summer of 2006. Though his bullet-like slapshot on the powerplay and his reputation as a terrific teammate would likely be welcomed by clubs closer to contention, Kubina feels a strong loyalty towards the Leafs and Burke isn’t doing anything to dissude him.
“A general manager has to have a trust factor with his players,” Burke said. “If you look at our Christmas freeze, it’s longer than other teams around the league, and we don’t ask our people to waive no-trade clauses. I think players deserve a certain amount of respect and should feel that respect from management.”
Burke said trade talk is “heating up” with the deadline just more than a week away, but he cautioned Leaf fans not to expect a mass exodus of veteran players. “I’m not nearly as anxious to get rid of people as the media thinks I am,” Burke told me. “We’ve got some guys here that I think will be important parts of what we’re doing as our team improves. So, I don’t anticipate a large number of players moving from our organization. That doesn’t mean we won’t be sellers at the deadline, because you can never tell what will happen between now and then. But, I’m not planning a fire sale.”
What Burke is hoping to do is recoup some of the draft picks the Leafs have given up in recent years to acquire players such as Vesa Toskala, Mikhail Grabovski and Jamal Mayers. But, the GM understands that it may not be that simple. In the NHL’s current economic climate, the Leafs may well have to take back salary from other teams in order to receive the valuable picks they covet.
“We’ve got cap room and we’ve got cash, so we can take money back,” said Burke. “So far, all that’s been thrown at me for taking players back are mistakes — bad contracts. The key for us is not next year. Where we’ve got to be alert and careful is contracts that extend through the 2010-11 season. If there’s going to be an impact, financially, on our league, that’s where you’re going to see it. So, we have to be a bit cautious. But, if we can get a quality player that has a contract running through that year, we’re going to take him.”
In our conversation, Burke mildly softened his remarks from two weeks ago about Nik Antropov, when he strongly suggested he would not offer the veteran forward a contract extension. ”Well, he has certainly responded, though that’s not why I said what I said — it was out of frustration over Nik’s play,” Burke admitted. “But, he’s played much better since then [seven goals in his past 12 games]. So, we’ll wait and see.”
Antropov remains a strong candidate to be traded at the deadline, which would obviously negate the contract issue. Burke said that teams are not asking for an “injury discount” when discussing Kaberle, who’s been sidelined since Jan. 29 with a broken hand. “And, they’re not going to get any such thing if they do ask,” the GM insisted.
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