Is it just me, or has Tomas Kaberle been involved in trade rumors his entire career. It’s only natural, considering he’s a high-quality player employed by a team that has struggled mightily and has not made the playoffs since before the NHL lockout.
This season has been no exception. With the Maple Leafs hard up against the cap and Brian Burke working on revamping this team, a Kaberle trade could bring Toronto some much-needed value and even more future assets. Yet it seems as if any possibility of Kaberle getting traded has gone up in smoke, as he maintains that he will not be lifting his no-trade clause this season.
That’s at least the latest impression from Kaberle who reiterated Sunday his much-repeated stance of remaining in blue and white beyond the March 3rd trade deadline.
“I hope so,” Kaberle said of staying with the Leafs through March 3rd. “Nothing changed on my side so we’ll see.”
Maybe he feels that the Leafs are about to finally take off and improve. Perhaps he sees what Burke did with Team USA and decided that his GM might actually know what he’s doing. Perhaps he just doesn’t want to move. Whatever the case is, it appears as if the top defenseman on the trade market that teams will be targeting has been taken out of the mix.