tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Will Leafs Be Different After Deadline??

Monday is the NHL trade deadline and the big question for Leaf Nation is: Will the Leafs roster be different next Tuesday when they face off against the Florida Panthers?? As each day passes I begin to think that if the Maple Leafs make any trades they will not be blockbusters. Yesterday in an interview on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, Leafs President & General Manager Brian Burke indicated that he did not have any offer on the table to acquire Rick Nash. Based upon what the Blue Jackets are looking for in return for Nash, that does not surprise me. However, Burkie did say that the Leafs will have to look at the goaltending market.

Burke has defended his goaltending tandem of Jonas Gustavsson and James Reimer throughout the season. In fact, he reiterated what he has said recently that Gustavsson had saved the Leafs season with his play in January. But the Leafs head honcho was very clear that the goaltending performance on Tuesday was not acceptable, noting that the game winner was a shot that was going wide. Burke indicated that they would be looking at a goalie who could help the team now not in the future.

Burke is taking heat for not having an experienced goaltender on the roster and that is fair criticism. But what I like about Burkie is he is not afraid to correct his mistakes. He did it with Kris Versteeg and Francois Beauchemin. With the season hanging in the balance, it would not surprise me if the Leafs acquire a veteran goalie. The candidates could be Evgeni Nabakov, Nikolai Khabibulin, Josh Harding, Andres Lindback and J.S. Giguere. I can't see the Leafs getting Nabakov or Khabibulin. But the other 3 could be possibilities. Harding would seem to fit the bill even though he has never been a starter backing up Niklas Backstrom. Harding has played well when pressed into service and is an unrestricted free agent next year so the Leafs could use the remaining games as an audition with no committment for next season. The Wild may consider the move since it would appear that Harding will look to go somewhere that gives him a shot to be a starter and as a result the price for Harding should not be that high. Harding is 27 years old.

Lindback is an interesting player. He is only 23 years old and is a restricted free agent. He played well when Pekka Rinne was out for a bit but it would appear that the Leafs might not want to bring in another 23 year old goalie. Giguere certainly has experience with the Maple Leafs. However, the 34 year old is under contract for next season at a salary cap hit of $1.25 million. If Burke wasn't willing to bring Giguere back in the summer would he be willing to bring him back now and be obligated to him next season??

Of the three, Harding would seem to make the most sense and don't forget that the Wild's general manager happens to be Cliff Fletcher's son. Giguere could be the fall back if the Leafs are comfortable bringing Giguere back next season. But while Burke is looking for goalies, the team still has other needs particularly some size up front. The other issue that bears watching involves Mikhail Grabovski. The popular center, who also happens to be the Leafs best center man, is an unrestricted free agent next season. Burke had to cringe when he saw that the Carolina Hurricanes signed Tuumo Ruutu to a four year extension worth $4.75 million per year. If Ruutu is worth $4.75 million a year, what's Grabovski worth?? On top of that, the Leafs are paying Tim Connolly $4.75 million per year and I think most would agree that Grabovski is worth more than Connolly.

It seems that the Leafs are balking against paying Grabovski $5.5 million a year. Unless the Leafs are able to clear cap space elsewhere, like moving a Mike Komisarek or a Colby Armstrong, they may look to move Grabovski. The problem with doing that now is that it would damage their already fragile playoff chances. I would hate to see Grabovski go but its obvious that if the Leafs are not going to re-sign him, they would try to get some assets for him.

Brian Burke has plenty of work to do before Monday and I can't think of a better guy to meet the challenge.