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The curious case of free agent defenseman Tomas Kaberle

Boston Bruins v Vancouver Canucks - Game Seven

VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 15: Tomas Kaberle #12 of the Boston Bruins celebrates in the locker room after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in Game Seven of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Arena on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4 to 0. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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For an unassuming guy, Tomas Kaberle always seems to be at the center of attention one way or another. While with the Maple Leafs, Kaberle was often the whipping boy for fans in spite of being one of the team’s top point producers on the blue line.

When he was traded to Boston and hailed as the guy to solve the Bruins power play woes as their new quarterback on the man advantage, he was criticized for not fulfilling those expectations. During the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup, however, Kaberle was one of the Bruins’ strongest players offensively on the blue line racking up 11 assists through the playoffs and ending up the postseason a +8 in plus/minus.

Kaberle’s seen the heights of being viewed as a top offensive-defenseman and the lows of being the team goat only to rally himself in vindication with a Stanley Cup. So how come he’s still available as a free agent? It’s a good question.

After the deals we’ve seen thrown around for guys like Christian Ehrhoff, Kevin Bieksa, Ed Jovanovski, and James Wisniewski, someone should’ve gone over the deep end for a guy with Kaberle’s skill set and expierence by now... Right? Not so fast.

WEEI’s D.J. Bean has the update on what’s up with Kaberle.

According to a source familiar with the situation, free agent defenseman Tomas Kaberle remains in contact with the Bruins and is also talking to multiple other teams, but it isn’t likely that he’ll be signing with anyone in the immediate future.

The source told WEEI.com on Monday that Kaberle is “not likely to make a decision until sometime next week.”


The Bruins continuing to have interest is nothing new as Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli made it known that he liked what Kaberle brought to the table. Hey, when you help a team win a Stanley Cup, what’s not to like? That said, the market for offensively capable defenseman as it stands now is wafer thin.

Take a look at this list of available unrestricted free agent defensemen from CapGeek. With guys like Bryan McCabe, Scott Hannan, Shane O’Brien, Steve Staios, Brent Sopel, and Radek Martinek available the pickings are slim for NHL-ready guys that can produce at this level. Of the guys available that can produce offensively, only McCabe and Anton Stralman really have those capabilities as they’re both solid power play guys. Kaberle’s run in Boston, though, showed he’s actually capable at both ends of the ice.

For a team in need, Kaberle can fill it and he doesn’t appear to be a candidate to require a monster deal to bring him in, although in this market you just don’t know. We’ll see him get locked up soon enough, but the fact he hasn’t already after being poised to be one of the biggest targets heading into free agency is something that’s still stunning. Perhaps after all the drama, Kaberle will end up being the sneaky surprise of this summer’s free agent class.