Blake Wheeler
In case you haven't already heard, the Maple Leafs have broken off negotiations with prospect Bill Sweatt, acquired in the Versteeg trade from the Blackhawks. In a statement to the Toronto Sun, Burke explained that the club would rather keep a spot on the 50 contract limit open than continue discussions with Sweatt. As the talks continued to stall, the Leafs likely turned and upped their offer to Marcel Mueller, whose ELC contract value sits at $1.12 million. Sweatt is likely looking for a figure close to Blake Wheeler's $2.825 cap hit as a 4-year college free agent, which is a steep price to pay for a player with speed but limited offensive upside. [more…]
It may seem uncharacteristic of  Brian Burke, historically a headline maker at the Entry Draft, to sit essentially idle on the hockey world's biggest stage. Important to remember is that the big man can be patient when he needs to be. The Anaheim and Calgary deals of last February, when Burke waited until certain pressure points reached a head, were both examples of Burke's willingness to sit back until the time was right to pull the trigger - despite all the temptations to hit the panic button as his team sat in the Eastern Conference basement with no first round pick to look forward to.
During his first full year at the helm in Toronto, you could make the case that Brian Burke was the league's most active general manager. There was the Kessel summer blockbuster with Boston and then the mega-deals on January 31st that brought in Phaneuf and Giguere. It's quite obvious that he's willing to expend assets to target any top notch premium young talent when it's made available. Both of those trades were opportunities: Kessel was a restricted free agent on a team with cap issues. Burke often spoke of inquiring on Phaneuf several times throughout the year until the "pressure points" of the cap and the struggles of the Flames pushed Sutter into making a bold move. This summer should be no different. Let's take a look at some of the young RFA's that might potentially attract Burke's interest.
It took sometime to manifest, prolonged in the wake of shoulder surgery and stunted contract talks, but the September 10th news that negotiations between the Boston Bruins, Wade Arnott and Phil Kessel had come to an impasse reignited the rumor mill that has surrounded the Leafs and the Madison, Wisconsin sniper since Brian Burke first tabled Tomas Kaberle in the infamous draft day “misunderstanding.â€
In the week that has passed since negotiations broke down, the value of Kessel has skyrocketed beyond the original RFA compensation of a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round selection in the 2010 draft.
By now, I'm sure many of you have seen ESPN's report of a significant offer by the Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel: two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick. The general reflex reaction that we've been conditioned to by the Toronto media the last few seasons is to avoid moving 1st round selections by any means necessary. The thought of moving two such commodities is beyond horrifying. I've seen the name Taylor Hall used as the backbone of many an argument over the last few days, often associated with the "chance" of landing said player. If we're gonna turn this into a game of chance, let's at least get all the cards on the table. [more…]
While the majority of Leafs fans wrote the team off in the summer, it wasn’t until the New Year that the teams first true season of rebuilding began the inevitable grind into early year golf tournaments.
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.
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Turns out, there's speculation that the trade between Anaheim and Pittsburgh was an inadvertent 3 way trade with the Maple Leafs. That’s right, that big Ryan Whitney trade was for the bigger picture.
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The reputable Eklund is reporting with an always reliable "e4" rating that the Maple Leafs are closing in on a deal with the Vancouver Canucks that will involve Nikolai Antropov heading west in exchange for a first round pick and a prospect. To no one's surprise, Brian Burke and Mike Gillis have been carrying out negotiations for some time now, primarily on the subjects of Antropov and Tomas Kaberle. A deal is not as imminent as Eklund's reporting, but there appears to be deal potential in Vancouver and potentially of the blockbuster variety.
While draft picks are high priority in any potential trade talks leading up to the March 4th deadline, Brian Burke is also said to be targeting a group of young but already established NHLers, according to a source.
