Really, this broken hand doesn't change a whole lot. At least, it doesn't dramatically change Tomas Kaberle's future in a Maple Leaf uniform, which is yet to be decided.
Kaberle's fractured right mitt, of course, does alter the state of the Leaf roster significantly in the short term. Last night, for example, it left the club without a single left-handed shooting defenceman in an entertaining outing against Pittsburgh as the club shot the lights out for a second straight game, winning 5-4 while reverting to their gunslinger personality of the fall for the second straight game, again on a night when Vesa Toskala was rather shaky.
Going without Kaberle will mean more playing time in different situations for others, and Luke Schenn seemed to be the first to respond last night. The Kid from Saskatoon was the best player on either team last night, decking Evgeni Malkin with a thundering check partway through the middle period and later making a terrific play to set up a third-period goal by Matt Stajan.
Maybe the Leafs will be better, maybe they'll be worse. But it's the trade possibilities involving Kaberle that are really of interest, not the Leafs' win-loss record without him for the next few weeks, right?
GM Brian Burke, you should know, hasn't necessarily been that hot to trot on trading Kaberle all along, although he certainly can't have been thrilled with the veteran blueliner's play, either. Let's face it, Kaberle's been okay this season, but just okay, not surprising for a talented defender who has watched the team around him deteriorate steadily over the last four years.
However, Kaberle's not exactly a greybeard at 30 years of age, and his contract is more than acceptable, with two more seasons left at $4.25 million (all figures U.S.) per. So there are certainly reasons to keep him, and he'll be just as valuable a poker chip this time next year.
Still, other teams surely covet him. The Penguins, currently sitting outside the playoffs, have no idea whether Sergei Gonchar, who has just started practising again after serious shoulder surgery, will return at anywhere near full strength this season.
The teams that like Kaberle know what he can do, and they know he'll be back in three to four weeks. The trade deadline is March 4, but even if Kaberle isn't back by then, there would certainly be teams interested in acquiring his rights, with lots of time left before the post-season begins.
Burke, then, would still move Kaberle before the deadline if a team knocks his socks off with a deal. That means a first-round pick and a top prospect.
But if the Leafs can't get it for the Czech now, why not hang on to him?
It's a different situation for Nik Antropov, who's an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The good news for Burke is that Antropov has scored in two straight games now, and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored last night as well. Geez, with Jason Blake now looking like he's headed for a 30-goal season, he might also suddenly be more attractive to other clubs, and his contract ($4.5 million next year, then $3 million for each of two more) doesn't look so ugly.
Interestingly, last night was Doug Gilmour Night, an evening to replay his famous goal against Curtis Joseph in the '93 playoffs and other career highlights. Eleven years ago, of course, Gilmour was also a key figure in one of the better trade-deadline deals the Leafs ever made, with GM Cliff Fletcher moving the centre and rearguard Dave Ellett to New Jersey on Feb. 25, 1997 for youngsters Jason Smith, Steve Sullivan and Alyn McCauley.
That's the kind of transaction Burke would like to make now, much more difficult to do, of course, in a salary-cap world. If he can do it with Kaberle, he'll still do it, broken hand or not.
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