Kaberle Remains a Leaf, Burke Remains Frustrating

So midnight on August 16, 2010 came and went, the same way that the 2010 March trade deadline came and went, the same way those trade and August deadlines came and went the year before.

And still Tomas Kaberle remains a Toronto Maple Leaf. Am I the only one who feels worn out by this entire process?

Along with numerous other Toronto Maple Leaf fans, I have sat and waited patiently while GM Brian Burke shopped what was once a prized asset around the league, in search of a top – six forward to add to a completely refurbished roster.

And waited. And waited.

Listen, I’m all for the process of not making trades simply to make them. What I am not for, however, is listening to my team’s GM consistently state his intentions to move him if the right offer comes along, explain exactly how he thought he had moved him at the draft (except for possibly the weirdest trade mixup I’ve heard of since a Jonas Hoglund fax machine blunder a decade ago), then realize the team is not anywhere further with this shit than they were when Kaberle was once part of The Muskoka Five.

I like Kaberle. I think he’s a fantastic puck – moving defenseman, the likes of which this organization has not seen in a long, long time. But I also know that he is getting a little long in the tooth, and that squeezing useful minutes out of him, Komisarek, Phaneuf and Beauchemin (and hey, anybody remember Luke Schenn)? Could prove to be problematic as we move into the new season.

Perhaps what scares me the most as a Toronto sports fan is the fear that Kaberle could play out the remaining year of his contract with the organization and then bolt for greener pastures. Can’t remember where we’ve seen that before.

Maybe I’m another misinformed Leafs fan who just doesn’t get it, but to me, moving Kaberle for a suitable prospect who can play for the blue and white for years to come (Derek Joslin was rumoured to be coming over from San Jose for a while) is not an offer that I would have taken lightly. Sure, Burke argues that the market just did not offer the Leafs what they felt Kaberle was worth, but maybe constantly informing the media that you were receiving shitty offers from every team you spoke to served to drive that market down just a little bit more?

There is still the chance that Kaberle could sign an extension, or waive his no-movement clause at the deadline in March (which he was said to do last year, restricting the Leafs to only deal with three teams), but considering Burke has a personal policy of never personally asking a player to waive that clause, it is just as likely Kaberle plays out the string then leaves the Leafs for nothing come July. I know that if my boss told me he was looking to transfer me to another department but couldn’t get any true offers back for me, I would soon be looking for new employment. And while many argue that this is the world of sports, keep in mind that Kaberle has always tended to be a little more sensitive than most athletes.

Some will argue that the Leafs’ defence corps looks great for the upcoming season, but you wonder how it will affect players used to getting top minutes when they have to sit on the bench more than they have in years in order to evenly distribute talent. A workhorse wants to be a workhorse, and forcing the top four defencemen in the organization to play show-jumper may prove detrimental to everyone.

But it’s all over for the time being. Kaberle was forced to endure a few more months of being told his team was looking to get rid of him if they could, and Burke got to spend a few more months telling the media his personal views on anything and everything he was looking to do to drastically alter the Leafs, bringing in Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg in the meantime (yayyyyy).

So now the Leafs go forwards, with another six or so months to go before this whole thing starts all over again. All I ask is for everyone to shut up about it until then.