Where Do We Go From Here?

Where Do We Go From Here?
BF's Blog
August 16th, 2010

August 15th, 2010 came and went without much fanfare. A statement released from Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke simply read: "While a number of clubs made offers to trade for Tomas, none of them reflected Tomas' value to our team".

Some say they expected it all along, others were outraged that no deal for a top six forward could be made. I for one am neither here nor there, Tomas is a fantastic offensive defenceman and will continue to be a solid point producer on the back-end. On the other side of the coin is the fact that our defence continues to be overloaded and our top end forwards continue to be thin.

One has to ask themselves how a deal was not consummated when Brian Burke had stated that 10 teams had submitted offers with about 5 days to go before the deadline. One has to think that with that many deals on the table, one could have surely been made that would have been beneficial to the forward corps on the Leafs. That's not to say I wanted one to be made, but at the same time I am beginning to feel as though Burke is not always the most truthful GM in the league. Ten offers and no deals? Ten offers and no competition for his services in the final hours of the deadline? Perhaps Burke was doing more posturing than actual negotiating in this case.

If I can say one thing about this outcome, it is that I hope Toronto fans do not turn on Kaberle like Bryan McCabe. McCAbe got shabby treatment at the end of his career, and it visibly affected his performance on the ice. Neither one of these two players deserves it, and fans really can't use the dip in performance excuse like they did for McCabe. Tomas still remains one of the most skilled DMen in the league, and still has a number of good years left under his belt. We should be encouraged by his desire to remain with Toronto, and hope that many more of our players can act with the same class that he has displayed throughout his career and this off-season.

Will Someone be Moved?

Lacking a Kaberle trade this leads one to believe that one of the D-Men must be moved before the beginning of this season. With eight defenceman on the roster having guaranteed contracts and NHL experience, it is very apparent that there will be a log jam, and too many dollars invested on defence. Lets take a look at who's in the picture:

Dion Phaneuf - $6,500,000
Mike Komisarek - $4,500,000
Tomas KAberle - $4,250,000
Francois Beauchemin - $3,800,000
Jeff Finger - $3,500,000
Luke Schenn - $2,975,000
Brett Ledba - $1,450,000
Carl Gunnarsson - $800,000

Jeff Finger being the unmovable contract is naturally going to be a Maple Leaf for the tenure of Cliff Fletchers big mistake. He's not an awful defensive defenceman by any means, but he is not worth that much money for that amount of overall production. This leads me to believe that perhaps Francois Beauchemin could be the likely target of any team looking for a solid two way defender. Beauchemin can play the power play, penalty kill, and will stick up for his teammates. He has a big shot, decent defensive skills, and can hit...not a bad package for under $4 million dollars. He is a Brian Burke guy, so it leads one to believe that Burke will be hesitant to move him...however I don't know many people looking for a $4.5 million dollar defensive defenceman (Mike Komisarek).

What would a Beauchemin trade get the Maple Leafs? Personally I think you abandon any idea of a top 6 forward here, and I don't think the Leafs really need any more bottom 6 players. I think a 2nd-4th round pick and perhaps a mid-level prospect could be something that a team would think about. Perhaps a bigger deal would be consummated involving a forward or prospect could also be looked at. Who knows though, I'm just spit balling ideas.

Where does that leave us now?

Lacking top flight forward talent, however having a lot of depth overall on the front end. Players like Versteeg and Kadri will be solid producers for years to come, and Tyler Bozak had flashes of brilliance last year. I don't see any of those players as top 3 forwards on a playoff contender or championship team, but they are improvements from the Tuckers and Stajan...so we are getting there. Burke was said to be in Europe discussing a contract with a free agent player a couple weeks ago, however, I can't imagine that there is a first line player available as a UFA in Europe that is not named Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk was still thought to be a New Jersey Devil at this time, so lets rule him out officially.



Toronto presently sits without a first round pick in next years draft, having sent it to Boston in the Phil Kessel trade. If this pick turns out to be another lottery pick it would be a huge blow to the Maple Leafs, so my expectation is that Burke will do everything he can in order to make the playoffs.

Who's Available in the Summer of 2011? Who Can We Afford?

Giguere's 6 million dollar salary is about the only contract that will be coming off the books next year, without a trade this season or Jeff Finger being buried in the minors. If a player of Beauchemin's calibre/contract value is traded it should leave the Leafs with about 10-12 million dollars to spend on a backup goalie, and a forward or two. (This is assuming that Bozak and Schenn will get slightly less, or close to the $3 million they each made in salary and bonus last year.) What free agent goalies and first line Center/Left Wingers could be attractive to the Leafs next year?

Brad Richards
Dallas Stars
C - $7,800,00 in 2010

Richards had 91 points last year with the Stars after registering only 48 the year before. He has been a little inconsistent to warrant his salary in 2010, however, if he has another 90 point season in 2010 he could be looking for another 6-7 million in 2011. If signing Richards to a 5 year $30 million dollar deal was a possibility...I would be happy as a pig in shit.


Patrice Bergeron
Boston Bruins
C - $4,500,000

Hasn't quite been the same since his string of bad concussions...but he is looking much better with each passing week. Had a bit of a comeback year in 2009 with 54 points, and with a strong 2010 could be looking for a bit of a raise. At only 25 years old, this is a very interesting player for the Maple Leafs and should absolutely be considered if he is healthy. Prior experience with Phil Kessel does not hurt either.


Zach Parise
New Jersey Devils
L - $3,125,000

This one is a big IF. IF the Devils come to terms with Ilya Kovalchuk, on a contract that will certainly come at a bigger cap hit than the 17 year deal...it will make it very tough for them to sign Zach Parise to a contract extension next summer. This is more of a pipe dream, as I don't think the Devils can afford to let a player of Parise's skill walk, but lets hope. He'd look great with Kessel.

JS Giguere
Toronto Maple Leafs
G - $6,000,000

Certainly will not make anywhere near $6 million in 2011. If he wants to stay in Toronto, and sign a 2 year $4 million dollar deal, I could see Burke keeping him to continue mentoring the Monster. Stability is never a bad thing in a young players development. Should the Monster not turn out to be a starting goalie, Giguere could fill the void until one of the many goaltending prospects (Reimer, Jussi Rynnas) makes it to the show.

Note: Joe Thornton was excluded due to the fact that I expect him to be re-signed by San Jose, or traded to a team that will have an extension in place.

Where are We Going??

Firstly, glad to still have you here Tomas. Keep putting up those points and running that power play!

At this point the Maple Leafs must stay the course with Burkes plan to build quickly, and avoid giving away a top 5 draft pick next season. If the Leafs can sustain a consistent effort on both sides of the puck they should stay away from a pick that low, and maybe push for one of the last playoff spots. The free agent class of 2011 does show some promise at positions that the Maple Leafs will need help, and if the Leafs can sign some of those players it would make them a very dangerous team come the 2011 season. This is without even considering the further maturation of Bozak, Kulemin, Gustavsson, Schenn, Gunnarsson, Versteeg, Kessel etc.

If everything falls into place, there is a lot of promise in my mind. With, or without a Kaberle trade.

Take Care
-BF
www.twitter.com/brandonfinleyy

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