Saying Goodbye to #15
Let us take pause from the trade analysis to remember Tomas Kaberle – before today the longest tenured Leaf and last remaining member to have skated on both Maple Leaf Garden and Air Canada Centre Ice, and who will always be rightfully considered one of the most skilled blueliners in Leaf history. Sometimes criticized for his defensive game and refusal to waive his no trade clause on what would’ve been a pretty awesome Jeff Carter deal, what has never been disputable about Kaberle is that there are few defencemen in the game more enjoyable to watch. For a player that simply wanted to show up to the rink every day and be apart of the winning formula in Toronto, it was unfortunate his tenure had to end in the fashion it did; two-plus years of incessant trade rumours. To his credit, he dealt with it all with an extreme level of class and never showed outward signs of cracking.
Kaberle ends his career with the Leafs at eleventh in all time point scoring (2nd among defencemen) and fourth in assists (also 2nd among dmen behind Borje).
We’ll have an interview with Dave Morrison on new addition Joe Colborne coming up tonight. Tomorrow Junior will provide a detailed analysis of the week’s events and an update on Burke‘s Plan.
