As you may or may not know, Kaberle is not among my favorite Leafs. Not by a mile. He is a turnover machine that can’t defend like an All Star defenseman should and his only asset are his puck moving abilities that make him a beast on the PP. Be it a beast that’s afraid to shoot the puck. I don’t know how many times have I caught myself yelling at the computer screen (yes that’s how I watch my games) – shoot, shoot, only to see him pass the puck along with the opportunity to put one on net. The main thing that always bugged me is not any of the aforementioned stuff. It is his lack of will to compete. All that said, I guess you believe that I’m really angry about Kaberle staying with our favorite club. You couldn’t be more wrong.

Yes, while nothing would please me more than the Leafs trading Kaberle for a legitimate first line player plus some assets it was obvious that no team was prepared to offer what Burke was asking. And that’s the first reason I really like him staying. Brian Burke. The man once again proved that he wouldn’t rush things if they didn’t look really good for the future of the Leafs. This kinda puts that Kessel deal in perspective doesn’t it? “We didn’t feel we received an offer that made sense, that reflected Tomas’ value,” Burke said. “In my mind, the number of teams that have cap difficulty right now, it confused the issue. There were a couple other things that confused the issue. As I said when this process began, this is a player we’re happy to keep.”  I’m really glad he stuck with his convictions. As far as Kaberle’s trade potential is concerned, I believe he could have gotten peanuts and a first line guy and who could help the Leafs but wouldn’t be a difference maker. And while I do think of Kaberle as a defensive liability, the Leafs have plenty of players that can play defense, and not so many guys that can play the PP as well as Kaberle. The second thing that makes me glad Kaberle is still a Leaf is the good side of his game. Besides being an elite offensive defenseman, he can skate and is a really smart hockey player. With our now upgraded Leafs we can count on him having a 50+ points this year. Last but not least, I sure like our PP more with him being on the team, regardless of last season.

The last thing that makes me glad that Burke made the decision to keep the Czech international is loyalty. You don’t see it as much these days. After this soap opera finished, Kaberle was/is still glad he is a Leaf. That tells me something. The guy has given 10 years of his life to this organization and if nothing else, we have to respect that. From the first hour of media and fan trade rumors (which yours truly was a part of) it was plain to see he wanted to stay. He loves Toronto, this is his home, and thinking about it from a human perspective makes this hockey writer glad Kabby is still a Torontian. That’s the good part.

The bad part is that we have almost $28 million of cap space spent on 8 defensemen. Tomas Kaberle, Dion Phaneuf, Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnarsson, Jeff Finger and Brett Lebda. The Leafs are paying Kaberle $4.25 million which is about 1/7 of the entire crop. That in itself isn’t bad, but come next year (considering he has a 50+ point year) Kaberle is going to ask for a raise. Also, to be a legitimate playoff team, you need top six guys and you need skilled size. We didn’t get that in Versteeg (although he is a big help) and we got only one part of that in Armstrong. While it is nice to keep Kaberle and have probably one of the best D’s in the league, our needs are still just that, needs. And you have to be concerned about that.

Mislav “Xterratu” Jantoljak