What constitutes as a perfect fit? Is it the chemistry with the linemates, matching voice in the locker room, or capturing the spirit of a given team? I guess it’s a little of everything. Whatever the main ingrident is, I’m pretty sure Marc Savard would be just that on our current Leafs roster. I’d like to start by addressing the trade rumors surrounding Savard. The main rumor is that he’s going to be traded to the Leafs for something other than Tomas Kaberle. Let’s speculate shall we.

First off, it probably doesn’t matter how deep Boston is at center, or how badly they want to get rid of Savard’s cap hit, they won’t just trade their (still) top line center for peanuts. Nikolai Kulemin should be a part of any deal, and your guess is as good as mine as to who goes with him. Could be Carl Gunnarsson (although I would hate that) or Viktor Stalberg, Mikhail Grabovski (I could live with that). So in trading away those two guys (presumably Gunnarsson because Boston dealt away defensemen Sobotka and Wideman recently and Kulemin) the Leafs get to keep Kaberle as a bargaining chip for future trades. I’m guessing the best fit here would constitute a perfect trade for a needed position without having to give away our top assets. That’s one way of putting it. Kaberle can then be either re-signed (which I’m not totally against – they guy has been a cornerstone of the organization for a very long time and I respect him because of it) or dealt for some much needed size and strength on our top two lines. If the deal does in the end include Kaberle, which would address one of Boston’s prime needs right now, it’s still a great deal for both teams. With our without Kabby, our defensive corps would stay strong with the likes of our newly promoted captain Dion Phaneuf, supreme physical package of Mike Komisarek, Luke Schenn and Francois Beauchemin. Goaltending is set with JS Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson in nets. And now it gets interesting.

The major impact that this potential deal could have on the Leafs offense. Phil Kessel and Marc Savard created magic during the 2008-2009 season. They know each other extremely well and would probably have instant chemistry. Savard could help with the development of our young centers Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri teaching them what it takes to play the position in the NHL. I’m only getting to the good part. Marc Savard is 32 years old. That means that even with the concussion (which I’m not really worried about) he can still play 2-3 years of top notch hockey. He remains one of the three best passers and playmaking centers in the National Hockey League behind only Sidney Crosby and Joe Thornton. Adding to that, Savard’s presence would only entice other FA’s even more, it would signal a making of a contending hockey team in Toronto. To me, building a franchise starts at the center position. Yes, defense and goaltending  is really important, but my opinion is that one can find solid defensemen and goaltending easier than a No1 center.

Marc Savard is by far the best player the Leafs could hope to acquire this offseason (with Marleau being re-signed by SJ). Yes Kovalchuk is an elite player, and yes, it’s not like 50 goalscorers simply fall from the nearest tree, but like I said, I view the center position as the more important franchise building asset. And the Leafs are trying to do just that. Rebuild. So it’s fair to say that by getting Savard we would still need to add size cause this guy doesn’t exactly cause a shade. But that’s fine. There is size aplenty in the free agency, there just isn’t enough skill and passing ability. I really hope we can get this done. It would not only get us a first legitimate first line center since Mats Sundin, but it would set the tone for Burke’s free agency deals. And there are guys like Frolov, Zherdev and even Kovalchuk to mingle with.

Mislav “Xterratu” Jantoljak