Pre-Draft Rumours Heating Up

I wouldn’t trade kabs at all..he is our star defenseman with one of the best contracts in the nhl for his caliper, and after that contract runs out he won’t ask for much more then what he is making now due to the performance that he has put on over the last few years. But that doesnt make him a bad defenseman, he didn’t have anyone to play with in the last few years. As for Kubina he had somewhat of a good season last year which means his value might be up a but but probably not with the huge contract that he doesnt deserve, I would get rid of him easily for coboure + boston’s 1st. If we don’t get kessel then i guess we leave him, my theory is you build from the blueline out which means you leave kabs alone if thats what it takes to land kessel. If we could get him with something esle such as grabovsky/jimmy hayes and a high pick next year providing kessel signs with us. I wouldn’y wait until kessel is available for offer sheets because players intend to get more then what they are worth, and i think kessel is worth about 3.5mil to a 3 year contract becuase he is unproven one year players isnt for me. i have to see them do it on a everyday basis, after the 3 years are up and he is still putting up good numbers then you sign him a long term deal. as for JBo i would defiently be trying to land him. leave cammalleri alone as for the sedins i wouldnt touch them now i know what they are expecting next the next 12 years. diamond in the rough players would be like Brian gionta and maxim afinogenov they ahvent had very good years the past 2-3 seasons but have lots of potiental. gionta scored 40+ goals with NJ in the defensive style of play just imagine what he could go on a team like pittsburgh or washington as afinogenov. there are many opions for burke. Im sure he will do fine to me he is the best GM in the game today, next would be ken holland but thats only becuase of his scouts that he is good. you never see the guy trade. he builds within his organization and thats it. signs free agents and re-signs contracts. how hard wouyld that be..really??

great work alec…to bauman who keeps preaching tavares’ drawing power…how many seats did Stamkos sell in Tampa? Tavares is a huge name in Canada-not in the U.S. What do you think about Blake Griffin? oh, you dont know who he is…he’s the projected first round pick of the clippers in the nba draft. We Canadian hockey fans tend to have a myopic view of how the game is viewed outside of Canada.

Paso:
You can check the reports coming out of Long Island yourself, if you don’t buy my analysis. Tavares is a huge draw among among a very knowledgable fan base on the East coast. Look up reports on the fan rally they just held last week, if you have questions about Tavares’ draw on Long Island.
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As for Tampa Bay and Stamkos, it’s all about geography. There is a large fan base on the Eastern seaboard, one that is very knowledgeable about all things hockey. But in Florida? Er, not so much.

From Chris Botta of NYI Point Blank:
I Want To Be An Islander: John Tavares
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What’s most interesting here is that Hedman and Duchene both spent less than a day with the Islanders, while Tavares was there for 2 days and got a guided tour from Doug Weight … hmm … sounds like the favorite to me.

Kubina in a package to Atlanta for #4 would be fine – however I don’t think it should include our #7 pick. We need more that one first round pick to turn this thing around. Surely there must be a way to make this trade and keep our pick. If we have to include our #7 pick it is not worth it! Really how much difference is there between Schenn/Kane and MPS?

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – I really can see Kaberle going to TB for the #2 pick overall. TB NEEDS Kaberle to bring their team back to playoff contention – and save their franchise. So Kaberle (plus a prospect) for Hedman – in reality – would be great. But let’s not overpay – otherwise we keep Kaberle and hopefully deal him for a 1st rounder between #8 – 16.

alec, this atl tade rumor makes perfect sense imo. atlanta has $ probs…they get kubina for one year and can either resign him at a lower salary as he will not be able to command anywhere near his present salary or let him go. they unload some salary-Hainsey or Armstrong?-on the leafs to clear cap room again for the anticiapted cap decrease and they get a stud-maybe Cowen or MPS-In fact- if Cowen is healthy they will have a decent back line. The Bruins need Kaberle-Burke would happily help them win a cup for long-term gain. Great work Alec, you’re the guy we need to hear more from on this website.

goodnews on gustavsson, burkes done all he can now let luck be with us!

Kaberle and ponkifrosky (consist 20 goal scorer ) + 3rd rounder or jeremy williams

to L.A.

5th pick over, Tueburt, some roster player, and an additional pick

or

Kubina, Stajan and Jeremy williams

To atlanta

4th overall and salary dump

Danny….it is nice to be able to dream,and I am hoping for some moves too.But your trade of Toskala to LA doesn’t work.The Kings have goaltending throughout their system.What they need is Dmen.

People,please! All of us(yes,me too) can float anything we want out there,hoping and praying that at least some of it comes to pass.But these same posts all have the same thoughts contained in them.The Leafs need to get younger,bigger,stronger and quicker.Including Jimmy Hayes in any deal,is stupidity.This kid is already something special,and he is going to be special even further at the NHL level after going to an elite school for 4 years.I would hate to see him moved before he has a chance to be that special player in a Leafs uniform.

Id also love it if Teubert could be part of a Burke trade. He is a Cowen type of really tough hardnosed D. Just give me Schenn, Glennie and Kassian somehow and I am happy. But since that isnt going to happen Id love to see us take Doherty from Kingston in this draft. 6’8″ D, already nasty, played well on a really crappy team, coached by Dougie. Is going to fill out to be a very very nasty stay at home D and we can get him with a 2nd or 3rd round pick.