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The current behind the scene situation on the Tomas Kaberle – Boston Bruins negotiations is intense, according to a solid source. It looks as though Burke’s playing poker here and waiting to see if Peter Chiarelli will call his bluff or up the ante.  The Pronger to Boston rumours remain a distinct possibility but it’s said that the Kaberle to Bruins negotiations are on higher heat.

The Boston Herald reported earlier today that Chiarelli’s tabled a package of Joe Colborne, a first round pick and a third round pick for Kaberle. Unless Burke folds, which is highly unlikely, this is not going to get the deal done. Colborne, while he certainly has intriguing potential, is a project player and remains at least three years away as he continues to try to fill out his frame and refine an unpolished skill set. The first round pick is nearly a low second as it will likely be in the 28th-30th range. Burke has very specifically demanded Blake Wheeler, a player who’s highly coveted by Chiarelli. It’s rumoured that Chiarelli may even part with 26-goal-man Phil Kessel before he would Wheeler. It should be very interesting monitoring this situation as it progresses in the next few days.

On the other hand, there’s still rumoured interest from both the Devils and the Flyers. The Flyers cannot do a thing unless Paul Holmgren can free up cap space, which is posing a huge headache for him right now. Briere and his contract are practically immovable with the longevity of the contract and the likelihood that the cap drops by about $6 million by the end of next season due to the current economic climate. There are currently rumours that Philly might look to part with Simon Gagne or Scott Hartnell to free up the space, but both would have to waive their respective no-movement clauses. Lou Lamoriello meanwhile isn’t typically much of a player at trade deadlines and is unlikely to ever meet Burke’s return demands.

The fact of the matter is that Burke does not intend on embarking upon a Dean Lombardi re-build with this club. He’s looking at 2010-2011 as a turn around year… and for that reason he’s looking to hit a homer in any deal he executes involving Kaberle, who he sees as his major pawn in reversing the fortunes of this club.

This is getting interesting….

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Alec Brownscombe is the founder and editor of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He's published five magazines on the team entitled "The Maple Leafs Annual" with distribution in Chapters and newsstands across the country. He also co-hosted "The Battle of the Atlantic," a weekly show on TSN1200 that covered the Leafs and the NHL in-depth. Alec is a graduate of Trent University and Algonquin College with his diploma in Journalism. In 2014, he was awarded Canada's Best Hockey Blogger honours by Molson Canadian. You can contact him at alec.brownscombe@mapleleafshotstove.com.