Tomas Kaberle the last of the “Muskoka Five”

With Tomas Kaberle being the last of the “Muskoka Five” to remain with the Toronto it is time to turn the chapter and move him and put the past Leaf horrors behind us. Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe and now Pavel Kubina are all but a distant memory leaving us with just Grant Exelby, Colin Stuart and Mike Van Ryn to show for what, just a few seasons ago, was the heart and soul of the Maple Leaf squad.

Kaberle, as rumor has it, was all but gone at the 2008 NHL trade deadline to Philadelphia for 46 goal scorer Jeff Carter and the Flyers first round pick in the 2008 entry draft (later dealt to Washington who selected defenseman John Carlson). Then at the 2009 draft Kaberle was rumored to be almost gone again this team in a deal with the rival Bruins that would bring in the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft and last years 36 goal scorer Phil Kessel who at the moment is at odds with Boston on a new contract. Other teams have been whispered to be talking to Leafs General Manager Brian Burke for the services of Kaberle including the likes of St. Louis, Los Angeles and Chicago.

At only thirty-one years of age Kaberle still has many productive years ahead of him and has been one of the most consistent Leaf players over the past decade. With Burke bringing adding free agents Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and trading for Exelby to go along with last years rookie sensation Luke Schenn, Ian White, Jeff Finger, Anton Stralman and Van Ryn Toronto can now deal a defenseman the caliber of Kaberle without leaving themselves with a huge hole on the backend.

Former GM John Ferguson Jr. can take most of the blame signing these players to their “no trade” and “no movement” contracts but these five players could have made things a lot easier for Burke’s retooling plan if they had of seen the writing on the wall and agreed to be moved at the deadline. The writing was on the wall when interim GM Cliff Fletcher asked each player to be dealt, now former Leaf star players have left the organization on a sour note that all Leafs fans have seen before with legends such as Darryl Sittler and Dave Keon. Mats Sundin finally chose to return to the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks but could not shake off the rust in time to provide the ‘Nucks with enough to get them to the cup final. Bryan McCabe, who had been booed mercilessly in his last season in a Leaf uniform, had an okay season with the Florida Panthers but was far from the 50+ points he registered in three straight seasons with the Buds. Darcy Tucker was just a disaster for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his lowest point total in more than a decade.

It is hard for Leaf Nation to look at what might have been. Sundin was rumored to be dealt to the Habs for Chris Higgins, and a first, second, and third round draft picks (Greg Nemisz, Danny Kristo and Steve Quailer). Carter, Higgins, 2009 first round draftee Nazem Kadri, along with Euro young studs Mikhail Grabovski, Jiri Tlusty and Nikolai Kulemin to make up a potentially explosive top six forwards up front.

Does Kaberle really want to leave Toronto the way his buddies did?? Toronto fans are starved for a Stanley Cup parade down Yonge Street and while we do appreciate Kabs’ time as a Leaf the new truculent and tougher TO squad would be better served moving forward without him; before the ghosts of Larry Murphy return and the boo birds hone in on a new target in the Czech defender.

The Tricks

Toronto Maple Leafs - Sorry Leaf fans, but your team just isn’t very talented. Yes, your teams plays hard and you have a great goaltender, but its not likely this team has a chance at a playoff spot. Look at it this way, if you play at the pace you are playing at right now you will end up fighting it out for the 8th and final playoff spot. Currently the Maple Leafs are in a three way tie for 8th in the East and they have scored 7 less goals then they have allowed. For the Maple Leafs franchise the worst thing that could happen is if they once again finish in 9th or 10th in the East and once again don’t get a lottery pick next year.

Mats Sundin - Here we go again, is he coming back for real this time? All summer long rumors of where Mats would end up were everywhere and now it looks like we are back to where we started. Mats is a great hockey player and most teams would love to have him. The way this ends up will be up to Mats, he can sign for big money with a team with cap space or take a smaller contract to join a Cup contender. I assume if Mats is coming back it is to be a winner and he will sign with the Rangers or Canadiens. Both those teams are up against the cap and I would like Mats to sign with a younger up and coming team that he could lead, Vancouver, Phoenix, Chicago and what about Mats in Pittsburgh. The rumors will continue to swirl until Mats makes a decision about his future, don’t get tricked, take these rumors with a grain of salt.

Tim Thomas - The Bruins goaltender continues to surprise everyone by playing excellent Vezina like net. Thomas is a fine goalie, but he is not this good, and his numbers will come back down to earth. Currently he has a goals against average under 2 and a save percentage of .939, those numbers are Vezina like and Thomas is good, but not that good.

Old Guys, Big Numbers – I love this, there are some old grizzled veterans off to great starts this year and look to be the players of old. Most of these guys cannot keep this pace up, but if they do it will be a great story all year. 34 year old Paul Kariya has 12 points in 9 games for St Louis, he is on pace for 100 points a mark he hasn’t reached since 1999. Markus Naslund (35), Mike Modano (38), Joe Sakic (39) and Keith Tkachuk (36) are all at or near a point a game so far. All these guys are proving they can still play this game, and I for one hope they keep it up, but it is unlikely.

The Treats

Martin Brodeur - Brodeur is a legend, and by the end of this year this might end up being the season of Brodeur. He is getting close to breaking two all time goalie records, wins and shutouts. Its not if its when he breaks those records he will get serious consideration as the best net minder in National Hockey League history. This generation has been treated to a lot of great NHL players, and Martin is definitely one of those guys that will never be forgotten. The 35 year old net minder is off to a great start posting 5 wins, 2 shutouts and a save percentage of .914. Brodeur cannot play forever and we should enjoy his skill, while we can.

Fast Starts - Pre season predications are usually a crap shoot, but his year some of those highly predicted teams are off to great starts. The New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks are all living up to the hype. These are the top four teams in the league and have been fun to watch on a night to night basis. I look for these teams to keep it up all year they have the talent, coaching and structure to compete for the Stanley Cup. Without injuries these might end up being the top 4 teams at years end.

Dynamic Duos – All hockey love watching skill play with skill, and this year we have found some new duos to excite us. At the top of this list Pittsburgh has put there stars Malkin and Crosby together and it has been great to watch ever since. The two have combined for 29 points in 11 games and are leading there team to wins. The Red Wings new duo of Hossa and Datsyuk have been great to watch combining for 26 points and Heatley and Spezza are still good in Ottawa with 11 goals.

Thomas Vanek – The highly paid and very talented winger in Buffalo has come in to his own early this year. The Sabres have to be extremely happy that Vanek has scored 9 goals in 10 games and has recorded 12 points. Vanek and the rest of the Buffalo team is exciting to watch, they are fast and highly talented. He may not score at this pace all year, but I think he will keep his points up and lead the Sabres all year.

The year has been full of treats thus far, fights are up goals are up and there is a lot of good young talent in the league. Happy Halloween and enjoy the action this weekend

Detroit Red Wings
The Wings have about $450 000 in cap space currently, but have a couple of players on injury reserve. Chris Chelios and Darren McCarty are hurt and if they are going to be on the roster, Detroit’s management will have to make a move. Detroit also likes to add veteran pieces at the deadline and that will tough with there current cap situation. Detroit was forced to put a couple of good young players in the minors and I think they will want them to be with the big club sooner rather then later. The Red Wings have a few moveable pieces, they could make a trade and get some room. Kyle Quincey is the 8th defenseman on the team and is out of options and might be traded for a pick when Chelios is ready to come back. Detroit is also deep in the forward lines and could trade pending free agents like Mikael Samuelsson or Thomas Kopecky to create room for younger players. The Wings are the best team on paper this year, but they aren’t immune to cap problems. If they stay healthy look for them to make a move relatively early in the year.

Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are a great team, but they are flirting with the cap. They have less then $200 000 in room and have a lot of money committed to forwards. They have almost $30 million committed to there top six forwards and have some good young talent almost ready to come up. Top prospects like Claude Giroux could come up and contribute with the team. I think they will look to move one of there top six forwards and the easiest one to move will be Mike Knuble. Knuble is a free agent at years end and makes $2.8 million this season. The Flyers are also currently carrying three goaltenders and might look to move either Nittymaki or Aubin to a team that needs a solid NHL goalie.

New York Rangers
The Rangers might be in the worst shape overall, with 6 contracts that are more then $4 million annually. The thing about the Rangers is that they have a lot of players locked up long term and there is no obvious player they could trade to get some space. The Rangers have been rumored to want Mats Sundin and Brendan Shanahan and they won’t be able to get them without moving one of there big contracts. Beyond the big names this team isn’t overly deep and might find it hard to move money. They do have guys like Petr Prucha who is a restricted free agent next year and other teams would want him. The bottom end of there roster is filled with guys who will be restricted or unrestricted at years end. In the long run I think they will eventually have to trade some of there high price talent, but that will probably happen in the off season. For now they could move Paul Mara ($1.95 million) or Aaron Voros ($1 million). New York’s real problem will be next year when a lot of there players are free agents.

Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix is in great shape, with more then $9 million in room. Phoenix has a great young team and are looking to make the playoffs this season. In my opinion the Coyotes management will be ready to take advantage of some teams who will be looking for cap relief. Phoenix might be able to make some one sided deals to improve there team and help them make the playoffs and sell some tickets. They might be able to add some expiring contracts of good veterans to improve there team and help the young players progress in there careers.  If great players like Sundin, Shanahan and Forsberg want to return, Phoenix might be able to take a real shot at them if they truly want to make a run this year.

Vancouver Canucks
Much like the Coyotes, the Canucks are in great shape cap wise and ready to take advantage. The Canucks have been looking for offense all off season and you can be guaranteed that if solid offensive players become available they will be involved. They have some guys who will be free agents at years end, so they won’t be looking to take on long term contracts. They have already made a pitch for Sundin and if they can get a guy like Prucha from the Rangers or Samuelsson for the Wings I am sure they will jump at the chance.

We have already seen some movement early this year, with the Schneider trade and players like McLaren, Schaefer and Khabibulin being put on waivers. If Forsberg, Sundin and Shanahan return some teams will be forced to scramble to find the cap room. I think we will see a lot of moment early this year and teams with cap room will be able to make excellent trades to improve there teams. Good teams like Vancouver, Phoenix, Columbus and Dallas could make moves and take the next steps with there franchises. It should be interesting to watch and I look forward to see which teams will be the most creative and improve there teams.

Mats Sundin - Mats has been the story all off season, no one knows what he is thinking. Mats got plenty of offers to play this year, but hasn’t been able to decide whether or not he wants to play. He got contract offers from a lot of teams, including a massive 2 year $20 million offer from Vancouver. My thoughts are that Sundin is torn he wants to play in Toronto, but he also wants to play for a contender which Toronto is not. Mats is a 17 year NHL veteran, playing in 1305 games and recording 1321 points. He played the last 13 years in Toronto, he was there team captain and became possibly the best player to ever wear the blue and white. The question with Sundin is not whether he can play, its whether he wants to play. Last season Mats recorded 32 goals and 78 points in Toronto, and would be a welcomed addition to most teams in the league. The thought is that if Sundin comes back he will want to play for a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Early in the off season there were rumors of him going to Montreal, New York or Detroit. All those teams now don’t have cap space and would have to make a move to be able to afford the big center. I honestly don’t have a feeling about what Mats might do, all I know is that he will take his time and make a decision that will best fit him. Mats is a great player and if he wants to play he will get his chance, but I think he might retire.

Brendan Shanahan - Shanahan is a future Hall of Fame player and he has no where to play right now. All off season it was thought that he would return to the Rangers, but when they only offered him a tryout he moved on. Brendan is a 21 year NHL vet and has played in more then 1400 career games. He has 650 career goals and has scored more then 50 in a season twice. Brendan was a pure sniper throughout his career, he may not score 50 anymore, but he could easily put up 25 goals in today’s game. He has been a playoff performer over the years with 131 playoff points and three Stanley Cups in Detroit. I think Shanahan would be perfect for a young team that is on the cusp of winning. He could provide great leadership and add some offensive depth to most teams. If Brendan is willing to take less money I am sure he will play this year. No doubt he wanted to play in New York, but I think he would be better suited for Phoenix, Washington or Chicago. He can still play and I hope we all get the chance to see him play again.

Peter Forsberg - This seems to be a topic of conversation every year, but Forsberg still hasn’t retired. Injuries have always been his problem, but when he is healthy he can still be one of the best players in the league. He hasn’t played more then 70 games in a year since 2002-2003 and know one really knows how healthy he is now. He came back late last year and played 16 games (regular and playoffs) with Colorado and recorded 19 points. Signing Forsberg would be a big risk for any team, but he has proven when healthy he can still be a point a game player or better in this league. I don’t really see Forsberg coming back any time soon, if he comes back I think it will be in the new year and for the Avalanche. This will be a risk reward signing if some takes a chance on him and a franchise will have to see if he is worth the cap hit. Forsberg is a future Hall of Famer and if he comes back I hope he is healthy and back to the Forsberg of old.

Forsberg, Shanahan and Sundin might all be in the Hall of Fame some day and they are free agents. They will get more and more pressure to sign as the year goes on and teams will look for veterans to help lead a team on a Cup run. Other big names vets like Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka have chosen to sign in Russia and play for more money then they would get in the NHL. A veteran player can be the difference in a run for the Stanley Cup, a vet who has been there can have a calming influence on teams. Some of the older guys have found jobs, but usually for small contracts. Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick, Gary Roberts and Rob Blake all found good fits and hope they will be able to retire in there own terms. As you get toward your 40’s NHL players have new choices to make. For these guys its not about money, its about being in a spot where they are comfortable and have a chance to win.