Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. There are trade rumors circling and they surround Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle, only this time the Maple Leafs are the ones trying to spark the interest in him. Darren Dreger from TSN in Canada has the details.
The Toronto Maple Leafs recently sent an email to NHL teams acknowledging defenceman Tomas Kaberle is available.
The email outlined Kaberle’s contract status and reminded general managers that Kaberle’s no-trade clause will lift at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and will return in August.
The email sparked interest, with as many as five teams currently inquiring about the Leafs asking price; two of the teams are said to be keenly interested.
Toronto is seeking either a first-round draft pick, or a young player capable of immediately stepping into the Maple Leafs’ lineup.
Color us surprised that the Leafs are looking to get into the first round mix for draft picks this year. After all, they coughed up what ended up being the second overall pick to Boston to get Phil Kessel, but now that they’re actively shopping Kaberle about while they can it spices the talk up a bit. As for who those two teams are that are interested, your guess is as good as ours.
As for the Bruins and that pick, perhaps they’re not content to let the Oilers decide their fate for them.
Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli says that over the past couple of days, teams have inquired about his interest in trading the second overall pick in this month’s NHL draft.
Chiarelli also says he talked to Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini on Wednesday about the potential of flipping picks. Chiarelli adds they will talk again soon.