Burke Scouting Bruins and Red Wings
According to Joe Haggerty, the Bruins’ beat reporter for Comcast SportsNet, Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke has been spotted in Boston this afternoon and is expected to attend the Bruins-Red Wings game later tonight. Haggerty speculates on the potential for a Kaberle acquisition, which would provide a significant boost to a very mediocre Bruins’ powerplay, currently ranked 19th overall. The Leafs have been linked to Blake Wheeler in the past, but the inconsistent forward is in the midst of another ho-hum season. Brad Marchand, a two-time gold medalist with the Canadian World Junior team and QMJHL star, could perhaps draw some interest from the Toronto brass. The 22 year old Halifax native is on pace for a 23 goal campaign in his first full season in the NHL.
It’s also quite possible that Burke is in town keep an eye on the Red Wings, who are rumored to be scouring the market for some veteran goaltending help, given Jimmy Howard’s up and down season. The club tried to sign free agent netminder Evgeni Nabokov in late January but lost him on waivers to the New York Islanders. Giguere has stated many times that he would not mind staying in Toronto, but his primary concern is getting the chance to be the number one guy. With the emergence of Reimer and Giguere’s impending unrestricted free agent status at year’s end, it would not be unreasonable to see the Maple Leafs give Reimer the close out the season with the majority of the workload. This would allow the organization to evaluate what they have and assess the merits of pursuing a free agent goaltender such as Tomas Vokoun or Ilya Bryzaglov this summer.
