Monday, August 3, 2009

Could Kaberle be on way to Columbus for Brassard?


The Maple Leafs continue to look around the league for interest in one of their nine NHL calibre defensemen, the Leafs certainly can not be thinking of being the first team in hockey to dress eight defensemen in a game, can they? (lets hope not) The most interesting move for Brian Burke who looks to cut down the back end and shore up the front end is Tomas Kaberle. The longest serving Leaf continues to get plenty of interest from NHL teams and with his modest salary cap hit and his no trade clause only weeks away from kicking back in, Burke's constant denials of moving Kaberle could be just the opposite of what he is trying to do. The team that comes to mind with possibly the best fit for Kaberle's services could just be the Columbus Blue Jackets who are in need of a defensemen of Kaberle's skill. Columbus looks to capitalize on the momentum of their first playoff appearance last season and have close to $6 million in cap space. The next question would be who can the Leafs pry away from Columbus? Rick Nash (No), Nikita Filatov (think again), Steve Mason (Never). The logical player that Brian Burke should request in a trade with Columbus was last seasons rookie scoring leader Derick Brassard, now before all of you tell me that Brassard did not lead the league in rookie scoring you are correct but Brassard did lead the rookie scoring race until an injury sidelined him for the season. Brassard was on pace for a 66 point rookie campaign which would have given him the scoring title over Anaheim's Bobby Ryan by nine points. That total would have also given Brassard the Leafs scoring title for the season as well, in Brassard the Leafs would have one of the youngest one two punches down the middle in the league with Brassard and Mikail Grabovski. The young centerman has great vision and is not afraid to take a hit to make sure his plays are completed and more importantly the former one hundred plus scorer from the QMJHL just oozes offensive potential. Brian Burke could land his coveted number one centermen and this should be the only player that Burke should accept from Columbus in any trade talks with the team. The Maple Leafs need a number one centerman and could have found him in Derick Brassard, the only move for Burke with Columbus, if not then Kaberle should stay.

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