McCabe deal finalized, draft pick involved

TORONTO -- The remodelling of the Toronto Maple Leafs continues.

The Maple Leafs dealt veteran defenceman Bryan McCabe and a fourth-round pick in 2010 to the Florida Panthers for blue-liner Mike Van Ryn on Tuesday night, ridding the team of its biggest contractual obligation and freeing up more than US$11 million in cap space.

McCabe waived a no-movement clause to complete the long-rumoured deal.

"It's part of what we're trying to do moving forward here," said Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher. "We wish him well.

"We move on with building the team. (The trade) give us a considerable amount of salary cap flexibility for the next three years."

McCabe had been one of the longest-serving Maple Leafs, having been acquired in a trade from Chicago on Oct. 2, 2000.

The 33-year-old came into his own in Toronto after bouncing from the Islanders to the Canucks to the Blackhawks early in his career. More recently, however, he developed into a scapegoat for fans who thought his performance dipped after signing a $28.75-million, five-year contract in 2005-06.

He'll get a fresh start in Florida.

"(Larry Murphy) was kind of pushed out of Toronto the same way with the media," said Panthers GM Jacques Martin, referring to a 1997 deal Fletcher made during his first stop in Toronto. "He went to Detroit and was a pretty effective player. ...

"(Bryan) is an individual I feel helps our top four."

McCabe's contract is the main reason the rebuilding Leafs were looking to make the deal.

His annual salary cap hit for the next three seasons will be $5.75 million even though the Panthers will only have to pay him $4.15 million per year on the front-heavy contract. The Maple Leafs are on the hook for a $2-million bonus that was due on Monday.

The trade has been in the works for some time but was slowed in part because the Panthers didn't want to pay that bonus.

"That was part of it," said Martin. "We didn't sign the contract."

Van Ryn has two years remaining on his contract and will earn $3.35 million each season. His cap hit is only $2.9 million so the Leafs have freed up $11.45 million over the next three years with the move.

Fletcher continues to remake a team that hasn't made the playoffs since before the NHL lockout. Earlier this summer, he decided to buy out winger Darcy Tucker and backup goalie Andrew Raycroft and waive centre Kyle Wellwood.

It's also looking extremely likely that the Leafs will start training camp without Mats Sundin for the first time in 15 years. The team's long-time captain was interviewed by Toronto radio station AM640 on Tuesday and indicated he likely won't make a decision about his future before camps open.

"I haven't even looked at different options or teams or where to play," Sundin said. "That's not even my first question. My first question is: `Do I want to play anymore?'

"I've got to get past the personal decision if I'm going to play or not."

Sundin will be in Toronto to participate in the Festival Cup charity hockey game on Friday night and Fletcher plans to sit down with him for a meeting while he's here.

The Maple Leafs have plenty of salary cap room to sign him but Fletcher is simply looking to renew acquaintances.

"We're not anticipating anything other than a private meeting so that there's a good understanding of what can happen in the next period of time," he said.

McCabe missed almost two months last season with a broken hand and ended up appearing in 54 games, scoring five goals and putting up 23 points.

He now joins a rebuilt Panthers blue-line that will be led by Jay Bouwmeester and two other recent additions -- Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton, who each came over in the draft day trade that sent former captain Olli Jokinen to Phoenix.

"I think he likes the direction of our hockey club," Martin said of McCabe. "I think he feels he's going to be a big part our success. I think he likes where we're going, how we're building our club. ...

"We feel that we're going in the right direction and Bryan's excited about joining our club."

His best two seasons in Toronto were the ones immediately before and after the lockout. In 2003-04, McCabe put up 53 points (16-37) and a plus-22 rating while finishing fourth in Norris Trophy voting as the league's top defenceman.

He had a career-best 68 points (19-49) the season after the lockout and played for Canada at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.

Van Ryn spent the past four seasons with Florida, where he twice reached a career-high 37 points. The 29-year-old played just 20 games a year ago because of a wrist injury.

"He's a very capable offensive defenceman," said Fletcher. "He's ready to go and he's excited."